LIBRARY 


The  Student's  Ancient  History. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

OF 

THE  EAST. 


FROM  TilE  EARLIEST  TIMES  TO  THE  CONQUEST  BY 
ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT. 


INCLUDING  EGYPT,  ASSYRIA,  BABYLONIx\,  MEDIA,  PERSIiV 
ASIA  .MINOR,  AND  PIICENICIA. 


By    PHILIP    smith,  B.A., 

AUTJIOK   OF   TUE    "uiBTOliY   OF   TUE   WOELD." 


Early  Assyrian  Chariot. 

Illustrated  by  Engravings  on  Wood. 


HARPER    &    BROTHERS,   PUBLISHERS, 

NEW  YORK  AND   LONDON, 

1899. 


Assyrian  Cylinder. 


PREFACE 


A  KNOWLEDGE  of  the  Histoiy  of  the  East  is  indispensable 
to  the  student  of  Classical  Literature.  In  the  earliest  rec- 
ords, he  meets  with  doubtful  traditions — and  further  study 
reveals  undoubted  signs  —  of  older  forms  of  civilization, 
which  helped  to  determine  those  of  Greece  and  Rome. 
Egypt  and  Phoenicia  loom  up,  however  vaguely,  in  what  he 
learns  of  the  origin  of  Greek  society,  arts,  and  letters.  The 
earliest  and  noblest  poetry  of  Greece  and  of  the  world,  as 
well  as  the  legend  of  Rome's  original,  bring  him  at  once  in 
contact  with  an  Asiatic  kingdom,  of  whose  real  existence 
even  he  is  left  in  doubt.  As  his  first  reading  of  Greek  poet- 
ry excites  his  curiosity  about  Troy,  so  his  earliest  lessons  in 
Greek  prose  plunge  him  into  the  midst  of  the  history  of 
Persia,  and  into  the  heart  of  the  region  of  the  great  Eastern 
empires.  His  first  guide  to  the  history  of  Greece  is  an  au- 
thor who — with  a  wise  prescience  of  that  method  of  study 
which  we  have  only  learned  of  late — carries  him  at  once  to 
Assyria  and  Babylon,  Egypt  and  Libya,  Lydia  and  Persia, 
that,  in  the  light  of  the  knOAvledge  of  the  East,  he  may  see 
the  true  meaning  of  the  victories  which  form  the  glory  of 
the  history  of  Greece.  And,  at  every  succeeding  step,  he 
finds  himself  in  contact  with  Oriental  forms  of  government 
and  civilization,  and  he  learns  that  the  victories  of  Alexan- 
der, Scipio,  and  Augustus  were  the  decisive  steps  in  the 
great  conflict  between  E?^t^i;i]  ^lOil  Western  principles  of 
social  life.  '^  ill}  it 


viii  PKEFACE. 

Clearly,  therefore,  he  has  learned  but  half  the  lesson  of  an 
cient  history,  so  long  as  he  sees  the  Oriental  element  only  in 
that  background  which  is  all  that  can  be  allotted  to  it  in 
the  special  histories  of  Greece  and  Rome.  To  present  the 
other  half  is  the  object  of  the  present  work,  which  is  design- 
ed to  be  at  once  a  necessary  supplement  to  those  histories, 
and  a  sketch  of  the  Oriental  states  which  deserve  study  for 
their  own  intrinsic  interest. 

That  interest  has  been  immeasurably  increased,  within  the 
period  of  one  generation,  by  those  wonderful  discoveries  in 
hieroglyphic  and  cuneiform  literature  which — at  least  in  the 
principles  of  interpretation  and  in  a  large  mass  of  positive 
results — have  outlived  the  stage  of  incredulity,  and  become 
a  recognized  branch  of  ancient  learning.  That  the  results 
thus  gained  may  be  made  more  clear  and  interesting,  the 
present  work  contains  some  account  of  the  processes  of  dis- 
covery. How  much  the  interest  of  these  discoveries  is  en- 
hanced by  the  light  they  throw  upon  Scripture  history,  will 
be  apr^&rent  to  every  reader  of  the  following  pages. 

The  diversities  of  interpretation — though  based  on  the 
sawie  essential  ])rinciples,  and  leading  to  results  for  the  most 
part  wonderfully  consistent — have  given  rise  to  what  may 
be  almost  called  two  schools  of  cuneiform  scholarship  :  the 
English,  headed  by  Sir  Henry  C.  Raavlinson,  and  the 
French,  headed  by  M.  Jules  Oppert.  The  authorities  quot- 
ed in  the  following  pages  will  show  the  desire  of  the  writer 
to  use  the  best  results  of  the  labors  of  both  schools.  The 
nature  of  these  inquiries — so  novel,  and  still  in  a  state  so 
progressive — has  made  it  necessary  to  give  authorities  and 
explanatory  notes  more  fully  than  in  other  volumes  of  this 
series.  The  advanced  student,  for  whom  this  work  is  de- 
signed, will  thus  be  aided  to  distinguish  certain  from  doubt- 
ful results,  and  will  see  the  lines  along  which  his  further 
studies  should  be  directed. 

The  work  is  based  on  an  independent  study  of  the  ancient 
writers,  and  a  careful  use  of  the  best  modern  authorities. 
Great  advantage  has,  of  course,  been  derived  from  the  inval- 


PREFACE.  .X 

ual)le  materials  collected  in  the  Notes  anfl  Essays  to.  Pro- 
fessor Rawlinson's  Translation  of  Herodotus  by  Sir  Gard- 
ner WiLKixsox,  Sir  H.  C.  Rawlixson,  and  the  Editor  him- 
self; and  from  Professor  Rawlinson's  "  Five  Ancient  Mon- 
archies."^ For  Egypt,  besides  the  works  of  Sir  Gardner 
Wilkinson,  Professor  Kenrick's  "Ancient  Egypt "  has 
been  constantly  consulted ;  and  so,  also,  has  the  same  au- 
thor's scholarly  work  upon  "  Phoenicia."  The  book  on  As- 
syria and  Babylonia  could  not  have  been  written  without 
the  works  of  Mr.  Layard,  and  some  invaluable  results  of 
the  latest  researches  are  due  to  the  writings  of  M.  Oppert. 
Special  acknowledgment  has  to  be  made  of  the  use  made 
throughout  the  work  of  M.  Charles  Lenormant's  "  Histoirc 
Ancienne  de  I'Orient."^  How  little  the  present  writer  has 
adhered  slavishly  to  that  work,  the  merits  of  which  marked 
it  as  a  good  general  guide,  how  often  he  has  maintained 
other  views,  and  how  constantly  he  has  expressed  his  own 
judgment  on  the  events  related,  will  be  best  seen  by  a  com- 
parison of  the  two  books,  ^loreover,  the  present  work  is 
brought  down  to  Alexander's  conquest,  the  true  epoch  at 
which  the  East  yielded  to  the  West ;  whereas  M,  Lenormant 
stops,  with  a  somewhat  startling  abruptness,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Persian  wars  with  Greece. 

As  the  History  of  the  Jews  has  been  treated  at  length  in 
the  "Student's  Old  Testament  History,"  the  writer  has 
thereby  acquired  fuller  space  for  the  other  branches  of  the 
subject.  For  the  object  has  not  been  to  draw  up  a  mere 
skeleton  or  epitome,  but  a  narrative  full  and  circumstantial 
enough  to  possess  life  and  interest,  and  to  leave  that  impres- 
sion on  the  memory  which  mere  outlines  can  nevei*  produce; 
since  a  summnry  can  only  be  of  real  service  as  an  index  to 
knowledge  already  acquired.  To  this  narrative  only  so 
much  has  been  added  in  the  way  of  discussion  as  the  nature 

'  The  jirst  editions  of  both  these  works  are  quoted  throughout,  except  in  a  few 
special  iustances. 

'  It  may  be  well  to  explain  that  the  whole  of  this  work  was  written,  printed,  and 
revised  (excepting  the  two  conchiding  chapters  on  Phoenicia)  bcfine  the  appeannice 
of  the  English  translation  of  M.  Lenorinant's  history. 


PREFACE. 


of  the  subject  seemed  actually  to  require.  In  fine,  an  ear 
nest  effort  has  been  made  to  produce  a  Manual,  both  for  the 
student  and  general  reader,  of  the  present  state  of  our  knowl- 
edge on  a  subject  the  interest  of  which  is  daily  growing,  its 
bounds  enlarging,  and  its  details  becoming  more  definite  and 
certain  by  the  progress  of  inquiry. 


cMM^jj 


Plants  from  Egj^ptiau  Sculptures. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

PAGB 

The  Nations  and  their  Abodes -. 17 

Notes  and  Illustrations  : 

(A.)  Table  of  the  Indo-European  Family  of  Languages....  28 

(B.)  Table  of  the  Semitic  Family  of  Languages 29 


BOOK  I. 
EGYPT  AND  ETHIOPIA. 


CHAP. 

I.  The  Country,  the  River,  and  the  People 30 

II.  Authorities  for  the  History  of  Egypt 47 

Notes  and  Illustrations  : 

Contemporaneousness  of  Dynasties al* 

III.  The  Old  Memphian  Monarchy 00 

IV,  The  Middle  Monarchy  and  the  Shepherd  Kings 81 

V.  The   New  Theban  Monarchy. — The  Eighteenth  Dy- 
nasty   108 

VI.  The   new  Theban   Monarchy  (continued).— The   Nine- 
teenth AND  Twentieth  Dynasties 118 

VII.  New  Kingdoms  in  the  Delta  and  the  Ethiopian  Dy- 
nasty—  Dynasties  XXI. -XXV. — b.  c.  1100  (about)- 

664 r,)ry 

VIII.  The  Later  Saite  Monarchy — Twenty-sixth  Dynasty — 

B.C.  605-527  OR  525 16.3 

IX.  The  Institutions,  Religion,  and  Arts  of  Egypt... 181 


L  CONTENTS. 

BOOK  IL 

ASSYRIA  AND  BABYLON. 

OUAP.  PAGE 

X.  The  Region  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris — Primitive 

Kingdoms 219 

Notes  and  Illustrations  : 

(A.)  Early  Babylonian  Chronology 243 

(B.)  On  the  Chaldaans  and  the  Akkad 244 

XL  Early  History  of  Assyria.     The  Mythical  Legends  ; 

AND  the  Earlier  Kings  of  the  Old  Monarchy 247 

Notes  and  Illustrations  : 

On  the  Site  and  Extent  of  Nineveh 273 

XII.  The  Old  AssYRLVN  Empire,     b.c.  88G-746 276 

XIII.  The  New  Assyrian  Empire,  Part  I.     Tiglath-Pilesek 

II.,  Shalmaneser,  AND  Sargon.     B.C.  745-704 300 

XIV.  The  New  Assyrian   Empire  (concluded).     Sennacherib 

AND  his  Successors,     b.c.  704-625 316 

XV.  The  Babylonian  OR  Chaldean  Empire,     b.c.  625-538...  339 
Notes  and  Illustrations : 

' '  Standard  Inscription  "  of  Nebuchadnezzar 362 

XVI.  The  Art  and  Civilization  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria...  364 
XVII.  The  Cuneiform  Writing  and  Literature,  the  Science 

AND  Religion,  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians —  387 


BOOK  III. 

niE  MEDO-PERSIAN  empire,  and  its  SUBJECT-COUNTRIES 
IN  ASIA. 

XVIII.  The  Primitive  Aryans  and  the  Religion  of  Zoroaster  413 

XIX.   Rise  of  the  Median  Kingdom 439 

XX.  The  Nations   of  Asia  Minor — The   Table-land   and 

North  Coast 457 

XXI.  The  Nations  of  Asia  Minor— The  South  and  West 

Coasts 473 

XXII.  Early  History  of  Lydia 498 

XXIII.  Lydia  and  Media. — Prom  Gyges  to  Cyaxares  and  Aly- 

attes. — About  b.c.  716  to  b.c.  560. — The  Cimmerian 

AND  SCYTHI.VN  INVASIONS  OF  AsiA 508 

XXIV.  The  Median  Empire  overthrown  by  Cyrus. — b.c.  594- 

558 ^26 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

"''^^-  PAGE 

XXV.  Ci'Rus  TiiK  Great  and  Crcksus.     Overthrow  of  Lydia 

AND  Babylon. — b.c.  560-529 542 

XXVI.  Cambyses. — The  Magian  Usurpation. — Restoration  of 

THE  Monarchy  by'  Darius. — b.c.  529-522 552 

XXVTI.   Climax  of  the  Persian  Empire. — Darius,  the  Son  of 

Hystaspes.— B.C.  521-486 567 

XX VIII,  The  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Persian  Empire. — Xerxes 

I.  to  Darius  III.,  b.c.  486-330 581 

THE  HISTOIiY  OF  PHCENICIA. 

XXIX.  Part  I. — To  the  Time  of  Tyre's  Supremacy 594 

XXX.  Part  II. — From  the  Age  of  David  and  Hiram  ro  thii: 
TAKING  OF  Tyre  by  Alexander. — About  b.c.  J 050  to 

B.C.  332 018 

Index 637 


Head  of  a  Persian  King  (Persepoiis). 


HIEROGLYPHICS. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  THRESHING-SONG. 
(From  a  Tomb  at  Eileithijias). 


III  III 


//  rrr  rrr^  ^^ 


/VvWW\ 


)  e  I 


VVAAAA  g  ^ 

»     «     B     B^ 


I       I       I 

>    I    I 


TRANSLATION.     (By  Champollion.) 

(1)  "Thresh  for  yourselves  (tioice,  a), 

(2)  O  Oxeu, 

(3)  Thresh  for  yourselves  {twice,  b), 

(4)  Measures  for  yourselves, 

(5)  Measures  for  your  masievs.''-—{From  Sir  J.  G.  Wilkin»on.\ 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


An  Egj'ptian   Temple,  Avith   the   Priests  bringing  in   tlie  Ark  of  the 

God Frontispiece. 

Early  Assyrian  Chariot Tifle-Page. 

Assyrian  CyHnder Back  of  Title-Paye. 

PAGR 

Plants  from  Egyptian  Sculptures xi 

Head  of  a  Persian  King  (Persepolis) xiii 

Hieroglyphics— An  Egyptian  Threshing-Song xiv 

Assyrian  Pattern  ( Nimrud) 17 

The  Nile  during  the  Inundation 30 

Boat  of  the  Nile , 46 

Ruins  and  Vicinity  of  Philaj 47 

Hierogl}-ph  of  Menes 5G 

Sphinx  and  Pyramids fiO 

Quarry-marks  on  Stones  in  the  Great  Pyramid 62 

Plan  of  the  Pyramids  of  Jizeh 63 

Hieroglyph  of  Shafre 64 

Hieroglyph  of  Memphis 71 

Bull-Eight  ...r-. 81 

Memnonium  during  the  Inundation 103 

Pavilion  of  Rameses  III 118 

An  Eg}'ptian  Archer  carrying  spare  Arrows 134 

Allies  of  the  Egyptians 135 

Dress  of  an  Egyptian  King 163 

Euneral  Boat,  or  Baris 181 

Hieroglyphic  Characters 213 

Tomb  at  Sakhara,  arched  with  Stone,  inscribed  with  the  Name  of  Psam- 

atikll 217 

The  Mound  of  Birs-Nimrud 219 

Figures  from  the  Signet  Cylinder  of  King  Urukh 245 

The  Mesopotamian  Plain 247 

Figure  of  Tiglath-pileser  I.     (From  a  Rock-Tablet  near  Korkhar. ) 269 

Site  of  Nineveh 272 

Ruins  of  Nineveh , 274 

The  Mound  of  Nimrud 270 

Plan  of  the  Mound  of  Nimrud ■•  279 

Plan  of  Palace  of  Asshur-nasir-])al 282 

Black  Obelisk,  from  Nimrud 289 

Prisoners  presented  by  the  Chiaf  Eunuch  (Nimrud  Obelisk) 29 J 


xvi  LIST  (JF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAOll 

Nebo  (from  a  Statue  in  the  British  Museum) , c 296 

Excavations  at  Koyunjik 300 

Glass  Vase,  bearing  the  Name  of  Sargon,  from  Nimrud 314 

Kmg  punishing  Prisoners  (Khorsabacl) 315 

Assyrians  flaying  their  Prisoners , 316 

Hound  held  in  Leash  (Koyunjik) 338 

View  of  Babil  from  tlie  West 339 

Ancient  Assyrian  Cyhnder  in  Serpentine 364 

Babylonian  IBrick ,.,...  366 

Chaldffian  Reeds  (from  a  Slab  of  Sennacherib) 367 

Bowariyeh 368 

Temple  of  the  Moon,  Mugheir 372 

Seal-Cylinder  on  metal  Axis 375 

Serio-Comic  Drawing.     (From  a  Cylinder) 386 

Fallen  Rock  Sculptures  at  Bavian 387 

Cuneiform  Characters 389 

Hieratic  Characters 390 

Emblems  of  Asshur  (after  Lajard) 410 

Royal  Cylinder  of  Sennacherib 410 

Emblems  of  the  Principal  Gods.     (From  an    Obelisk  in   the   British 

Museum) 412 

Persepolis 413 

The  Persian  ' '  Ferouher  " 437 

The  Rock  of  Behistun 438 

Sculptures  on  the  Rock  of  Behistun 456 

Mons  Argreus,  in  Cappadocia 457 

Rock-cut  Lycian  Tomb 473 

Coin  of  Lycia 497 

Tomb  of  Midas,  King  of  Phrygia,  at  Nacolicia ..  498 

Coin  of  Sardis , 506 

Ruins  of  Miletus , 508 

Tomb  of  Alyattes,  Sepulchral  Chamber 525 

Tomb  of  Cyrus  at  Murglulh,  tlie  ancient  Pasargadre 526 

Ruins  of  Sardis 542 

Double  Griffin  Capital  (Persepolis) 551 

Bronze  Figure  of  Apis 552 

Gateway  to  Hall  of  a  Himdred  Columns  (Persepolis) 565 

Tomb  of  Darius »....  567 

Moimd  of  Susa 581 

Grand  Range  of  Lebanon 594 

Damascus • 618 

Bronze  Lion ,  from  Nimrud 024 


Assyrian  Pattern  (Nimrud). 


THE 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  THE  EAST. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE    NATIONS  AND    THEIR  ABODES. 

§  1.  The  province  and  limits  of  Secular  History,  §  2.  Distinguished  from  Sacred 
History.  §  3.  Antediluvian  and  Postdilnvian  civilization.  Primitive  arts  and 
institutions.  §  4.  Cradle  of  the  Human  Race.  §  5.  Geographical  view  of  the  An- 
cient World.  Mountain-systems  of  Asia,  Europe,  and  Africa.  §  G.  The  Great  Des- 
ert Zone  and  its  interruptions.  The  Nile,  Euphrates,  and  Red  Sea.  The  Oxus  and 
Jaxartes.  The  outposts  of  ancient  civilization.  §  7.  The  Races  of  mankind,  and 
theirtirst  migrations.  The  record  in  Genesis  x.  Four  principles  of  Classitication  : 
race,  language,  country,  and  nation.  §  8.  Physiological  distinction  of  Races.  The 
Caucasian  alone  belongs  to  ancient  history.  §  9.  Range  of  the  ethnological  table 
in  Genesis.  §  10.  The  Hamite  Race,  in  Ethiopia  and  Arabia,  Egypt,  Libya,  Pales- 
line,  and  Babylonia.  Cushite  Kingd(mi  of  Nimrod.  Characteristics  of  the  race. 
5  11.  The  Japhethite  Race  in  Asia  and  Europe.  §  12.  The  Shemite  Race,  in  S.  W 
Asia.  §  13.  Classitication  according  to  Language.  §  14.  Threefold  divisicni  of 
Languages,  the  -isolating,  agnlutinative,  and  inTlectimj ;  not  -perfect  tests  of  race. 
The  Turanian  family,  almost  beyond  the  range  of  ancient  history.  '  15.  The  two 
families  of  inflectional  languages.  §  10.  The  Indo-European  Family.  §  17.  The 
Semitic  Family.  Sub-Semitic  branch.  The  Egyptian  language.  §  IS.  Corre- 
spondence of  the  families  of  languages  with  the  classification  of  races.  §  19.  Dis- 
tinction between  the  Eastern  and  Western  nations.  Its  physical  and  moral 
causes.  §  20,  Antagonism  of  the  East  and  West,  Importance  of  the  history  of 
the  East. 

§  1.  Secular  History  treats  of  the  liuman  race  as  civil- 
ized, and  as  organized  into  political  societies.  It  begins  only 
when  it  can  be  based  upon  contemporary  records.  Mere  in- 
dications of  man's  presence  on  the  earth  at  some  uncei-tain 
period  are  insufficient  authorities.  For  the  most  part,  they 
relate  to  the  natural  history  of  the  species,  not  to  the  civil 
history  of  the  race ;  and  what  further  signiiicance  they  may 
have  belongs  to  historical  hypothesis  rather  than  to  history. 
The  flint  implements  and  weapons  found  in  certain  strata  of 
the  earth's  surface,  and  bearing  the  marks  of  human  contriv 
ance — the  piles  covered  by  Swiss  lakes,  which  have  sup})ort- 
ed  human  habitations — the  human  bones  carefully  hidden  in 
sepulchral  barrows,  or  rudely  scattered  amidst  the  remains 


18  THE  NATIONS  AND  THElli  ABODES. 

of  extinct  animals — ave  of  the  deepest  interest  to  the  stu- 
dent of  anthropological  science.  Diffused  over  the  surfice 
of  the  world,  both  old  and  new,  they  may  bear  witness 
to  the  almost  universal  existence  at  some  primeval  age, 
whether  antediluvian  or  still  earlier,  of  men  whose  civiliza- 
tion was  of  the  lowest  and  their  labor  of  the  hardest;  but 
whose  implements,  however  rude,  prove  tliat  they  rose  above 
and  had  dominion  over  the  brutes ;  whose  rough  pictures 
show  some  idea  of  art,  while  their  care  for  sepulchral  rites 
suggests  their  belief  in  a  future  state.  But  such  inferences 
form  no  materials  for  history,  unless  these  remains  could  be 
connected  (like  the  monuments  of  Egypt)  witli  races  of 
which  we  liave  authentic  records. 

§  2.  On  the  other  hand,  the  authoritative  accounts,  derived 
only  from  revelation,  of  the  creation  of  man  and  the  prepa- 
ration of  the  earth  for  his  abode  ;  of  his  primeval  innocence 
and  his  fall ;  of  the  entrance  of  sin  and  the  promise  of  re- 
demption ;  of  his  first  probation  and  his  destruction  by  the 
Flood  ;  of  the  new  patriarchal  line  that  sprang  from  Noah, 
and  their  renewed  declension  ;  of  the  choice  of  Abraham  and 
his  race  to  preserve  religious  truth  and  hope  amidst  a  new 
moral  dehige ;  and  of  the  law  given  to  them  by  IVEoses  ;  in 
siiort,  the  whole  period  till  Israel,  <Y6'  a  nation,  cornea  in  con- 
tact with  the  other  nations,  is  best  treated  separately  as  Sa- 
cred History.^ 

§  3.  With  the  antediluvian  age,  therefore,  we  have  now  no 
concern,  except  in  so  far  as  the  relies  of  its  civilization,  pre- 
served by  Noah,  were  revived  in  the  New  World.  Marriage 
had  been  ordained  from  the  creation  ;  but  polygamy  was  prac- 
tised by  Lamech,  the  seventh  from  Adam  in  the  line  of  Cain. 
Material  civilization  received  its  stimulus  from  the  curse 
which  first  made  needful  labor  painful.  The  pursuits  of  the 
first  two  sons  of  Adam  gave  an  example  of  the  difi'erent  oc- 
cupations of  the  husbandman  and  the  2)aMoral  life.  The 
Cainite  race,  in  their  spirit  of  proud  independence,  gathered 
themselves  into  civic  communities,  and  invented  the  industrial 
and  some  of  the  fine  arts.  Cain  built  the  first  city  ;  and  of 
Lamech's  two  pairs  of  children,  Jabal  and  Jubal  represent 
the  iiomad  pastoral  life  and  the  invention  of  musical  instru- 
ments ;  while  Tubal  Cain  was  the  first  worker  in  brass  and 
iron,  and  (tradition  adds)  his  sister,  Naamali,  invented  spin- 
ning and  weaving.  Here  are  all  the  essential  germs  of  ma- 
terial civilization,  to  which  was  added  by  Noah  (if  not  be- 
fore) the  culture  of  the  vine,  and    the   art   of  wine-making. 

1  This  part  of  Ancient  History  will  be  found  iu  the  "Student's  Old  Testament 
History,"  books  i.,  ii.,  and  iii. 


CRADLE  QF  THE  HUMAN  KACE.  19 

The  use  of  animal  food,  pei-haps  already  practised  in  the 
bloody  banquets  of  the  lawless  antediluvians,  was  permitted 
to  Noaii,  under  the  restriction  of  abstinence  from  blood  ;  and 
the  new  law  against  murder  granted  the  power  of  life  and 
death  to  the  cnil  magistrate.  That  authority  belonged  for 
the  present  to  the  patriarch,  whose  family  embraced  (so  far 
as  the  only  historic  record  gives  us  any  information)  the 
whole  surviving  race  of  man.  The  narrative  of  the  Deluge 
itself,  and  the  wide-spread  ti-aditions  which  preserve  its  mem- 
cry  over  the  earth,  are  best  referred  to  Sacred  History." 

§  4,  Neither  the  place  nor  the  time  of  the  second  origin 
of  our  race  can  be  determined  with  any  certainty. 

The  latter  rests  on  calculations,  for  which  we  have  neither 
a  fixed  starting-point  nor  undisputed  methods.  We  have 
no  trustworthy  chronology  till  the  time  of  the  Babylonian 
empire.^ 

As  to  the  former,  there  is  more  agreement.  Nearly  all  in- 
terpreters of  Scripture  place  the  cradle  of  the  Postdiluvian 
race  in  the  highlands  of  Asia  ;  and,  while  some  contend  for 
the  Alpine  plateau  of  Little  Bokhara  (the  Belourtagh)  as  the 
Merou  and  Berezat  or  Albora  of  Indian  and  Persian  tradi- 
tion, the  more  general  opinion  adheres  to  the  mountains  of 
Armenia.  If  the  former  is  the  more  natural  centre  for  the 
Aryan  race,  which  took  possession  of  Iran  and  Xorthern  In- 
dia, the  latter  (which  prevalent  tradition  identifies  with  Ara- 
rat) seems  the  appropriate  starting-place  for  the  peoples  of 
Europe,  Western  xVsia,  and  Xorth  Africa. 

§  5.  The  regions  just  named  form  the  whole  scene  of  An- 
cient History;  for  of  India  we  only  have  an  occasional  glimpse, 
as  it  is  touched  by  the  conquerors  of  Western  Asia.  That 
portion  of  the  tripartite  continent  of  the  Old  World  which 
is  the  field  of  Ancient  History  lies  wholly  vrithin  the  north- 
ern temperate  zone  ;  for  the  tropic  of  Cancer  passes  just  south 
of  the  Persian  Gulf  and  the  frontier  of  Egypt.  It  is  divided 
by  great  mountain-chains  and  table-lands  into  three  portions, 
both  physically  and  historically  distinct.  The  chief  nucleus 
of  its  mountain  system  is  in  Armenia,  whence  ranges,  pro- 
longed to  the  west  and  east,  sever  the  seats  of  ancient  civ- 
ilization from  the  great  plain  of  Xorthern  Europe  and  Asia, 
which  slopes  away  to  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

The  central  Asiatic  range,  after  sweeping  round  the  south- 
ern margin  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  pursues  an  easterly  course  to 
the  Hhidoo  KoofiJi  (the  Indian  Caucasus  of  the   ancients), 

2  "  student's  Old  Testament  History,"  chap.  iv. 

3  See  the  note  on  Scripture  Chronology  iu  the  "  Student's  Old  Testament  History," 
chap,  iii.,  note  A. 


20  THE  NATIONS  AND  THEIR  ABODES. 

north  of  Afghanistan  and  the  Punjab,  where  another  great 
knot  is  formed.  One  system  running  to  the  north-east  under 
the  names  of  Moussour  and  Altai^  and  another,  tlie  Himala- 
yas^ to  the  east,  inclose  between  them  the  great  table-lands  of 
Tibet  and  Mongolia,  which  the  former  chains  divide  from  the 
o;reat  Siberian  plain,  and  the  latter  from  the  two  Indian  pe- 
iiinsulas  ;  while  a  third  range,  prolonged  from  the  Himalayas 
to  the  north-east,  divides  the  plateaux  of  Tibet  and  Mongolia 
from  the  maritime  plains  of  China  and  Manchouria.  From 
the  central  knot  in  Armenia,  another  chain  runs  to  the  south- 
east, along  the  edge  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  valley,  the 
Pel-sian  Gulf,  and  the  northern  shore  of  tlie  Indian  Ocean, 
to  the  Delta  of  the  Indus,  where  it  is  linked  to  the  Hindoo 
Koosh  by  the  SoUman.  Moiintaiiis^  running  north  and  south 
along  the  western  margin  of  the  Indus  valley.  These  three 
ranges  inclose  the  table-land  of  Iran. 

The  two  chief  Asiatic  ranges  are  extended  westward  from 
Armenia  in  the  chains  of  the  Taurus  and  Anti-Taurus,  which 
support  between  them  the  Peninsula  of  Asia  Minor;  while 
the  Taurus  throws  oif  a  southern  branch,  the  Amanus,  along 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  Medit^'rranean,  prolonged  in  the 
ranges  of  Lebanon,  and  culminating  in  the  awful  granite 
masses  of  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai.  The  islands  of  the  zEgean 
connect,  as  by  stej)ping-stones,  the  mountains  of  Asia  Minor 
with  those  of  Greece  ;  while  the  northern  chain  of  Anti-Tau- 
nis  (here  called  the  Mysian  Olympus)  is  only  severed  by  the 
Bosporus  from  the  Thracian  system  of  Hoemus  (the  Balkan). 
Thence,  prolonged  to  the  north-west  along  the  southern  mar- 
gin of  the  Danube  valley,  and  thus  linking  itself  to  the  Alps, 
and  through  them  to  the  Pyrenees,  this  chief  range  of  Eu- 
rope serves  as  the  northern  barrier  of  the  three  fair  peninsu- 
las which  are  formed  by  its  southern  branches.  Above  this 
chain  (in  latitude,  not  in  height)  a  second,  like  a  vast  arch 
with  its  ends  resting  also  on  the  Pyrenees  and  the  Black 
Sea,  the  Cevennes,  the  Jura,  the  Vosges,  the  mountains  of 
South  Germany,  and  the  Carj^at/nans,  inclose  the  valleys  of 
the  Bhone  and  Danube.  From  this  second  range  the  great 
plain  of  Northern  and  Western  Europe  slopes  away ;  but 
along  its  north-w^est  edge,  though  broken  by  the  sea  into 
severed  links,  a  transverse  chain  runs  through  Scandinavia, 
the  British  Isles,  Brittany,  and  the  western  side  of  the  Span- 
ish Peninsula,  exhibiting'  in  its  geological  formation  some  of 
the  most  ancient  rocks  of  tlie  earth's  surfiice.  Crossing  the 
straits  to  Africa,  the  chain  of  Atlas  forms  the  southern  ^vall 
of  the  ¥,^estern  Mediterranean,  and  looks  across  to  the  mount- 
ains of   Sicilv  from   its    eastern    termination   at    Cape  Bon. 


RACES  OF  MANKIND.  2i 

A  secondary  and  niiicb  lower  chain  runs  off  to  the  south- 
east, skiTting  the  Syrtes  and  foi-ming  the  Libyan  shore,  to  tlie 
Delta  of  the  Nile,  except  where  the  Cyrenaic  Peninsula  rises 
to  a  greater  height.  ^' 

§  6.  South  of  the  Atlas,  the  Syrtes,  and  the  Libyan  shore, 
the  low^  land  of  the  Great  Libyan  Desert  (commonly,  but 
scarcely  accurately,  called  the  Sahara)  interposes  its  rain- 
less waste  of  sand,  broken  only  by  an  oasis  here  and  t1  er  > 
between  the  basin  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  rest  o  Af 
rica,  excluding  the  latter  regions  from  the  sphere  of  aneunt 
civilization.  But  this  desert  is  only  the  western  portion  ol 
a  great  belt,  of  the  same  physical  character,  which  stretches 
in  an  east  and  north-easterly  curve  from  the  Atlantic  coast 
of  Africa  to  the  mountains  of  JVianchouria  ;  rising  into  the 
desert  table-lands  of  xVrabia  and  Syria,  Iran  and  Turan,  and 
Gobi  in  Eastern  Tartary.  •  -The  valley  of  the  Nile,  the 
chasm  filled  by  the  Ked  Sea,  and  the  basin  through  which 
the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  flow  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  are  breaks 
in  this  desert  belt. 

The  valley  of  the  Nile  was  the  most  ancient  seat  of  a 
mighty  kingdom,  whose  independent  isolation  was  aided  by 
its  physical  character,  while  its  opening  to  the  Mediterra- 
nean connected  it  with  the  European  world.  The  valley  of 
the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  was  the  ground  on  which  various 
races  disputed  the  mastery  of  Western  Asia,  from  the  age  of 
Nimrod  to  the  Caliphs ;  while  its  possessors  came  in  contact 
with  the  West  by  extending  their  conquests  to  Syria  and 
Asia  Minor.  The  waters  of  the  Red  Sea,  running  up  almost 
to  the  Mediterranean,  have  formed  in  all  ages  the  highway 
of  commerce  between  the  countries  of  Europe  and  the  shores 
of  the  Indian  Ocean.  So  early  was  this  commerce  and  that 
by  w\ay  of  the  Persian  Gulf  opened,  that  we  find  the  kings  of 
Egypt  and  Assyria,  as  well  as  Solomon,  supplied  with  the 
products  of  India;  and,  at  a  later  period,  the  silk  of  China 
was  used  by  the  Asiatic  Greeks  and  by  imperial  Rome. 

On  the  north,  the  farthest  part  of  Central  Asia  known^  to 
the  ancients  was  the  table-land  of  Turan,  which,  sloping 
westward  to  the  Sea  of  Aral,  is  traversed  by  the  Oxus 
(Arnou  or  Jyhuii)  and  the  Jaxailes  {Syr-derict).  Their  upper 
streams  watered  the  fertile  districts  of  Bactriana  and  Sogdi- 
ana,  which  formed  the  outposts  of  civilization,  both  under  the 
Persians  and  the  successors  of  Alexander;  and  through  their 
passes  commercial  routes  w^ere  established  with  China. 

§  7.  Of  the  several  races  of  mankind  which  peopled  the 
ancient  world — their  first  movements  from  their  primitive 
seats  ;  their  successive  displacements  by  concpiest  or  volunta- 


22  THE  NATIONS  AND  THEIR  ABODES. 

ry  migration ;  and  the  positions  they  occupied  at  each  period 
—our  information  depends  diiefly  upon  the  science  of  ethnol- 
ogy, and  still  more  on  the  comparison  of  languages,  aided 
by  tradition.  But  of  the  first  steps  in  these  movements  we 
have  one  trustworthy  record,  clear  in  many  points,  tlu)ugh 
difficult  in  some,  which  is  more  and  more  confirmed  by  every 
conclusion  to  which  science  comes. 

The  Book  of  Genesis  affirms  the  unity  of  the  human  race, 
while  it  distinguishes  the  three  families  which  sprang  from 
the  three  sons  of  Noah ;  and  describes  their  first  diffusion 
from  tlieir  primeval  centre.'  That  ancient  record  distinguish- 
es the  four  principles  of  classification,  which,  to  this  day, 
are  constantly  confounded.  The  component  members  of  the 
three  races  are  described  "  after  their  families,  after  their 
tongues,  in  their  lands,  2indi  in  their  nations:''  and  all  sound 
research  must  still  have  regard  to  race  and  language,  geo- 
graphical position  and  political  nationality  f  though  each  of 
these  elements  is  more  or  less  mixed  up  with  the  othei^s. 
Nor  must  we  forget  the  complex  nature  of  the  inquiry.  We 
have  to  seek,  not  for  any  single  movement  from  a  common 
centre, nor  even  for  successive  impulses  at  intervals  of  time; 
but  we  must  allow  for  the  frequent  flux  and  reflux  of  the 
tides  of  population. 

§  8.  The  most  obvious  test  of  race  is  physiological  forma- 
tion, as  seen  in  the  stature  and  proportions  of  the  body,  the 
complexion  of  the  skin,  the  color  and  set  of  the  hair,  and, 
above  all,  the  size  and  shape  of  the  skull.  Four  races  are 
thus  distinguished — the  White,  or  Caucasian  f  the  Yelloio, 
or  .Mongolian;  the  Black,  Negro,  ox  Nigritian ;  and  the 
Red,  or  American.  The  first  was  the  sole  possessor  of  an- 
cient civilization;  the  second  appears  only  occasionally  on 
the  scene  of  ancient  history,  when  its  nomad  hordes  come 
down  from  their  homes  in  the  plateaux  of  Central  Asin,  over 
which  they  have  always  wandered  ;  the  third  is  only  repre- 
sented by  the  slaves  depicted  on  Egyptian  monuments  ;  the 
fourth  does  not  yet  appear  at  all.  The  three  last  are  ex- 
cluded from  the  families  enumerated  in  Genesis  x. ;  not  as 
negativing  their  descent  from  Noah,  but  because  they  lay 
beyond  the  geographical  range  embraced  by  the  writer. 

§  9.  That ''range  is  limited  to  the  2^rimarij  settlements  of 
the  Caucasian  race.     It  seems  to  lie  entirely  within  the  20th 

^  Gcucsis  X. 

6  The  teudency  of  our  own  n^e  to  coufouucl  the  first  and  last  of  these  elements 
leads  to  remarkable  complications. 

6  This  name  does  not  prejiid-^e  the  question  of  the  primitive  abode  of  the  race: 
but  it  is  given  because  the  most  perfect  physical  types  are  regularly  found  amoug 
the  natives  of  the  Caucasiiiu  i>iliiiuis. 


RACE!--  OF  MANKIND.  23 

and  60th  nieridians  of  east  longitude,  and  the  10th  and  50th 
parallels  of  north  latitude  ;  extending  from  the  peninsula 
of  Greece  to  the  table-land  of  Iran,  and  from  the  northern 
shores  of  the  Black  Sea  to  the  mouth  of  the  Red  Sea.  With- 
out discussing  the  several  names  in  detail,  we  may  be  tolera- 
bly sure  of  these  general  results. 

I  10. — I.  The  ilcmiite  Bace,  which  seems  first  to  have  left 
the  common  home,  is  located  in  Africa  and  South  Arabia,  in 
four  branches:  1.  The  CushitesAu  Ethiopia  and  the  South 
part  of  Arabia,  separated  only  by.  the  Straits  of  Bab-el-Man- 
deb.  2.  The  Egyptians,  under  their  liistoric  name  of  3Iiz- 
raim;  with  the  kindred  Philistines  on  the  one  side,  and 
(probably)  North  African  tribes  on  the  other.  3.  The  Liby- 
ans (probably),  designated  by  the  name  oi  P/uit.  4.  The  Ca- . 
naanites,  Avhose  tribes  are  particularly  enimierated.  The 
mention  of  Sidon  among  these  indicates  that  the  first  set- 
tlers in  Phoenicia  were  Hamite;  though  the  Phoenicians  of 
histoi-y  were  undoubtedly  Semitic.  The  like  displacement 
clearly  happened  in  Al^.bia,  where  the  same  names  {Havilah 
and  Sheba)  occur  among  the  sons  of  Cush,  and  again  among 
those  of  the  Shemite  Joktan. 

Besides  these  nations,  the  record  mentions  a  personal  name 
among  the  sons  of  Cush,  JVimrod,  the  founder  of  a  kingdom, 
with  four  cities,  in  the  plain  of  Babylonia  f  and  there  are  later 
traces  of  Cushites  in  the  East.  They  seem,  in  fact,  to  have 
spread  over  India  and  the  islands  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago. 

In  all  the  countries  of  their  abode,  the  Hamite  race  seem 
to  have  been  the  pioneers  of  m.aterial  civilization,  and  the 
founders  of  states  based  on  mere  force.  Their  enduring  mon- 
uments are  gigantic  buildings,  the  sculptures  upon  whicli 
attest  the  grossness  of  their  worship  of  nature.  Everywhere 
except  in  Egypt  (and  there  also  at  last)  they  gave  way  be- 
fore the  races  of  Shem  and  Japheth,  fulfilling  Xoah's  pro- 
Shetic  curse,  that  Ham  should  be  the  servant  of  his  brethren, 
laterial  grandeur  yielded  to  spiritual  poAver  and  the  active 
energy  of  political  life, 

§  11. — II.  The  Japhetliite  Eace  extends  from  the  Cauca- 
sian region  to  the  south-east  over  the  table-land  of  Iran  ;  to 
the  west  over  the  peninsula  of  Asia  Minor  and  the  neighbor- 
ing islands,  as  far  as  Greece  (the  "  Isles  of  the  Gentiles  ")  ; 
and  to  the  north-west  all  round  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea. 
That  the  tribes  enumerated  in  the  record  were  the  parents 
of  those  which  overspread  all  Europe  on  the  one  hand,  and 
became  masters  of  Northern  India  on  the  other,  admits  of  no 
reasonable  doubt. 

7  See  below,  Book  II.,  chap.  x. 


24  THE  XATIONP  AND  THEIR  ABODES. 

§  12. — ITT.  Between  the  other  two,  the  Shemite  Race  re^ 
luained  nearer  its  primeval  seats,  as  the  destined  guardian 
of  the  primeval  religion  and  traditions.  Its  nucleus  in  Ar- 
menia (probal)ly  rejji-esented  by  the  name  Arphaj'ad)  forms 
the  apex  of  a  triangle,  resting  on  the  Arabian  peninsula  ; 
along  the  east  side  of  which  we  have  the  Assyrians  {AssMir) 
and  Elymaeans  (Elam)^  the  latter  of  whom  gave  way  to  the 
Japhethite  Persians  ;  and  on  its  west  side  the  Aramaean  race 
(Aram,  denoting  Jiigliland)  of  Northern  Mesopotamia  arid 
Syria,  Avhose  Hebrew  descendants  (Eber)  afterw'ards  possess- 
ed the  land  of  Canaan.  The  middle  space  of  the  Syrian 
Desert  and  the  whole  j^eninsula  of  Arabia  is  the  seat  of  the 
Arab  tribes  denoted  by  Joktan,  the  son  of  Eber,  with  whom 
were  afterwards  mingled  other  Semitic  descendants  of  Abra- 
ham. 

§  13.  These  general  results  are  in  striking  agreement  with 
the  conclusions  derived  from  the  science  of  (Urmparative 
Jjcmguage,  which  is  now  universally  regarded  as  the  best 
test  of  national  affinity.  As  thought  is  the  most  characteris- 
tic function  of  man,  so  language,  the  organ  of  thought,  is  his 
most  characteristic  and  permanent  possession — permanent 
in  its  modifications  as  well  as  in  its  substance.  Some  cau- 
tion is,  indeed,  necessary  in  applying  the  principle.  That 
language  is  not  always,  and  of  itself  alone,  a  sufficient  test 
of  race,  we  see  in  the  English-speaking  Celts  of  our  own  isl- 
ands, whose  native  dialects  are  only  partially  retained,  and 
still  more  in  the  nations  of  South-western  Europe,  absurdly 
called  "  the  Latin  races,"  because  of  the  language  which 
they  adopted  from  their  Roman  conquerors.  Such  acquired 
languages  may  generally,  but  not  always,  be  distinguished 
by  direct  sources  of  historical  information. 

§  14.  Languages  are  divided,  according  to  their  form,  into 
the  three  classes  of  isolating,  agglutinative,  and  infiecting. 
Those  of  the  first  class  consist  of  monosyllabic  roots,  entire- 
ly destitute  of  composition  and  grammatical  intiection.  \\\ 
the  second,  grammatical  changes  are  denoted  by  the  mere 
juxtaposition  of  difierent  roots.  In  the  third,  the  prefixes 
and  terminations  which  modify  the  meaning  and  relations  of 
the  principal  root  are  welded  with  it  into  one  word,  having 
lost  their  radical  character.  But  we  can  not  regard  these 
difierent  forms  of  speech  as  tests  of  difierent  races :  they 
seem  rather  to  be  stages  through  which  all  languages  have 
passed.  They  run  into  each  other  by  imperceptible  grada- 
tions ;  from  which  we  may  safely  conclude  that  every  inflect- 
ing language  must  once  have  been  agglutinative,  and  every 
agglutinative  language  once  isolating.     The  great  type  of  an 


THE  SEMITIC  TAMILY,  25 

isolating  language  is  the  Chinese.  The  agglutinative  dia- 
lects are  spoken  chiefly  by  tlie  nomad  tribes  of  Asia  and 
Northern  Europe,  and  by  some  of  those  of  Southern  India, 
the  Malay  peninsula,  and  the  Indian  and  Paciflc  archipela- 
gos. Modern  ethnologists  regard  them  as  characteristic  of 
what  they  call  the  Turanian  family.  As  this  family  lies  al- 
most entirely  without  the  range  of  ancient  history,  we  are 
under  no  necessity  Xq  discuss  the  questions  involved  in  this 
attempted  classification. 

§  15.  The  inflectional  languages  are  divided  into  two  fam- 
ilies, distinguished  with  great  clearness,  and  comprehending 
those  of  all  the  nations  with  Avhose  history  we  are  now  con- 
cerned. With  suflicient  resemblance  in  some  of  their  most 
important  roots  to  justify  belief  in  their  ultimate  common 
origin,  these  two  families  exhibit  the  most  striking  diversi- 
ties from  one  another  and  resemblances  among  their  respect- 
ive members.  These  diversities  and  resemblances  are  seen, 
not  only  in  the  roots,  but  chiefly  in  the  grammatical  inflec- 
tions— elements  necessarily  developed  by  processes  of  change 
Avhich  make  accidental  coincidences  on  a  large  scale  impossi- 
ble^ The  two  families  are  known  by  the  Y\2i\nQ?>  of  Indo-Eu- 
ropean and  Semitic. 

§  16. — I.  ThQ  Indo-European  or  Indo-G€r?na?nc]angnages 
are  so  named  from  the  two  extremities  of  the  chain  in  which 
they  stretch  from  south-east  to  north-west  across  Asia  and 
Europe.  They  are  sometimes  also  called  Argan,  from  the 
races  which  peopled  Eastern  Persia  and  E^orthern  India. 
The  sacred  language  of  India,  the  /Sans/crit,  stands  first  in 
the  series.  The  latter  is  also,  organically,  the  most  complete 
in  its  forms  ;  but  it  is  too  much  to  aflirm  that  it  is  always 
the  nearest  to  the  common  parent  tongue,  to  which  all  tlie 
languages  of  the  family  point  back.  Next  come  the  ancient 
and  modern  languages  of  Persia  and  the  other  countries  on 
the  table-land  of  Iran  :  then  those  of  Armenia  and  the  Cau- 
casian isthmus ;  wlience  the  family  spreads  out  over  all  Eu- 
rope, to  the  shores  of  the  North  Sea  and  the  Atlantic* 

§  17. — II.  The.  Semitic  languages  are  so  called,  not  as  im- 
plying necessarily  the  common  descent  of  the  nations  speak- 
ing them  from  Shem — for  the  linguistic  classification  is  in- 
dependent of,  though  co-ordinate  with,  the  classification  by 
race — bat  because  the  most  conspicuous  members  of  the 
family  are  those  whose  Shemite  descent  is  aflirmed  in  Scrip' 
ture  :  the  Hebrews  and  Arabs,  Syrians  and  Assyrians.  These 
nations  occupied,  and  for  the  most  |)art  still  occupy,  tlie 
south-west  corner  of  Asia,  to  the  left  of  the  Indo-Germanic 

8  See  Notes  and  Illustrations— (A.)  "Tabic  of  tli«  liiuo-Ei;rc})ean  Langdages." 

2 


26  THE  NATIONS  AND  THEIR  ABODES. 

zone  ;  pent  in  between  the  highlands  of  Armenia  and  Iran 
on  the  east,  the  Mediterranean  and  Red  Sea  on  tlie  west,  and 
the  Gulf  of  Arabia  on  the  south. 

But  some  languages  are  included  in  the  flimily  which  have 
by  no  means  the  same  marked  affinity  with  the  rest  as  that 
which  unites  the  Indo-European  tongues.  Some  authori- 
ties, guided  by  theories  respecting  the  early  relations  of  the 
Shemite  and  Hamite  races,  consider  t>he  Semitic  family  as 
originally  Hamitic.  But,  as  yet,  comparative  philology  has 
not  succeeded  in  establishing  a  distinct  family  of  languages 
corresponding  to  the  Hamitic  race ;  and  the  languages  of 
the  latter  are  meanwhile  classed  as  Sub-Semitic.  Hence,  we 
have  the  division  into  (1)  Semitic  Proper^  including  Ara- 
maean, Hebrew,  Arabic,  and  Ethiopic ;  and  (2)  the  Sub-Se- 
7nitic,  including  the  Egyptian  or  Coptic,  and  perhaps  the 
languages  of  the  ancient  Libyans,  still  preserved  by  the  Ka- 
byles  and  Touargs  of  North  Africa,  and  by  some  tribes  of  the 
Upper  Nile.®  The  affinities  of  the  Egyptian  language,  how- 
ever, are  still  an  open  question.  It  has  elements  in  common 
with  tlie  Indo-European  as  well  as  the  Semitic  families,  which 
may  perhaps  aid  in  guiding  us  a  step  nearer  to  the  common 
original  of  human  speech. 

§18.  The  classitication  of  nations  by  their  languages  has 
the  great  advantage  of  enabling  us  to  construct  an  ethnolog- 
ical picture  for  any  pei'iod  at  which  the  languages  are 
known,  and  to  follow  the  migrations  of  the  pGoples  speaking 
the  several  tongues.  Thus,  for  example,  the  common  evi- 
dence of  a  Low  German  tongue  enables  us  to  trace  back  our 
own  ancestors  to  their  homes  on  the  other  side  of  the  Ger- 
man Ocean.  Language  is  a  living  fact,  while  the  recorded 
or  traditional  history  of  the  movements  of  races  are  in  many 
points  most  doubtful. 

Still,  wdiat  has  now  been  said  will  show  the  striking  gen- 
eral agreement  of  the  record  in  Genesis  with  the  results  of 
comparative  philology.  The  IiKlo-European  family  corre- 
sponds to  the  Japhethite  races,  not  only  as  far  as  the  range 
included  in  the  biblical  record,  but  the  extensions  of  the  for- 
mer are  what  might  be  expected  from  the  lattei*.  The  range 
of  the  Semitic  family  proper  is  pi'ecisely  that  assigned  to 
the  Shemite  races,  with  the  addition  of  Ethiopia,  where,  as  in 
neighboring  parts  of  Arabia,  they  displaced  the  Cushites ; 
while  the  more  complicated  i-elations  of  the  sub-Semitic  lan- 
guages are  what  we  might  have  expected  from  the  move- 
ments of  the  Hamites  and  Shemites.  The  whole  result  is 
to  divide  the  nations  of  the  ancient  world   into   two  great 

»  See  Notes  and  Illustrations— (B.)  "Table  of  Semitic  Languages." 


EASTERN  AND  WESTERN  NATIONS.  27 

groups,  of  which  the  one  expanded,  and  made  more  free  and 
powerful,  the  civilization  begun  by  the  other.  The  very 
Eames  of  Shem  {exaltation)  and  Japheth  {enlargement)  are 
symbolical  of  those  destinies  of  the  races  which,  were  foretold 
in  Noah's  prophecy: — "God  shall  enlarge  Japheth,  and  he 
shall  dwell  in  the  tabernacles  (inherit  the  power  and  high 
privileges)  of  Shem." 

§  19.  The  course  of  history  establishes  another  broad  di- 
vision of  the  ancient  nations  into  the  Eastern  and  the  West- 
ern. The  latter  represents  the  free  energy  of  the  Indo-Eu- 
ropean races ;  the  former,  not  uninfluenced  by  the  same  ele- 
ment, as  contributed  by  the  Aryan  stock,  absorbed  it  into 
its  own  mass  of  immobility  and  desi)otism.  Thus  the  Me- 
dian and  Persian  conquerors  of  the  Babylonian  Empire,  and 
long  afterwards  the  Greek  rulers  of  Egypt  and  Syria,  con- 
formed to  the  Oriental  type.  The  causes  of  this  were  both 
physical  and  moral.     In  those  early  ages,  when  men  saAV  that 

"The  wo'.-kl  was  all  before  them,  where  to  choose,' 

the  virgin  basins  of  great  rivers  like  the  Euj^hrates  and  the 
Nile,  teeming  beneath  a,  sub-tropical  sun,  became  the  first 
seats  of  civilization.  An  agricultural  population,  wedded  to 
the  soil,  easily  submitted  to  the  royal  claims  which  were  the 
exaggeration  of  patriarchal  power,  and  consoled  themselves 
by  admiring  the  pomp  and  luxur}^  of  their  kings.  The  prin- 
ciple of  obedience  to  authority,  which  preserved  the  true  re- 
ligion among  the  chosen  people  of  God,  was  elsewhere  de- 
based into  a  religious  reverence  for  despots.  The  same 
causes,  which  at  first  stimulated  civilization,  gave  it  a  fixed 
and  immobile  character.  The  vast  river  basins,  with  only  a 
narrow  opening  to  the  sea,  were  excluded  from  the  vivify- 
ing influences  v,hich  were  ever  moving  on  the  indented 
shores  of  the  ^Mediterranean,  and  on  the  varied  surface  of  its 
great  peninsulas ;  and  the  climate  of  the  East  admitted  not 
the  free  life  of  European  energy. 

§  20.  From  these  causes,  quite  as  mucli  as  from  difference 
of  race,  springs  that  lireat  distinction  which  marks  the  two 
different  streams,  and  the  two  antagonistic  principles,  of  an- 
cient history ;  the  eastern  and  the  western  ;  the  civilization 
of  the  Kile  and  the  Euphrates  with  the  fixed  principles  of 
their  great  monarchies,  and  the  higher  civilization  and  no- 
bler political,  literary,  and  artistic  life  which  grew  up  on  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  was  destined  to  cover  the 
whole  Yv  orld.  Our  early  study  of,  and  sympathy  with  the  lat- 
ter, is,  however,  left  imperfect,  unless  we  are  familiar  with 
what  the   forniei"  did  to  prepare  its  way^  so   as  to  under- 


28 


THE  NATIONS  AND  THEIR  ABODES. 


stand  the  full  significance  of  the  ultimate  tiiunq»]i  of  the 
West. 

The  permanent  character  of  Asiatic  civilization  enables  us 
still  to  study  its  principles  in  their  ancient  abodes ;  and 
though  the  old  Asiatic  empires  have  long  since  vanished  be- 
fore the  energy  of  conquering  races,  dissolving  as  easily  as 
they  were  formed,  leaving  but  fragmentary  notices  in  an- 
cient literature,  the  time  has  come  when  the  newly  decipher- 
ed records  of  Egypt  and  Assyria  supply  materials  for  the 
authentic  ancient  history  of  the  East. 


NOTES  AND  II.LUSTRATIOaS. 
(A).  Table  or  the  Indo-European  Family  or  Languages 

Classes. 


Branches 


Indic 


Iranic  . 


Celtic. 


Jllyric. 


Dead  Languages.  Living  Languages, 

Dialects  of: 
(Prakrit    and   Pali,   Modern)     India. 

(      and  Vedic  Sanskrit )"     The  gypsies. 

Parsi,  Pehievi,  Zend Persia. 

Afghanistan. 

Kurdistan. 

^  Bokhara. 

I  Old  Armenian vVrnicnia. 

I  Ossethi. 

( Wales. 

fCymric -  Brittany. 

\  (Cornish 

"^1  ^ Scotland. 

I^Gadhelic -  Ireland. 

( Isle  of  Man. 

r Portugal. 

I  Oscan      )   Spain. 

, ^  Unibrian  -  Langne  d'oc Provence. 

Latin        )  Langue  d'oil France. 

t Italv. 

(Wa'ilachia. 

° (The  Grisons. 

(Albania. 

"(Greece. 

Lithuania. 


HiiLLENic Dialects  of  Greek. 


Lettic. 


Old  Prussian. 


L^ 


(Friesland  and 
-  Livonia  (Let- 
(    tish). 


WiNDIC...  i 


u      .c^^      ( Ecclesiastical  Slavonic Bulgaria. 

Southeast  Sla-  ^  Russia 

^■o"i^ (;;;;" ■■'".".' '.'..'. .'.'.'.".".".".".".".".' '.'''.Z  my ria.' 

^\. Poland. 

.  Old  Bohemian Bohemia. 

"'^' (Polabian .^...^.... .  Lusatia. 


West     Slavo- 


»o  From  Professor  Max-Miiller's  '•  Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Language,"  p.  380. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


29 


ClasscE 


I 
Tkutonic.  <( 


Branches.  Dead  Lauguages.  Living  Languages. 

Dialects  of: 
TT-  1    r.  ^Old  High  German   and)     ^,    _„„„ 

High  German.  .^     Middle  High  German.  /    ^^^"7- 

f  Gothic 

!  Anglo-Saxon England. 

Low  German..  {  Old  Dutch , Holland. 

I  Old  Friesian Eriesland. 

l^Old  Saxon North  Germany 

(Piatt  Deutsch). 
fDenmark. 

Scandinavian. .     Old  Norse <  Norway*. 

I^Iceland. 


(B).  Table  of  the  Semitic  Family  of  Laxguages. 

Classes.                                     Dead  Languages.  Living  Languages. 

Arabic     ( Dialects  of  Arabic. 

or         -  Ethiopic Amharic. 

Southern.   <  Ilimvaritic  Inscriptions 

r Biblical  Hebrew , 1  Dialects     of    th« 

Hebraic    j                                                                             '^  je^,, 

Af'ni        I  Samaritan  Pentateuch,  3d  centnn-  a.d ' 

Miciciie.     |^c;.^rthaginian,  Phoenician  Inscriptions 

f  Chaldee,  Masora,  Talmud,  Targum,  Bibli- 

Aramaic   i      cal  Chaldee I  

or        ^  Svilac,  Peshito,  2d  century  a. D }  Neo-Syriac. 

Noilherii.  j  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Babylon  and  Nin-  I 

L     even j  


The  Nile  during  the  luundatioH. 

BOOK  I. 
EGYPT   AND   ETHIOPIA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  COUNTRY,  THE  KIVER,  AND  THE  PEOPLE. 

§  1.  The  Egyptians  were  the  first  civilized  state.  §  2.  Egypt  formed  by  the  valley 
of  the  Nile.  I;s  boundaries.  §  3.  Description  of  the  Nile.  The  Blue  and  White 
Rivers.  Sources  of  the  Nile.  §  4.  Course  of  the  Nile  :  (i.)  to  its  junction  Avith  the 
Tacazze.  The  Island  of  Meroii.  §  5.  (ii.)  Through  Nubia  to  Syene.  The  Cata- 
racts. Islands  of  Philai  and  Elephantine.  Legend  related  by  Herodotus.  Prox- 
imity to  the  tropic.  §  (3.  (iii.)  To  the  apex  of  the  Delta.  The  Fijinn.  The  Pyra- 
mids. §  7.  (iv.)  The  Delta.  Distinction  of  Lower  and  Upper  Egypt.  Mouths  of 
the  Nile  in  ancient  and  modern  times.  Lakes  and  Canals.  Extent  of  the  Delta. 
Its  formatioi].  §  8.  Annual  inundation  of  the  Nile.  Its  regularity  and  benefi- 
cial eff"ect.  Its  cause  and  season.  Fertility  of  Egypt.  §  0.  Causes  of  the  early 
prosperity  of  Egypt,  (i.)  Its  inaccessibility  to  foreign  invasion.  {  10.  (ii.)  Its 
abundant  supply  of  food.  §  11.  (iii.)  Means  of  communication  aff"orded  by  the 
Nile.  §  12.  The  Nile  a  stimulus  to  mental  eft'ort  and  the  cultivation  of  the  sci- 
ences. Astronomy,  Geometry,  Engineering.  §  13.  Influence  of  the  Nile  upon  the 
ideas  and  religion  of  the  Egyptians.  The  Nile  and  the  Desert:  Life  and  Death: 
Osiris  and  T5'phon.  Burial  of  the  Dead.  Belief  in  a  future  state.  §  14.  The  geo- 
logical formation  of  Egypt  supplied  abundant  materials  for  the  Avorknian.  Lime- 
stone, granite,  marble,  porphyry,  basalt,  etc.  Iron  and  other  mines  in  Sinai  work- 
ed by  the  early  Kings.  §  15.  Origin  of  the  Egyptians.  Hypotheses  of  their  Ethi- 
opian and  Indian  origin  untenable.  §  IG.  Physiological  evidence.  The  Egyptian 
mummies  and  portraits  show  an  Asiatic  type.  §  IT.  The  Egyptian  language  is 
intermediate  between  the  Asiatic  and  \frican  dialects.  §18.  Names  of  Egypt: 
native:  Hebrew  and  Arabic:  and  Greek. 

§  1,  In  the  earliest  dawn  of  history  the  Egyptians  appear 
as  a  highly  civilized  nnd  powerful  people.     Many  centuries 


INFLUEXCE  OF  RIVERS.  31 

before  any  empire  had  been  established  on  the  banks  of  the 
Euphrates  and  the  Tis^ris,  and  while  the  Hebrew  patriarchs 
were  wandering  with  their  flocks  and  lierds  on  the  plains  of 
Mesopotamia/  the  valley  of  the  Nile  was  lioverned  by  a 
great  aiid  mighty  sovereign,  ^vhose  country  was  the  grana- 
ry of,  the  surrounding  nations,"  and  whose  i)eople  cultivated 
the  arts  which  reiine  and  embellish  life.  But  even  then  the 
pyramids  were  old,  and  the  tombs  at  their  base  reveal  a  high 
degree  of  civilization.  The  inquisitive  Greeks,  who  visited 
Egypt  in  the  fourth  and  lifth  centuries  before  the  Christian 
era,  gazed  with  wonder  upon  the  stupendous  momiments 
which  w^e  still  behold,  and  were  powerfully  impressed  with 
the  immemorial  antiquity  of  the  people.^  In  short,  there 
can  be  no  doubt,  from  the  concurrent  testimony  of  Hebrew 
and  Greek  literature,  and  from  the  evidence  aflbrded  by  the 
monuments  of  the  country,  that  the  Egyptians  formed  a 
great  and  civilized  community  long  anterior  to  any  other 
people,  and  consequently  that  they  deserve  the  earliest  place 
in  the  history  of  the  ancient  world. 

§  2.  The  history  of  all  nations  has  been  influenced  by 
their  rivers;  and  the  course  of  civilization  has  usually  fol- 
lowed^ whether  u])ward  or  downvvavd,  the  course  of  the 
streams.  But  the  influence  exercised  by  the  Euphrates,  the 
Tigris,  and  the  Ganges,  upon  the  inliabitants  of  their  plains, 
has  been  small  compared  with  the  influence  of  the  Xile  upon 
the  people  of  its  valley.  To  the  Nile  the  Egyptians  owed, 
not  only  their  civilization  and  their  peculiar  institutions,  but 
the  very  existence  of  their  country.  Egypt  has  been  em- 
phatically called  "  the  gift  of  the  Nile,"*  without  whose  fer- 
tilizing waters  it  would  have  been  only  a  rocky  desert.  It 
is  a  long  narrow  valley,  shut  in  by  two  ranges  of  mountains, 
through  which  flows  the  deep  and  mighty  river,  leaving  on 
either  side  a  slip  of  fertile  land  created  by  the  deposits  of  its 
inundation.  Tlie  average  breadth  of  this  valley  is  about 
seven  miles  ;  but  the  mountain-ranges  sometimes  approach 
so  near  as  almost  to  touch  the  river,  and  in  no  place  are 
they  more  than  eleven  miles  apart. 

The  boundaries  of  Egypt  are  marked  by  nature,  and  have 
been  in  all  ages  the  same.  On  the  east  and  west  the  Ara- 
bian and  Libyan  hills  accompany  the  Nile,  till  tlie  valley  ex- 
pands into  the  broad  plain  of  the  Delta  upon  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea,  where  the  Arabian  Desert  se})arates  it  from  Pal- 

1  The  history  of  the  wars  of  the  petty  princes  of  Metsopolamia,  recorded  in  Genesis 
xiv.,  proves  that  no  powerful  ki:iydom  existed  in  that  country  in  the  time  of  Abra- 
ham. 2  Genesis  xiii.  10  ;  xlii.  1. 

*  See  especially  the  s'.rikiny;  w.irds  <.)'.'  Philo,  •'  Dc  Leg.,"  ii.  H,  p.  050. 

*  Herod,  ii.  5. 


32  EGYPT  AND  ETHIOPIA. 

estine  upon  the  east,  and  tlie  Libyan  Desert  forms  its  west- 
ern boundary.  On  the  south,  Egypt  Avas  divided  from  Ethi- 
opia by  the  rapids  (or  "first  cataract")  between  the  islands 
of  Elej^hantine  and  Philae.  An  ancient  oracle  of  Amnion  de- 
fined the  Egyptians  to  be  the  people  who  dwelt  below  the 
cataracts,  and  drank  of  the  waters  of  the  Xile/  Under  the 
Romans  these  rapids  were  the  southern  boundary,  not  only 
of  Egypt,  but  of  their  own  empire  f  and  at  the  present  day 
they  separate  the  Egyptians  and  the  Arabic  language,  to  the 
north,  from  ^^e  Nubians  and  the  Berber  language  to  the 
soutli/-  But  the  Egjqjtian  monarchy,  in  its  j^almy  days,  ex- 
tended far  beyond  the  First  Cataract.  The  course  of  civili- 
zation and  empire  has  always  followed  the  course  of  the 
Nile,  either  upward  or  downward  ;  and  this  mysterious  riv- 
er is  so  closely  interwoven  with  the  history  and  institutions 
of  the  Egyptians,  that  a  biief  description  of  its  course  and  its 
physical  phenomena  is  an  essential  preliminary  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  country, 

§  3.  The  Nile*  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  rivers, 
which  meet  in  the  latitude  of  15°  37'  north  and  longitude 
33°  east  of  Greenwich,  near  the  modern  village  of  Khar- 
tum^ where  it  is  above  two  miles  broad.  From  the  color  of 
their  waters  these  streams  have  received  the  names  of  the 
White  and  the  Blue  I'ivers.  The  White  River  flows  from 
the  south-west,  and  brings  down  the  larger  volume  of  wa- 
ter; the  Blue  River  comes  from  the  south-east,  and  is  much 
the  more  rai)id.  The  latter,  and  the  Black  Biver,  Atharah^ 
or  Tacuzz'e  (tlie  ancient  Astaboras),  which  joins  the  Nile 
from  the  east,  both  flow  down  from  the  highlands  of  Abys- 
sinia with  a  moderate  volume,  except  at  tlie  season  of  the 
summer  rains,  when  their  swollen  and  turbid  waters  wash 
down  the  earthy  matters  from  which  they  derive  their  color 
and  their  najues.  The  clear  perennial  stream  of  the  White 
River  has  always  been  recognized  as  the  true  Nile;  and  its 
sources  have  been  from  the  remotest  times  a  mystery,  and 
have  given  rise  to  various  conjectures."  Herodotus  sup- 
posed that  the  river,  which  the  Nasamones,  after  crossing 
the  Great  Desert,  found  flowing  eastward,  was   really   the 

5  Herod,  ii.  IS.  «  Tac.  "Ann.,"  ii.  Gl. 

''  Parthey,  "  De  Philis  Iiisuln,"  Berlin,  1S30. 

8  The  name  of  the  V?7e  (NeLXos,  XiUis)  comes  to  us  from  the  Greeks,  who  probably 
derived  it  from  the  Phoeniciaus.  By  Homer  the  river  is  called  u¥^guptuH  (Od.  iii.  300, 
iv.  477) ;  but  in  Hesiod  {Tlmxj.  S3S)  the  name  of  'Sile  appears,  and  this  designation  is 
nniformly  nsed  by  succeeding  Greek  writers.  In  hieroglyphic  inscriptions  the  Nile 
is  termed  Hainmu,  or  "the  abyss  of  waters,"  ;ijid  in  Coptic  Pero,o\:  '-The  River." 
The  Hebrewo  entitled  it  Nahal-Misraim ,  or  "River  of  Egji^t"  (Genesis  xv.  18),  and 
sometime-  Sihor,  or  "  The  Black  "  (Isaiah  xxiii.  3  ;  Jerem.  ii.  IS). 

^  The  sources  of  the  Blue  River  were  discovered  by  the  traveller  Bruce  (a.d.  1770) : 
but  they  had  been  visited  before  by  the  Jesuit  missionary  Pai-z. 


COURSE  OF  THE  NILE  THROUGH  EGYPT.  33 

Nile.'"  Under  the  Roman  empire,  it  was  believed  by  many 
tliat  the  Xile  rose  in  3Iauretania,  and,  after  flowing  throuuh 
the  centre  of  Africa  as  the  Xiger,  at  last  entered  Ethiopia 
as  the  Xile/'  Ptolemy,  with  that  wonderful  amount  of  in- 
formation which  he  derived  from  adventurous  traders,  for 
later  ages  to  lose  and  rediscover,  marks  the  Xile  as  rising 
from  some  lakes  or  swamps,  the  "  Paludes  Xili,"  south  of 
the  Equator,  which  are  in  their  turn  fed  by  streams  floAving 
from  a  range  Avhich  he  calls  the  "  Mountains  of  the  Moon,'' 
His  views  had  been  discredited  for  centuries,  when  the  dis- 
coveries of  Speke  and  Grant  (in  1862),  and  Baker  (in  1864), 
proved  that  the  Xile  issues,  in  lat.  2°  45'  north  and  long. 
31°  25'  east  from  the  reservoir  of  the  lake  Albert  J^yanza^ 
which  receives,  near  the  outlet  of  the  river,  a  secondary 
stream  from  the  lake  Victoria  N^yanza;  these  two  lakes 
covering  a  vast  space  under  and  on  both  sides  of  the  Equa- 
tor.'^ Still,  in  strict  geographical  science,  the  problem  is 
not  Anally  solved,  till  the  sources  which  feed  these  lakes,  and 
especially  the  Albert  Xyanza,  shall  have  been  discovered. 

§  4.  From  the  Albert  X^yanza  the  Xile  flows  to  the  north 
and  north-east,  increased  by  numerous  tributaries,  for  about 
1000  miles,  to  its  junction  with  the  Blue  River  at  Khartum, 
and  thence  170  miles  farther,  till,  in  lat.  17°  40'  north  and 
long.  34°  east,  it  receives  the  Black  River,  its  last  confluent. 
The  vast  plain  inclosed  between  these  two  chief  tributaries 
was  called  the  island  of  Meroe,'^  and  was  the  seat  of  the 
great  sacerdotal  kingdom  of  Ethiopia,  connected  by  kindred 
and  customs  with  Egypt,  over  which  it  once  ruled  for  £i  time. 
In  this  part  of  its  course  the  river  flows  by  ruined  temples 
and  pyramids,  which  clearly  indicate  the  connection. 

§  5.  From  the  Astaboras  to  Syene,  a  distance  of  about  700 
miles  through  Xubia,the  navigation  of  the  X^ile  is  interrupt- 
ed by  various  rapids,  or,  as  the  Greeks  called  them,  cata- 
racts. They  are  seven  in  number,  and  aie  formed  by  shelves 
of  granite  lying  across  the  bed  of  the  river.  For  a  long  dis- 
tance tlie  Xile  traverses  almost  a  desert  till  a  little  below 
the  fourth  cataract,'^  where  pyramids  and  temples,  and  oth- 

i«  Hei-ocl.ii.  33. 

11  This  Avas  stated  by  Jnba,  who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Augustus,  ou  the  authoritj 
of  Carthaginian  writers  (Plin.  v.  9,  §  10).     It  is  repeated  by  Dion  Cassiiis  (Ixxv.  13). 

12  The  Victoria  Nyanza  lies  between  lat.  0°  15'  N.  and  2°  30'  S :  the  Albert  Nyanza 
is  reported  by  the  natives  to  be  known  as  far  as  2'  S.,  and  thence  to  trend  away  W. 
to  an  unknown  distance.  It  is  in  this  quarter  that  some  considerable  affluent  may 
Ijcrhaps  be  looked  for. 

15  The  ancient  geographers  frequently  applied  the  name  of  island  to  a  space  in- 
cluded between  two  or  more  confluent  rivers.  The  modern  name  of  Soinaar,  de- 
Vioting  Ihe  country  between  the  White  and  Blue  Rivers,  is  probably  identical  with 
that  o(  Shinar,  in  Mesop  itnmin,  being  both  Semitic  terms  signifying  Tict  Riccrf<. 

'*  The  cataracts  are  numbered  in  the  order  of  the  ascent  of  the  river. 


34  EGYPT  AND  ETHIOPIA. 

or  traces  of  aricient  civilization  again  appear.  Between  tlie 
second,  or  Great  Cataract,  and  the  First  Cataract  at  Syene, 
the  remains  of  ancient  art  are  still  more  numerous ;  but  the 
two  ranges  of  hills  almost  shut  in  the  river,  and  leave  little 
space  for  cultivation. 

'  Immediately  above  the  First  Cataract  lies  the  sacred  island 
of  PhiloB,  the  burial-place  of  the  god  Osiris,  still  covered'with 
numerous  temples  and  colonnades.  The  fails  extend  from 
Philae  to  Syene'"  and  the  island  of  Elephantine,  a  distance 
of  five  miles.  Throughout  this  space  the  river  is  bi-oken  by 
fantastic  masses  of  black  porphyry  and  granite,  which  rise 
to  the  height  of  forty  feet,  and  between  vvhich  the  waters 
force  their  way  in  violent  eddies  and  currents.  According 
to  a  tale  which  Herodotus  heard  from  the  ti-easurer  at  Sals, 
in  Lower  Egypt,  the  Nile  rose  at  this  point  between  two 
peaked  mountains,  called  Crophi  and  Jfo/V/?*,  from  which  it 
ran  down  northward  into  Egypt,  and  southward  into  Ethi- 
opia.'" It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  that  an  inhabitant  of 
Lower  Egypt,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  the  calm  un- 
broken flow  of  his  majestic  river,  would  be  astonished  at  the 
strange  convulsion  of  the  water,  and  would  endeavor  to  ac- 
count for  it  by  supposing  that  the  river  here  burst  forth 
from  unfathomable  caverns.  Marvellous  tales  reached  the 
West  of  the  deafening  sound  with  which  the  water  descend- 
ed from  lofty  precipices  ;''  whereas,  in  reality,  the  entire  de- 
scent is  only  eighty  feet  in  a  space  of  five  miles. 

The  statement  of  the  ancient  geographers,  that  the  sun 
passed  vertically  over  Syene  at  the  summer  solstice — his  im- 
age being  reflected  peri^endicularly  in  a  well,  and  an  upright 
stick  casl;ing  no  shadow,  at  noon — though  not  precisely  ac- 
curate, may  serve  to  remind  us  that  the  southern  limit  of 
Egypt  is  only  just  outside  of  the  tropic  of  Cancer.  The  true 
latitude  of  Syene  is  24°  5'  23",  and  the  least  shadow  of  a  ver- 
tical stick  is  only  4^-o^h  of  its  length. 

§  6.  From  its  entrance  into  Egypt  at  Syene,  the  Nile  flows 
in  one  unbroken  stream  for  upward  of  600  miles,  as  far  as 
the  apex  of  the  Delta.  The  two  chains  of  mountains  which 
inclose  its  valley  press  unequally  upon  its  banks.  The 
w^estern  range  recedes  farther  from  the  river,  and  hence  most 
of  the  Egyptian  cities  were  on  its  western  side.  The  breadth 
of  the  valley  varies  from  ten  miles  at  the  most  to  as  little  as 
two  miles  in  some  parts  of  Upper  Egypt :  the  river  itself  is 
from  2000  to  4000  feet  wide.     For  about  fifty  miles  north  of 

15  Tho  frontier  city  of  Syeue  {Afisouan)  stood  on  the  riyht  bank  of  the  river,  jnst 
opposite  to  Elopliantino.  ^®  Herod,  ii.  28. 

i"?  Cicero,  '-Soinu.  Scip."  5  ;  Seneca,  "Nat.  Qn?est."  iv.  2. 


COURSE  Ott^  THE  NILE  THROUGH  EGYPT.  35 

Syene,  the  valley  is  contracted  and  sterile,  since  the  iniinda- 
t:"on  is  checked  by  the  rocks  Avhicli  approach  the  banks  on 
eitlier  side ;  but  at  Apollinopolis  the  Great  (Etlfou,  in  25° 
north  lat.)  the  valley  begins  to  expand,  and  becomes  still 
wider  at  Latopolis  \Esndi).  Below  this,  it  again  contracts 
so  closely  as  barely  to  leave  space  for  the  passage  of  the 
river;  but  almost  immediately  afterwards  it  opens  out  into 
a  still  Avider  plain,  in  which  stood  the  royal  city  of  Thebes. 
Here  the  western  hills  attain  their  greatest  elevation,  rising 
precipitously  from  the  plain  to  the  height  of  1200  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  ri\  er.  The  plain  of  Tliebes  is  shut  in  on  the 
north  by  another  approach  of  the  lulls  ;  but  they  soon  re- 
cede again,  and  henceforth  the  Nile  fiows  through  a  valley 
of  considerable  width.  Near  Diosjjolis  Parva,  on  the  left 
bank,  begins  the  canal  called  the  Bahr-Yussuf  {C^n^X  of  Jo- 
seph'"), which  is,  however,  more  probably  an  ancient  branch 
of  the  Nile.  It  runs  in  a  direction  nearly  parallel  to  the 
river,  at  a  distance  varying  from  three  to  six  miles. 

About  eighty  miles  before  reaching  Memphis,  the  Libyan 
hills  take  a  wide  sweep  to  the  north-west,  and,  again  ap- 
proaching the  river,  inclose  a  considerable  space,  known  in 
ancient  times  as  the  district  (nome)  of  Arsinoe,  and  now 
called  the  Fyum.  This  district,  which  was  one  of  the  most 
fertile  in  Egypt,  contained  the  Lake  of  Moeris  and  the  Laby- 
rinth. Before  reaching  Memphis,  the  capital  of  Lower  Egypt, 
and  sometimes  of  the'whole  land,  we  see  the  gigantic  Pyra- 
mids standing  upon  a  natural  terrace  of  rock  on  the  borders 
of  the  Libyan  Desert.  Li  that  vast  level,  as  they  grow  and 
grow  upon  the  approaching  traveller,  they  bear  a  nearer 
resemblance  to  artificial  mountains  than  could  have  seemed 
within  t!ie  compass  of  human  art. 

§  7.  X  little  below  Memphis,  the  hills,  which  have  so  long 
accompanied  the  river,  turn  oif  on  either  side,  leaving  a  Hat 
alhnial  plain,  called  from  its  triangular  shape  the  Delta  (A), 
throuo'h  which  the  Nile  finds  its  v/ay  into  the  sea  by  se^-eral 
sluo-glsh  streams.  The  Delta  was  also  called  Lower  Egypt, 
while  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  from  above  the  Delta  to  Syene, 
received  the  name  of  Upper  Egypt.'^  The  apex  of  the  Del- 
ta, or  the  point  where  the  Nile  divides,  was  in  the  time  of 
Herodotus  at  the  city  of  Cercasorus,  about  ten  miles  below 
Memphis;  but  it  is  now^  six  or  seven  miles  lower  down  the 
river. 

The  ancients  reckoned  seven  branches  of  the  Nile,  of  which 

i8  So  naraed,  not  from  the  patriarch,  bnt  from  an  Arab  ruler  who  improved  it. 

•s  The  term  .Mif.dlk  Ecypt  is  of  late  origin.  As  Mr.  Kenrick  truly  observes,  "  the 
distinction  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt  exists  in  geological  structnre,  in  language,  iu 
religion.,  and  in  historical  tradition." 


36  EGYPT  AND  ETHIOPIA. 

five  were  natural  and  two  artificial;  but  the  main  arras  were 
the  Pelusiac^  whicli  formed  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Del- 
ta ;  the  CanopiCj  which  formed  tlie  western  ;  and  the  Seben- 
nytic^  which  continued  in  the  direction  of  the  river  before  its 
division.  The  bifurcation  of  the  Avestern  branch  made  the 
Bolbitlne  mouth,  east  of  the  Canopic  ;  and  three  branches 
from  the  middle  stream  made  the  Phatnitic,  the  Mendeslan^ 
and  the  Tanitic  or  Saltic  mouths,  between  the  Sebemiytic 
and  Pelusiac.  The  navigable  arms  are  now  reduced  to  two, 
that  of  Mosetta^  the  ancient  Bolbitine,  and  that  of  Damiat^ 
the  ancient  Phatnitic  ;  and  a  vast  tract  between  this  and  the 
old  Pelusiac  mouth  is  converted  into  the  lake  of  Menzaleh^ 
whicli  communicates  with  the  sea  by  the  old  Mendesian  and 
Tanitic  mouths.  In  fact,  the  Delta  has  always  been  fringed 
by  lakes ;  such  as  tliat  of  Mareotis  (now  a  mere  lagoon), 
on  tlie  bank  between  which  and  the  sea  Alexandria  was 
built ;  Buto  (Bourlos)^  through  which  the  Sebennytic  mouth 
flowed  ;  and,  half-way  between  Pelusium  and  the  frontier  of 
Palestine,  the  lake  or  morass  of  Serbonis,  celebrated  for  the 
disaster  of  the  army  of  Darius  Ochus  in  b.c.  350  : 

"That  Serbonian  bog, 
Betwixt  Damiafa  and  Mount  Casins  old, 
Where  armies  whole  have  sunk." — Milton. 

Besides  the  moiUhs  of  the  Nile,  the  Delta  was  intersected 
by  numerous  canals,  said  to  have  been  dug  by  the  hosts  of 
prisoners  whom  Sesostris  brought  home  after  his  victorious 
expeditions.^''  Of  the  canal  designed  to  unite  the  Mediterra- 
nean and  the  Eed  Sea  we  shall  have  to  speak  in  anothei-  place. 

The  alluvial  plain  of  the  Delta  forms  a  vast  expanse  un- 
broken by  a  single  elevation,  except  where  mounds  of  earth 
mark  the  site  orruined  cities,  or  raise  the  towns  and  villages 
above  the  inundation.  Its  length  in  a  straight  line,  from 
north  to  south, is  nearly  100  miles;  the  breadth  of  its  base, 
following  the  line  of  the  coast  from  the  Canopic  to  the 
Pelusiac  mouth,  is  more  than  200  miles;  but  the  name  of 
Delta  is  now  applied  only  to  the  space  between  the  Rosetta 
and  Damiat  branches,  which  is  about  90  miles  in  extent. 

Geological  science  shows  that  the  Delta  was  oncp  a  deep 
bay  and  the  valley  of  Upper  Egypt  an  arm  of  the  sea,  from 
the  bottom  of  which  it  has  been  raised,  together  with  the 
adjoining  isthmus  of  Suez.  But  during  the  Avhole  course  of 
human  history,  the  country  lias  shown  the  same  chief  fea- 
tures ;  and  the  modei-ate  rate  of  deposit  of  the  soil,  within 
the  period  measured  by  the  existing  monuments,  leaves  no 
ground  for  the  speculations  of  Herodotus  on  the  myriads  of 

20  Herod,  ii.  108. 


INUNDATION  OF  THE  NILE.  37 

years  which  the  Xile  must  have  taken  in  filling  up  a  gulf 
which  once  resembled  tlie  Red  Sea.  The  alluvium  is  only  a 
superficial  deposit  on  a  bed  of  limestone,  and  the  sea-shore 
of  the  Delta  has  rather  receded  than  advanced  within  the 
memory  of  man. 

§  8.  The  most  wonderful  occurrence  in  Egypt,  the  event 
upon  which  the  very  existence  of  the  people  depends,  is  the 
annual  inundation  of  the  Xile.  In  all  hot  countries  an  abun- 
dant supply  of  water  is  indispensable  to  agriculture ;  and  as 
Egypt  possesses  no  natural  springs,  and  rain  rarely  falls  in 
tliV  upper  country,^'  the  inhabitants  can  rely  upon  nothing 
but  tlie  waters  of  the  Nile.  The  inundations  of  other  rivers 
are  capricious  and  uncertain,  and  carry  with  them  desolation 
and  destruction  of  life  and  property  ;  but  the  overflow  of 
tlie  Nile  occurs  at,  a  regular  and  certain  period,  and  spreads 
fertility  and  opulence  over  the  land.  The  reasons  of  thi& 
periodical  overflow  early  excited  the  curiosity  of  observers ; 
and  various  theories  were  invented  to  account  for  it. 

The  true  cause,,  the  periodical  rains  which  fall  in  Ethio> 
pia,  was  first  pointed  out  by  Agatharcides  of  Cnidus,"  who 
wrote  in  the  second  century  before  the  Christian  era.  The 
periodic  storms  which,  as  in  all  tropical  countries,  follow 
the  course  of  the  vertical  sun,  descend  in  torrents  of  rain 
on  the  lofty  mountains  of  Abyssinia.  The  White  and  Blue 
rivers  are  filled  in  May;  but  it  is  not  till  after  the  summer 
solstice  that  the  Nile  beg-ins  to  rise  in  Egypt.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  July  the  rise  becomes  clearly  visible,  and  the  water 
mounts  higher  and  higher  every  day.  About  the  middle  of 
August,  the  dams  are  cut,  and  the  flood  is  di'awn  off  by  nu- 
merous canals;  but  the  waters  still  continue  to  rise,  and  at- 
tain  their  greatest  height  m  the  last  week  of  September, 
The  level  of  the  flood  remains  stationary  far  about  a  fort* 
niglit,and  then  begins  gradually  to  decline.  During  the  iw- 
iindation  the  land  bears  the  aspect  of  a  vast  lake,  out  o^f 
which  the  towns  rise  like  islands." 

When  the  waters  subside,  they  leave  behind  a  thick  black 
mud,  which  is  superior  to  the  richest  ma].ure,and  pi'oduces 
crops  of  extraordinary  fertility  with  hardly  any  cultivation. 
The  ground  recpiires  the  labor  neither  of  the  plough  nor  of 
the  spade  to  prepare  it  for  the  seed,  which,  after  being  scat' 
tered  upon  the  soil,  and  trodden  in  by  cattle,  springs  up= 
rapidly  under  tlie  warm  sun  of  Egypt.^V    It  was  this  which 

31  Herodottis  says,  not  at  all  (iii.  10) ;  but,  iu  fact,  rain  falls  nlmirt  fonr  or  five  [\mes- 
a  year  in  Upper  Ejrypt  ^^  BHwTorni^,  i.  41. 

28  Herodotus  (li.  97)  compares  them  to  the  islands  rising?  out  of  the  JEcenn  Sea. 

24  The  intermixture  of  the  black  mud  and  bright  srreen  with  \»Mch  the  land  is; 
covered  at  this  season  i?  happily  /'.linded  to  by  the  poet  (Vir<r.  "  GeoFg,'^  iv.  291)  :• 
"Et  Viridem  .lEjryptum  nigra  fecundat  arena."' 


38  EGYPT  AND  ETHIOriA. 

made  Egypt  the  granary  of  the  ancient  world  from  the  time 
of  the  Jewish  patriarchs  to  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire. 

Sometimes, however, the  Xile  fails  to  reach  its  usual  height; 
large  districts  are  left  beyond  its  reach  ;  the  harvest  is  scan- 
ty, and  much  misery  is  the  consequence.  For  this  reason  in- 
tense  anxiety  prevails  throughout  Egypt,  when  the  Nile  be- 
gins to  increase;  and  from  the  3d  of  July  its  rise  is  proclaimed 
daily  in  the  streets  of  Cairo."^  In  ancient  times  also  its  rise 
was  carefully  noted  at  Memphis,  and  messengers  were  sent  to 
different  parts  of  Egypt  to  inform  the  inhabitants  of  its  in- 
crease or  decline.^^  There  were  Nllometers  in  difterent  parts 
of  Egypt :  that  at  Elephantine,  remains  of  which  still  exist, 
was  in  the  form  of  a  staircase.  The  height  of  a  good  iminda- 
tion  is  now  about  24  feet,  which  appears  to  have  been  the  usu- 
al quantity  in  ancient  times.^^  If  it  falls  below  18  feet  dread- 
ful famines  ensue,  and  the  wretched  po])ulation  perishes  by 
thousands.  So  terrible  have  been  their  sufferings  upon  these 
occasions,  that  instances  have  occurred,  both  in  ancient  and 
modern  times,  when  they  have  been  driven  to  feed  on  human 
flesh. ^**  On  the  other  hand,  an  excessive  inundation  over- 
flows the  villages,  and  causes  much  destruction.^^ 

§  9.  The  physical  features  of  Egypt  enable  us  easily  to 
account  for  the  early  prosperity  of  the  country.  In  the 
first  place,  its  inhabitants  were  shut  off  from  the  rest  of  the 
world  in  a  rock-bound  vallej^  and  had  little  to  apprehend 
froin  foreign  intruders.  On  its  western  side,  it  stood  in  lit- 
tle fear  of  the  barbarous  tribes  of  the  desert;  while,  on  the 
only  open  pai't  of  its  eastern  side,  over  the  isthmus  of  Suez, 
the  broad  sandy  desert  which  seyjarated  it  from  Asia  pre- 
sented obstacles  to  an  invading  army,  which  even  Cambyses, 
wielding  the  whole  power  of  the  Pei'sian  empire,  found  it 
difficult  to  surmount.  Hence,  while  other  lands  M^ere  con- 
stantly changing  their  inhabitants,  and  one  nomad  tribe 
Avas  chasing  another  nomad  tribe,  the  Egyptians  remained 
stationary  in  the  valley  where  they  originally  settled,  cnlti- 
Yating  the  arts  of  agriculture  and  ])eace,  and  retaining  the 
civilization  which  they  early  acquired.  We  shall  see,  as  we 
proceed,  the  contrast  presented  by  the  revolutions  that  fol- 

25  Lane,  Jl/of/.  Eav.ptian^,  vol.  ii.  p.  257.  26  x)5ocl.  i.  36. 

-'■  In  the  time  of  Herodotus  (ii.  13)  the  height  of  a  good  Nile  was  fifteen  or  sixteen 
cubits  ;  and  the  statue  of  the  Nile,  which  Vespasian  placed  in  the  Temple  of  Peace, 
at  Rome,  was  surronuded  by  sixteen  diminutive  figures  emblematic  of  there  meas- 
ures (Plin.  xxxvi.  i>,  §  14).  This  statue  is  preserved  in  the  Vatican  (Visconti,  "Musea 
Pio  Clement,"  vol.  i.  p.  291).     See  Kenrick's  "  Ancient  Eirypt,"  vol.  i.  p.  84. 

2»D:od.  i.S4;  Abdallatiph's  "History  of  Egypt,"  p.  197,  ed.Whire.  ^     . 

-'i'  For  example,  in  Jannary,  l'i70.  the  Nile  has  risen  higher  than  within  living 
ineiunry,  causing  a  damnge  e-iin'.a'ed  at  £8,000,000  steiliiig. 


CAUSES  OF  EGYPT'S  PROSPERITY.  3'j 

lowed  one  another  in  the  more  open  valley  of  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates,  surrounded  by  the  homes  of  ^.varlike  and  conquer- 
ing races. 

"§  10.  Two  other  causes  contributed  to  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  nation— an  abundant  supply  of  food,  and  easy  means 
of  communication  between  diiierent  parts  of  the  country. 
The  increase  of  population  in  every  country  depends  mainly 
upon  the  food  which  it  produces ;  and,  till  there  is  a  surplus 
quantity  of  food,  and  a  part  of  the  population  is  relieved 
from  the  necessity  of  tilling  the  ground  for  its  subsistence, 
a  nation  can  m.ake  no  progress  in  the  cultivation  of  the  arts 
and  sciences.  In  Egypt,  the  annual  inundation  of  the  Nile 
made  a  nomad  life  impossible;  and  the  abundant  crops, 
which  the  rich  deposits  yielded,  stimulated  population,  and 
required  the  labor  of  only  a  small  portion  of  the  community. 

§  11.  The  other  cause  which  favored  the  growth  of  the 
nation  was  the  easy  and  uninterrupted  communication  al- 
forded  to  the  inhabitants  by  the  Nile.  One  of  the  great  dif- 
ficulties with  which  an  hiiant  state  has  to  struggle  is  the 
absence  of  roads;  and,  till  these  are  made,  each  part  of  the 
community  must  remain  isolated,  and  dependent  upon  itself 
for  the  supply  of  its  wants.  It  has  taken  powerlul  nations 
many  centuries  before  they  have  been  able  to  establish  safe 
and  easy  means  of  communication  between  distant  parts  of 
their  dominions.  But  the  Egyptians  possessed  from  the  be- 
ginning a  natural  highway — broad,  level,  and  uninterrupted. 
In  Ethiopia,  the  cataracts  of  the  river  and  the  intervening 
deserts  prevented  intercourse  between  neighboring  tribes, 
and  conhned  each  to  its  own  district ;  whereas  in  Egypt  the 
river  flows  on,  without  any  impediments  to  navigation,  from 
Syene  to  the  Mediterranean. 

'There  is  another  remarkable  provision  of  nature,  which 
renders  the  Nile  a  still  easier  means  of  communication. 
While  the  force  of  the  current  carries  vessels  downward, 
the  northerly  winds,  which  blow  nearly  nine  months  in  the 
year,  enal)le  them  to  ascend  the  river.  Moreover,  these 
winds  blow  the  most  steadily  during  the  time  of  the  floods, 
when  the  stream  is  strongest,  and  when  navigation  upward 
would  otherwise  be  impossible.  These  winds  wei'e  called  by 
the  Greeks  Etesian^  or  yearly  winds. ^^ 

§  12.  While  the  Nile  conferred  so  many  material  blessings 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  its  valley,  it  also  stimulated  their 
rational  faculties,  and  taught  them  to  exercise  foi-ethoiight 
and  prudence.     Though  it  yielded  an  abundant  supply  of 

30  Herod,  ii.  20.  Some  supposed  that  they  caused  Ihe  inuudaliou  of  the  Nile  hj 
folding  back  its  waters  from  euteriug  the  sea. 


40  EGYPT  AND  ETHIOPIA. 

food  with  little  labor,  yet  it  did  not  cherish  habits  of  idle' 
ness.  The  Egyptians  did  not  find,  like  the  South  Sea  isl- 
anders, a  continuous  supply  of  food  growing  upon  the  trees 
over  their  heads,  and  were  not  able  to  neglect  provision  for 
the  future.  Tlie  annual  inundation  of  the  Nile  compelled 
them  to  secure  their  dwellings  and  their  pro])erty  fi-om  the 
violence  of  the  floods,  and  to  collect  a  sufficient  supply  of 
food  to  last  while  tlie  land  was  covered  with  water. 

As  the  inundation  occurred  at  a  stated  period  of  the  year, 
it  became  necessary  to  calculate  the  time  of  its  recurrence, 
which  could  only  be  done  by  observing  the  course  of  the 
heavenly  bodies.  Hence  the  Egyptians  divide  with  the 
ChakhT3ans  the  honor  of  having  laid  the  foundations  of  As- 
tronomy; and  Herodotus  tells  us  that  they  discovered  the 
solar  year,  that  is,  the  circuit  of  the  sun  among  the  stars, 
and  divided  it  into  12  months  and  365  days.^'  As  the  inun- 
dation swept  away  all  natural  landmarks,  it  Avas  necessary, 
when  the  floods  subsided,  to  make  an  accurate  division  of  the 
land,  and  to  assign  to  each  proprietor  his  proper  fields.  Hence 
arose  the*  science  of  Geometry.^""*  With  an  increasing  popu- 
lation, and  with  a  territory  limited  by  the  sands  of  the  des- 
ert, it  became  necessary  to  extend  the  inundation  by  arti- 
ficial means  to  spots  which  it  did  not  naturally  reach.  Ex- 
perience taught  that  the  fields  were  the  most  productive 
where  the  fiood  remained  tlie  longest,  and  had  most  time  to 
deposit  its  fertilizing  mud.  Hence  engineering  science  was 
early  called  into  existence.  Canals  were  dug  to  conduct 
the  water  whei'e  it  w\as  wanted,  and  its  course  was  control- 
led by  sluices,  dikes,  and  similar  works. 

§  13.  But  tills  was  not  all.  This  beneficent  river,  regard- 
ed as  a  god  by  the  ancient  Egyptians,^^  exercised  a  powerful 
influence  upon  their  ideas,  and  especially  upon  their  whole 
system  of  religion.  Alongside  of  the  JSTile^  the  giver  of  ev- 
ery blessing,  there  was  a  potent  enemy,  the  Desert,  whose 
wasting  sands  were  continually  driving  through  the  ravines 
of  the  mountains,  and  threatening  to  destroy  the  life-giving 
powers  of  the  river.  Hence  there  was  ever  before  the  eyes 
oi*  the  Egyptians  a  struggle  between  Life  and  Death.  The 
Nile,  never  growing  old,  renewing  its  life  every  year,  and 
calling  forth  nature  into  new  and  vigorous  existence,  was 

si  Hei-ocL  ii.  9.  He  adds  that  their  method  of  addinc:  every  year  five  days  to  their 
twelve  months  of  thirty  days  each  made  the  circuit  of  the  seasons  to  rernrn  wiih  nni- 
formity;  which  it  would  not  do,  Unless  they  also  intercalated  the  odd  quarter  of  a 
flay  which  belonsj;s  to  every  year.  This  was  in  facr  d  .ne.  thoiiirh  Herodotus  did  not 
Understand  it,  by  the  Hvthic  ^or  Do<j-Star)  period  of  tlie  j-rie-^ts,  in  which  1460  Sothi:-. 
yearn  of  365^^  days  were  equal  to  W^\  "vulgar"  or  "  va-ue"  years  of  ,",:>5  days  ;  f  »f 
one  day  in  every  four  ye.irs  Miake^  up  a  year  (.-iO!)  days;  in  1  i'JO  years. 

32  Kerod.  ii.  109.  ^^  Herodoats  (ii.  90)  speaks  of  '•  the  priests  of  the  Nile.' 


IDEAS  CONNECTED  WITH  THE  NILE.  41 

the  symbol  of  Life.  The  Desert,  with  its  sombre  luies,  its 
iuithn.i]ging  appearance,  its  deadening  and  desolating  iniliv 
ence,  was  the  symbol  of  Death.  The  Xile,  representing  Life, 
became  the  Good  Power,  or  Osiris;  the  Desert,  representing 
Death,  the  Evil  Power,  or  Typhon. 

Tlie  nature  of  their  country  also  determined  the  Egyp- 
tians respecting  the  disposal  of  their  dead.  They  could  not 
inter  them  in  the  valley,  where  the  remains  would  be  dis- 
turbed by  the  inundation  ;  thej^  could  not  consign  them  to 
the  river,  which  was  too  sacred  to  be  polluted  by  any  mor- 
tal body.  But  above  the  valley  was  the  long  line  of  rocks, 
in  which  caves  could  easily  be  excavated  for  the  reception  of 
the  dead.  The  dryness  of  the  climate  was  favorable  to  their 
preservation  ;  and  the  practice  of  embalming  still  further  se- 
cured them  from  corruption  and  decay. 

After  a  few  generations  the  number  of  the  dead  in  these 
receptacles  far  exceeded  the  number  of  the  living.  Hence 
the  idea  of  death  was  brought  prominently  before  the  Egyp- 
tians. The  contest,  which  was  ever  going  on  for  the  very 
existence  of  their  land,  gave  a  more  present  reality  to  the 
conflict  of  humanity  itself;  and  while,  on  the  margin  of  their 
valley,  they  were  disputing  the  means  of  their  existence  with 
the  devouring  sand,  they  were  also  disputing  with  corruption 
their  own  persons  and  immortality.  The  present  life  seemed 
only  a  small  moment  in  time  ;  while  the  other  world  ap- 
peared vast,  unlimited,  and  eternal.  Accordingly,  the  pres- 
ent life  was  regarded  by  the  Egyptians  as  only  a  prepara- 
tion for  a  higher  and  better  state  of  existence.^* 

§  ]4.  No  nation  of  antiquity  possessed  such  a  vast  variety 
of  monuments  as  the  Egyptians.  They  studded  the  whole 
valley  of  the  Nile  in  one  long  series.  Of  this,  again,  a  rea- 
son is  to  be  found  in  the  physical  foi-mation  of  the  country. 
The  rocks  on  either  side  of  the  river  yielded  an  unlimited 
supply  of  stone,  of  almost  every  variety,  for  the  Egyptian 
workman ;  while  the  Nile  afforded  the  ready  means  of  con- 
veying the  largest  masses  from  one  part  of  the  country  to 
the  other.  In  ascending  the  Nile  from  the  Delta,  two  paral- 
lel courses  of  limestone  accompany  the  traveller  for  a  long 
distance.  A  little  above  Thebes  begins  the  red  sandstone, 
of  7/hich  most  of  the  Egyptian  temples  were  built.  In  tlie 
neighborhood  of  Syene  the  particular  kind  of  granite  ap- 
pears to  whicli  the  name  of  syenite  has  been  given;  and  on 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  river  are  the  granite  quarries,  from 

^'^  There  are  some  striking:  remarks  respecting  the  influence  of  the  Nile  on  the  ideas 
nnl  religious  system  of  the  E^'yptiaus  in  Miss  Martineau's  "Eastern  Life.  Past  iiud 
Pie>ent,"  vol.  i.  p.  (>i  scq. 


42  EGYPT  AND  ETHIOPIA. 

which  the  obelisks  and  colossal  statues  have  been  hewn. 
One  obelisk  still  remains  there,  cut  out  but  never  removed 
from  its  native  rock.  In  the  mountainous  district  between 
the  Nile  and  the  Red  Sea  there  is  a  still  greater  variety. 
Here  are  found  quarries  of  white  marble,  of  ))orphyry,  of  ba- 
salt, and  of  the  fine  green  breccia,  which  is  known  by  the 
name  of  Verde  crEgitto.  The  same  district  was  rich  in  other 
mineral  treasures  ;  in  gold,  emerald,  iron,  copper,  and  lead. 
The  Egyptians  must  have  possessed  iron  at  an  early  period, 
since  without  it  they  could  not  have  Avorked  the  hard  i-ocks 
of  the  granite  quarries.  Accordingly  we  find  on  the  western 
flank  of  Mount  Sinai  heaps  of  scoriae,  produced  by  the  ancient 
smelting  of  the  copper,  mixed  with  iron  ore,  which  still  exist 
in  this  locality  ;  and  hieroglyphic  inscriptions  still  attest  the 
working  of  tlie  mines  of  the  peninsula  by  the  same  early 
kings  of  the  Fourth  Dynasty  who  built  the  Great  Pyramid. 

§  15.  The  origin  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  singular  country 
has  been,  from  the  earliest  times,  a  favorite  subject  of  specu- 
lation. The  Egyptians  themselves,  like  many  other  nations 
of  antiquity,  believed  that  they  were  sprung  from  the  soil.^''' 
Diodorus,who  had  conversed  with  Ethiopian  envoys  in  Egypt, 
held  that  the  tide  of  civilization  had  descended  the  Nile,  and 
that  the  Egyptians  Avere  a  colony  from  the  Ethiopians  of 
Meroe.'"  This  hypothesis  has  been  revived  in  modern  times, 
with  much  ingenuity,  by  Heeren ;  but  it  rests  upon  no  his- 
torical facts,  is  im'probable  in  itself,  and  is  almost  dis- 
proved by  the  absence  of  all  ancient  monuments  in  Upper 
Nubia,  where  nothing  is  found  earlier  than  the  times  of  the 
Ptolemies  and  the  Px^mans.  Even  where  the  evidence  of  in- 
scriptions is  wanting,  the  monuments  reveal,  in  their  more 
careless  workmanship  and  debased  forms  and  decorations,  not 
the  primitive  eftbrts  of  a  i-uder  age,  but  the  decay  of  the  more 
perfect  Egyptian  art. 

When  the  Greeks  became  acquainted  with  Western  India 
by  the  conquests  of  Alexander,  they  Avere  struck  Avith  cer- 
tain similarities  between  the  Egyptians  and  Hindoos,  and 
Avere  induced  to  assign  a  common  origin  to  both."  This  hy- 
pothesis, likcAvise,  has  been  received  Avith  much  favor  by  some 
modern  scholars,  Avho  have  pointed  out  the  striking  resem- 
blance betAveen  the  system  of  castes,  the  religious  doctrines, 
and  the  temple-architecture  of  the  tAVO  nations.  But  the 
points  of  difierence  are  very  striking,  even  in  many  of  their 
institutions.  The  rite  of  circumcision  Avas  practised  from 
time  immemorial  by  the  Egyptians,  but  Avas  unknown  to  the 
Hindoos  till  the  Mohammedan  conquest.    The  system  of  hiero- 

35  Diodor.  i.  10.  ="'  Diodor.  iii.  U-  =*'  Arrian,  "  Indica,"  c.  G.. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  EGYPTIANS.  43 

glyphic  writing,  which  is  peculiarly  characteristic  of  Egypt, 
never  existed  in  India;  and  it  is  impossible  to  believethat 
an  Egyptian  colony  would  have  settled  in  India  witliout 
bringing  witli  them  their  hieroglyphics,  or  that  the  Hindoos 
would  have  colonized  Egypt  witliout  introducing  their  al- 
phabetic writing  and  their  religious  books  (the  "  Vedas"). 
Lastly,  the  languages  spoken  by  the  tw^o  nations  are  so  dif- 
ferent, that  we  may  safely  dismiss  the  hypothesis  of  a  com- 
mon origin  of  the  Egyptians  and  Hindoos.^^ 

§  16.  As  we  have  seen  in  the  Introduction,  the  only  sure 
means  of  ascertaining  the  origin  of  any  people  is  a  knowl- 
edge  of  their  physical  features  and  their  language.  No  peo- 
pie  has  bequeathed  to  us  so  many  memorials  of  its  form, 
complexion,  and  physiognomy,  as  the  Egyptians.  From  the 
countless  mummies  preserved  by  the  dryness  of  the  climate 
we  can  ascertain  their  crania  and  osteology.  From  the  nu- 
merous  paintings  upon  the  tombs,  which  have  been  preserved 
through  the  same  cause,  we  also  obtain  a  vivid  idea  of  their 
forms  and  appearance.  If  we  were  left  to  form  an  opinion 
upon  the  subject  by  the  description  of  the  Egyptians  left  by 
the  Greek  writers,  we  should  conclude  that  they  were,  if  not 
negroes,  at  least  closely  akin  to  the  negro  race.  That  they 
were  much  darker  in  color  than  the  neighboring  Asiatics"; 
tliat  they  had  hair  frizzled  either  by  nature  or  by  art ;  that 
their  lips  were  thick  and  projecting  and  their  limbs  slen- 
der,  rests  upon  the  authority  of  eye-witnesses,  who  had 
travelled  in  the  country,  and  who  could  liave  had  no  mo- 
tive to  deceive.''  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  mummies 
and  the  paintings  clearly  prove  that  the  Egyptians  were 
not  negroes ;  and,  even  if  no  mummies  or  paintings  liad 
been  preserved,  there  are  other  circumstances  which  would 
make  us  hesitate  before  ascribing  to  the  Egyptians  the  true 
negro  character.  If  they  had  resembled  the  inhabitants  of 
the  coast  of  Guinea,  the  striking  difference  between  their  ap- 
pearance and  that  of  all  the  other  nations  of  antiquity  would 
have  been  distinctly  stated  ;  and  their  intermarriages  with 
fairer  races  would  have  excited  remark.  So  far  was  this  from 
being  the  case,  that  Joseph's  brethren,  when  they  saw  him  in 

38  Que  of  the  most  learned  supporters  of  this  hypothesis  was  the  late  Von  Bohlen, 
in  his  work  entitled  "Das  alte  Indien,  mit  besonderer  Rucksicht  auf  Aefrypten  ;" 
but  the  author  subsequently  abandoned  the  hypothesis  as  untenable.  The  artru- 
raents,  both  for  and  against  the  theory,  are  fairly  stated  by  Prichard  ("Researches 
into  the  Phy?ical  History  of  Mankind,"  vol.  ii.  p.  217),  who,"however,  attributes  more 
importance  to  the  similarity  between  the  institutions  of  the  two  peoples  than  is  per- 
haps warranted  by  the  facts  of  the  case. 

3^  Herodotus,  in  proof  that  the  Colchians  were  an  Egyptian  colony,  says  (ii.  104) 
that  they  were  /xehdyxp'^^^  -e  Kai  ou\6Tf}ixe^,  or  "  black  in  c()ni;)]exioi5  and  with  crah 
ing  hair,"  but  not  "  woolly,"  as  Prichard  translates  it.  fc.'ee  also  Li:ci;.iJ,  "  Navigiam," 
C.  2,  and  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  xxu.  16,  i  23. 


U  EGYPT  AND  FPHIOriA. 

Egypt,  took  liim  for  an  Egyptian  ;^"  that  tiie  Jewish  legisla- 
tor pei-mitted  intermarriages  witii  tlie  Egyptians;"'  and" that 
Solomon  married  an  Egyptian  princess.  It  is  also  wortliy 
of  remark  that  no  part  of  Africa  situated  in  the  latitude 
of  Egypt  is  the  native  country  of  a  genuine  negro  race/'^ 

The  existing  mummies  are  of  various  ages,  going  back  at 
least  as  far  as  the  time  of  the  patriarcli  Joseph,  and  coming 
down  to  the  time  of  St.  Augustine.  During  this  long  period 
Egypt  was  repeatedly  conquered  and  overrun.  Various  races 
took  up  their  permanent  abode  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile  ; 
and  natives  as  well  as  foreigners  were  alike  embalmed  accord- 
ing to  the  Egyptian  fashion.  But  the  vast  majority  of  the 
mummies  are  those  of  the  native  Egyptians,  and  their  osteo- 
logical  character  proves  that  they  belonged  to  the  Caucasian 
and  not  to  the  African  race.  The  monuments  and  paintings, 
ho\vever,show  thatthe  Egyptians  possessed  a  peculiar  physiog- 
nomy, diifering  from  both  these  races,  approaching  more  near- 
ly lo  the  negro  type  than  to  any  of  the  other  Caucasian  races." 
The  fullness  of  the  lips,  seen  in  the  Sphinx  of  the  Pyramids 
and  in  the  portraits  of  the  kings,  is  characteristic  of  the  negro, 
and  the  elongation  of  the  eye  is  a  Nubian  peculiarity. 

New  light  has  recently  been  thrown  njDon  the  whole  sub- 
ject by  M.  Mariette's  discovery,  in  the  north-easternmost 
part  of  Egypt,  of  a  race  of  men  of  a  type  quite  difterent  from 
the  Egyptians,  both  ancient  and  modei-n,  who  seemed  not  im- 
probably to  represent  a  more  ancient  population.  The  dis- 
tinct separation  of  classes,  though  it  be  incorrect  to  terra 
them  castes,  is  an  indication  that  the  dominant  Egyptians  had 
overcome  a  previous  population ;  and  it  now  appears  that 
there  was  such  a  population,  more  nearly  a])proaching  to  the 
African  type,  but  decidely  not  negroes.  Whether  this  abo- 
riginal population  entered  Egypt  from  the  south  of  Arabia 
and  down  the  Nile,  is  an  hypothesis  which  awaits  further 
discussion. 

§  17.  Tlie  intermediate  position  of  the  Egyptians  between 
the  Asiatic  and  African  races  is  also  proved  by  an  examina- 
tion of  their  language.  This  language  is  preserved  in  the 
Coptic,**  which  was  the  native  tongue  of  the  Christian  pop- 

■»»  Genesis  xlii.  23,  30,  33.  4i  Denteron.  xxiii.  7,  S. 

42  Prichard,  vol.  ii.  p.  230.  The  American  writers,  Nott  and  Gliddon  ("  Types  of 
Mankind,"  Philadelphia,  1S54,  p.  21G),  are  ol"  course  opposed  to  the  ueijro  oriiijin  of 
the  Eg^yptiaus ;  but  they  have  stated  the  argument  fairly  and,  it  seems  to  us,  con- 
clusively against  this  hypothesis. 

*3  See  K.  O.  Midler,  "Archiiologie  der  Knnst,"  §  215,  n.  1. 

^'i  Many  Egyptian  words,  preserved  by  Greek  writers,  are  clearly  Coptic.  The  fol- 
lowing examples,  among  others,  are  qnoted  by  Kenrick,  "Ancient  Egypt,"  vol.  i.  p. 
102.  Herodotus  (ii.  C9)  says  that  the  crocodile  Avas  called  x'^J^yka  :  in  hieroglyphics  it 
is  havisn ;  in  Coptic  mnmh.  Instruction  was  called  by  the  Esryptians  Sbo  (Horapollo, 
i.  38),  which  is  the  Coptic  word  f  )r  learning.     Erpis  was  an  Egyptian  word  tor  wini 


NAMES  OF  EGYPT.  45 

Illation  in  Egypt,  and  Avhich,  thongh  it  has  now  ceased  to  be 
spoken,*^  is  still  preserved  in  the  translation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures and  in  other  ecclesiastical  works.  Many  of  the  words 
and  grammatical  forms  of  tlie  Coptic  are  akin  to  those  found 
in  the  Semitic  languages ;  but  the  peculiarities  of  its  gram- 
matical structure  have  a  still  stronger  resemblance  to  those 
of  several  of  the  native  idioms  of  Africa." 

§  18.  The  Egyptians  themselves  called  their  land  Chein^^ 
or  the  Blacl:^  in  opposition  to  the  blinding  whiteness  of  the 
adjacent  desert.  In  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  it  is  usually  call- 
ed Mizraim^^"  the  name  of  the  second  son  of  Ham  in  the  gen- 
ealogical table  in  Genesis  x.  But  this  name,  although  em- 
ployed as  a  singular,  is  a  dual  in  form,  and  is  appropriately 
applied  to  a  country  which  is  divided  by  nature  into  the  up- 
per and  lower  provinces.  By  tlie  Arabs  it  is  called  3Tisi\ 
which  is  only  the  singular  of  tlie  Hebrew  3Iizraiin^  and  which 
signifies  in  Arabic  red^  or  reddish  brown.  Hence  the  ordi- 
nary Hebrew  and  Arabic  name  of  Egypt  has  the  same  sig- 
nification as  the  native  name.  Moreover,  in  the  Hebrew  rec- 
ords, Egypt  is  frequently  called  the  Land  of  Ilam.;^^  and 
it  is  merely  our  faulty  orthograpliy  that  conceals  the  identi- 
ty of  the  name  of  Xoah's  son,  CJtam^  with  the  Egyptian 
Chem.     According  to  the  strictly  geographical  interpreta- 

(Eustath.  ad  Od.  i.  p.  1633) ;  renioTiiig  the  Greek  terminatioii,  we  have  the  Coptic 
erp.  The  origin  of  the  word  Coptic  is  doubtful.  Some  derive  it  from  the  city  Coptos ; 
but  this  is  only  a  guess  from  the  simihirity  of  the  names.  Others  C(niiiect  it  with  the 
Christian  sect  of  Jacobites  ('laKoo/irraf),  to  which  the  Egyptians  belonged.  But  it  is 
perhaps  the  ancient  form  of  the  name  Egypt,  by  which  the  Greeks  designated  the 
country  {Gii2>t,  Kypt,  Kojjt).  See  Prichard,  "Researches,  etc.,"  who  decides,  howev- 
er, in  favor  of  the  second  of  the  above  etymologies. 

45  It  is  usually  stated  that  the  last  person  who  could  speak  Coptic  died  in  10G3  ;  but  it 
is  said,  on  credible  authority,  that  it  was  spoken  -as  recently  as  ninety  years  ago.  See 
Nott  and  Gliddon's  "  Types  of  :\Iankind,"  p.  234.  A  recent  writer  in  the  "  Quarterly 
Review"  (July,  1SG9,  vol.  xxvii.  p.  40)  says:— "The  ancient  Coptic  language  is,  in- 
deed, still  maintained  in  church  rituals  and  the  like  ;  but  though  all  among  the  cler- 
gy can  read,  we  have  never  found  any  one  of  them  who  could  understand  the  mem- 
ing  of  its  characters.  Coptic  was,  however,  till  within  recent  memory  spoken  by  the 
peasantry  in  some  towns  of  Upi)er  Egypt,  at  Achmim  in  particular ;  but  want  of 
school  instruction  has  allowed  this  curious  remnant  of  the  past  to  fade  away  and  ul- 
timately disappear  altogether." 

4G  This  question  is  fully  discussed  by  Prichard  ("Researches,"  vol.  ii.  p.  213,  .seq.) 
The  arguments  of  this  writer  are  more  convincing  than  those  of  Buusen,  who  main- 
tains that  the  Coptic  stands  clearly  between  the  Semitic  and  Indo-European,  since  iis 
forms  and  roots  can  not  be  explained  by  either  of  these  singly,  but  are  eAJdently  a 
combination  of  the  two.  (See  "Egypt's  Place  in  Universal  History,"  Preface,  p.  x. 
trans. ;  and  "  Outlines  of  the  Philosophy  of  Universal  History,"  vol.  i.  p.  rS.^),  seq.)_ 

4''  Chem  or  Khem  is  the  name  of  Etrypt  in  hieroglyphic  inscriptions  :  in  Coptic  it  is 
written  Chemi.  Plutarch  sa vs  that  the  Egyptians  called  their  land  Chcviia  on  account 
of  the  blackness  of  the  earth  ("De  Iside  et  0siride,"c.  3.3).  This  name  is  apparently 
preserved  in  that  oi  Chptumix,  a  large  city  in  the  Thebaid,  which  the  Greeks  called 
Panopolis  (Herod. ::.  01). 

4s  Genesis  x.  fi.  In  the  Assyrian  cuneiform  inscriptions  E<rypt  is  called  Mis<r,  Mu' 
sur,  MiiMini,  and  Mu-im-n  ;  in  the  Persian  inscriptions  Mxidraim. 

««  Psalm  cv.  23,  27  ;  cvi.  22. 


46 


EGYPT  AND  ETHIOPIA. 


tion  of  Genesis  x.,  we  may  suppose  the  original  name  of 
Ohem^  for  the  whole  land,  to  have  been  superseded  by  the 
dual  Mizraim^  when  the  two  divisions  were  fully  recognized. 
The  origin  of  the  Greek  name,^°  by  which  the  country  is 
known  throughout  Western  Europe,  is  uncertain  ;  but  the 
most  plausible  conjecture  connects  it  with  the  name  of  the 
Copts.  ^^ 

*i  Some  writers  have  couiiected  the  first  half  of  A'/-7i/7rTof,  with  «ta  (land),  so  that 
the  word  would  mean  "the  land  of  the  Copts,"  but  this  iuterpretatiou  of  the  first  syl- 
lable is  doubtful. 


:-^ 

1 

—^ 

■-r_- 

^M^/ 

MM  \  ~ 

^^p 

±i4^ 

- 

m:SC 

^.. /ni^l  ^h. 

^ 

^sIe:^ 

Boat  of  the  Nil©. 


Ruins  and  Vicinity  of  Philae. 


CHAPTER   II. 


AUTHORITIES    FOR   THE    HISTORY    OF    EGYPT. 

I  1.  The  earliest  hi!>toncal  records  are  Egyptian.  The  Scripture  notices  of  Egypt  no^ 
a  history  of  the  country.  §  2.  Greek  writers  on  Egypt.  Herodotus.  Eratosthe 
ues.  Diodorus.  Strabo.  Pliny.  §  3.  Manetho.  His  Egyptian  History  lost.  His 
List  of  Dynasties.  Its  defects  and  value.  §  4.  The  real  history  of  Egypt  is  in  her 
own  monuments  and  books.  Testimony  of  Bunsen  and  Lepsius.  Multitude  and 
permanence  of  the  records.  Constant  use  of  hieroglyphics.  Private  documents. 
§  5.  Order  of  the  monuments  along  the  Valley  of  the  Nile.  Extant  Books.  §  G. 
Monuments  of  special  historical  value.  Class  I.,  for  the  general  history  of  Egypt, 
(i.)  Turin  Papyrus,  (ii.)  Chamber  of  Ancestors,  (iii.)  Old  and  New' Tables  of 
Abydos.  (iv.)  Table  of  Sakkara.  (v.)  TheApis-Stelfe.  §  G.  Class  II.,  relating  to 
particular  reigns.  A  book  of  the  time  of  Rameses  II.  Historical  value  oflhe 
private  monuments.  Method  of  studying  the  History  of  Egypt.  §  7.  Fabulous 
antiquity  of  the  nation.  Divine  rulers;  Phthah;  Ra  ;  Agathodtemon  ;  Seb  and 
Netpe  ;  Osiris  and  Isis  ;  Typhou  and  Horns.  §  S.  Mknes  the  first  man  who  reigned 
over  Egypt;  perhaps  a  mythicalimpersonation.  §9.  Egyptian  History  of  Heuoo- 
oxns.  330  kings  from  Menes  to  Moeris.  Nitocris,  Sesostris,  Pheron,  Proteus,  and 
Rhampsinitus.  Cheops,  Cephren,  Mycerinus,  Asj'chis,  and  Anysis.  The  Ethio- 
pian conquest  by  Sabacos.  His  story  first  becomes  historical  with  Psammetichus. 
§  10.  The  Lists  of  Manetiio.  Are  they  consecutive  or,  in  part,  contemporaneous? 
Periods  of  Egyptian  History. 

§  1.  This  most  ancient  of  the  nations  offers  to  ns  the  most 
ancient  of  contemporary  records ;  and  in  this  sense,  also,  his- 
tory begins  with  Eo-ypt.  If  the  sacred  story  of  the  patri- 
archs embodies  documents  of  an  earlier  age  than  that  of  the 
Pentateuch  itself,  they  preserve  the  narrative  of  individual 
lives,  for  a  moral  and  religious  purpose,  not  the  histoiy  of  a 
nation.  Wiiile  the  Hebrew  jiatriarclis  liad  as  yet  no  posses- 
sion in  their  ])romised  land,  they  had  dealings  with  powerful 
kings  of  Egypt ;  and  the  Exodus,  which  fii-st  made  Israel  a 
nation,  falls  under  an  advanced  period  of  the  Egyptian  mon- 
archy. These  relations,  as  well  as  the  part  afterwards  taken 
by  Egypt  in  conflict  w^ith  Assyria  and  Babylon  over  the  dy- 
ing body  of  the  Hebrew  monarchy,  add  a  peculiar  interest 
to  Egyptian  history.     "Egypt,  in  fact,  appears  as  the  insti:u- 


48  HISTOEICAL  AUTHORITIES. 

ment  of  Providence  for  furthering  its  eternal  purpose,  "but 
only  as  forming  the  background  and  contrast  to  that  free 
spiritual  and  moral  element  which  was  to  arise  out  of  Is- 
rael.'" But  it  is  not  the  design  of  Scripture  to  satisfy  the  cu- 
riosity thus  stimulated.  Its  scenes  of  Egyptian  events  and  of 
Egyptian  life  are  most  real  and  most  truthful ;  but  they  sup- 
ply no  history  of  Egypt.  The  kings  who  received  Abraham 
and  Isaac,  Joseph  and  Jacob ;  the  new  ruler,  who  "  knew 
not  Joseph;"  and  he  whose  "heart  was  hardened;"  are  all 
merely  "Pharaohs,"  whose  own  names  are  unrecorded,  and 
of  whom  we  have  no  chronology. 

§  2.  The  Greeks  took  an  interest  in  Egypt  similar  to  our 
own  ;  but  the  relation  which  excited  it  was  even  more  di- 
rect. Egyptian  kings  were  among  the  mythical  founders  of 
their  own  nation  ;  in  Egypt  they  sought  tlie  chief  source  of 
their  religion  and  civilization,  their  philosophy  and  art ;  and 
even  Egyptian  jealousy  of  foreigners  did  not  forbid  them  a 
footing  in  the  land  as  traders  and  mercenary  soldiers.  The 
PersiaTi  conquest  of  Egypt  was  a  prelude  to  the  like  attack 
on  their  own  liberty  ;  and  they  allied  themselves  with  Egyp- 
tian insurgents  to  oppose  the  common  enemy.^ 

It  was,  then,  most  natural  that  the  inquisiti^:e  ^reek  .t^ray- 
eller,  who  conceived  the  design  of  gatherhig  up  allJieifcbirri^. 
learn  of  the  East  into  a  focus  which  should  throw  liglit  on 
the  great_ conflict  of  his  age,  allotted  the  largest  space  in  liis 
preliminary  work  to  Egypt,  of  wliich  he  tells  us  all  lie  could 
learn  down  to  its  conquest  by  Cambyses.'  The  testimony 
of  Herodotus  to  what  he  himself  saw  of  Egyptian  life  and 
manners  is  in  the  highest  degree  trustworthy  and  valuable  ; 
but  all  the  information  that  he  gives  at  second-hand  needs 
to  be  tested  by  other  lights.  Precious,  indeed,  would  have 
been  his  testimony,  had  he  known  the  native  tongue,  and 
could  he  have  read  those  hieroglyphics  which  he  saw  in  their 
freshness,  and  of  which  he  has  only  given  one  trivial  transla- 
tion, to  the  effect  that  the  radishes,  onions,  and  garlick,  con- 
sumed by  the  laborers  w^ho  built  the  Great  Pyramid,  cost 
1600  talents  of  silver  !'' 

Much  Avasted  labor  might  have  been  spared,  had  critics 
been  content  to  heed  the  historian's  own  warning :  "  Such  as 
think  the  tales  told  by  the  Egyptians  credible,  are  free  to  ac- 
cept them  for  history.  For  my  own  part,  I  propose  to  my- 
self, throughout  my\vhole  \yovV,  faithfully  to  record  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  several  nations^" 

i  Bunseii,  "  Ecrypt's  Place  in  Universal  History,"  vol.  iv.  p.  104. 

2  See  below,  chapters  viii.  and  xxviii. 

3  Herodotus,  book  ii.,  and  the  earlier  part  of  book  iiL  Herodotus  wrote  his  historj 
abput  445  ii.o.  '  Herod,  ii.  1-25.  ^  Herod,  ii.  1'2  5. 


HERODOTUS— DIODORUS--MANHTHO.   •  4y 

The  inforniatioM  doled  out  to  him  by  the  priests  was  such 
as  suited  their  ^^ui-pose  and  their  traditions,  and  it  was  of 
course  frequently  misunderstood;  iior  did  he  attempt  to 
weave  it  into  a  consecutive  history  of  Egypt.  He  relates 
such  anecdotes  as  seemed  to  him  interesting  or  amusing; 
but  his  chronological  order  is  in  complete  confusion.  He 
avowedly  repeats  just  what  he  Avas  told.  His  own  ingenu- 
ous statement  marks  the  reign  of  Psammetichus  (b.c.  664) 
as  the  epoch  at  which  his  account  begins  to  be  historical. 
"  Thus  far,"  he  says,  "  my  narrative  rests  on  the  account 
given  by  the  Egyptians  ;"°  and  then  he  resumes,  "  In  what 
follows  I  have  the  authority,  not  of  the  E-^yptians  only,  but 
of  others  also  who  agree  with  them.  I  shall  speak  likewise 
in  part  from  my  own  observation.'" 

The  new  means  of  knowledge  acquired  under  the  Ptolemies 
bore  little  fruit  in  the  Greek  and  Roman  literature.  Eratos- 
thenes, wdio  lived  in  Egypt  under  Ptolemy  II.  Philadelphus,' 
drew  up  for  that  king,  in  Greek,  a  list  of  the  "  Theban 
kings  "  (meaning  kings  of  all  Egypt)  whose  names  he  received 
from  the  priests  or  hierogrammatists  of  Thebes  :  its  chief  use 
is  for  comi)arison  with  Manetho.  Diodorus"  increases  dark- 
ness, rather  than  light,  by  his  additions  Lo  the  anecdotes  of 
Herodotus,  whose  ingenuous  care  he  entirely  lacked  ;  nor  do 
Strabo'"  and  Pliny"  yield  much  further  information,  except 
quite  incidentally. 

§  3.  There  ronains  one  '.vritei',  who  alone  professed  to  give 
a  complete  history  of  Egypt,  This  was  Manetho,  an  Ei^vp- 
tian  priest,  of  Sebennytus  in  the  Delta,  who  lived  in^the 
reign  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  (b.c.  285-247),  and  was  the 
first  EgAqjtian  who  wrote  the  history  of  his  country  in  Greek, 
from  information  preserved  in  the  i-ecords  of  the  temple. 
Of  the  body  of  his  work  we  have  only  a  few  frac^ments  ;  but 
the  chronographers,  Julius  Africanus  and  Eusebius,  who 
wrote  in  the  third  and  fourth  centuries  after  Christ,  have 
preserved  the  list  of "  Dynasties  "  which  was  appended  to 
Manetho's  history.  This  list  has  come  down  to  us  with 
many  obvious  imperfections,  and  with  the  distortions  due  to 
ignorance  of  Egyptian  names  on  the  part  of  the  Greek  copy- 

"  Herod,  ii.  146,  fin.  7  ibij,  c.  14T,  imt. 

«  B.C.  2S5-247.  Eratoslheues  was  boni  in  2T5,  k.o.  His  List  is  preserved  by  Geor- 
gius  Syncellus.  See  the  criticism  on  Eratosthenes  by  Kenrick,  "Ancient  Ejrvpt," 
vol.  ii.  p.  97  seq. 

»  About  B.C.  58.  It  is  very  important  to  observe  one  distinction  between  Herodo- 
tus and  Diodorns,  as  to  their  sources  of  information,  which  is  well  put  by  Mr.  Ken- 
riclv:  "The  history  of  Hi-rotsotus  turns  abont  Memjihifi  as  a  centre:  he  meiitioiii 
Thebes  only  incidentally,  and  does  not  describe  or  allude  to  one  of  its  monuments. 
DroiioRcs,  on  the  contrary,  is  full  in  his  description  of  Thebes,  and  says  little  of  Mem- 
P"'s-"  '"  About  A.i).  IS.  n  About  u.o.  70. 

H 


50  HIJSTOKICAL  AUTHORITIES. 

ists.  Its  early  stages  are  manifestly  fabulous,  and,  like  ev- 
ery other  document  of  a  similar  origin,  it  rejects  the  tenden- 
cy of  priests  to  give  their  o\y^n  version  of  history,  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  ruling  classes.  But  it  unquestionably  embodies 
a  large  amount  of  real  information  ;  and  the  statements  of 
Manetho  are  continually  being  confirmed  by  the  monuments, 
as  an  index  to  the  study  of  which  the  list  has  real  value. 
But  there  is  danger  in  feeling  bound  to  Manetho's  arrange 
ment,  which  is  probably  his  own ;  and  the  lengths  of  the 
reigns,  often  doubtless  mere  computations  of  the  chronog- 
raphers,  are  frequently  contradicted  by  the  monuments. 
While  professed  Egyptologers  are  more  and  more  disposed 
to  believe  in  Manetho,  Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis  regards 
his  list  as  "  his  ow^n  invention  ;  aided,  doubtless,  by  some 
•traditionary  names  and  stories  derived  from  his  predeces- 
sors." 

§  4.  The  real  records  of  Egypt's  liistory  are  to  be  found  in 
her  own  monuments  and  her  own  books.  The  nation  which 
stands  first  in  history  Avas  also  the  first  to  write  it,  and  the 
record  has  been  preserved  by  a  concurrence  of  favorable  cir- 
cumstances. Bunsen  says,  "  No  nation  of  the  earth  has 
shown  so  much  zeal  and  ingenuity,  so  much  method  and  reg- 
ularity, in  recording  the  details  of  private  life,  as  the  Egyp- 
tians. No  country  in  the  world  afforded  greater  facilities 
for  indulging  such  a  propensity  than  Egypt,  with  its  lime- 
stone and  its  granite,  its  dry  climate,  and  tlie  protection  af- 
forded by  its  desert  against  the  overpowering  force  of  nature 
in  southern  zones.  Such  a  country  was  adapted,  not  only 
for  securing  its  monuments  against  dilapidation,  both  above 
and  below^  ground,  for  thousands  of  years,  but  even  for  pre- 
serving them  as  perfect  as  the  day  they  were  erected.  In 
the  North,  rain  and  frost  corrode  ;  'in  the  South,  the  luxuri- 
ant vegetation  cracks  or  obliterates  the  monuments  of  time. 
China  has  no  architecture  to  bid  defiance  to  thousands  of 
years  ;  Babylon  had  but  bricks ;  in  India  the  rocks  can  bai-e 
ly  resist  the  wanton  power  of  nature.  Egypt  is  the  monu- 
mental land  of  the  earth,  as  the  Egyptians  are  the  monu- 
mental people  of  history.  Their  contemporary  records,  there- 
fore, are  at  once  the  earliest  and  most  certain  source  of  all 
Egyptian  research." 

Let  us  add  the  testimony  of  Lepsius  to  the  nature  and  mul- 
tiplicity of  these  records:  "An  intense  desire  after  posthu- 
mous fame  and  a  place  in  history  seems  to  have  been  univer- 
sal in  ancient  Egypt.  This  exhibits  itself  in  the  incredible 
multitude  of  monuments  of  all  descriptions  which  have  been 
found  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile,     Ail  the  principal  cities  of 


THE  NATIVE  RECORDS.  51 

Ey^ypt  were  adorned  witli  temples  and  palaces.  Towns  of 
leaser  note,  and  even  villagX'S,  were  pJways  distinguished  by 
one  temple  at  least — oftener  more.  Tliese  temples  were  fill- 
ed with  the  statues  of  gods  and  kings,  generally  colossal,  and 
hewn  from  costly  stones.  Their  walls,  also,  within  and  with- 
out, were  covered  with  colored  reliefs.  To  adorn  and  main- 
tain  these  public  buildings  was  at  once  the  duty  and  pride 
of  the  kings  of  Egypt.  But  even  these  were  rivalled  by  the 
more  opulent  classes  of  the  people  in  their  care  for  the  dead, 
and  in  the  hewing  and  decoration  of  sepulchral  chambers. 
In  these  things  the  Egyptians  very  far  surpassed  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  as  well  as  other  known  nations  of  antiquity. 

"Still  further  to  enhance  to  after-times  the  value  of  these 
ever-during  monuments  of  ancient  Egypt,  it  was  nniversal 
with  the  inhabitants  to  cover  their  works  of  art  of  every 
description  with  hieroglyphics,  the  purport  of  which  related 
strictly  to  the  monuments  on  which  they  were  inscribed, 
Iso  nation  that  ever  lived  on  the  earth  has  made  so  much 
i;8e  of  its  written  system,  or  applied  it  to  a  purpose  so 
strictly  historical,  as  ancient  Egypt.  There  was  not  a  wall, 
a  platform,  a  pillar,  an  architrave,  a  frieze,  or  even  a  door- 
post, in  an  Egyptian  temple,  which  was  not  carved,  within, 
without,  and  on  every  available  surface.^  with  pictures  in  re- 
lief. There  is  not  one  of  these  reliefs  that  is  not  history ; 
some  of  them  representing  the  conquests  of  foreign  nations  ; 
others  the  ofterings  and  devotional  exercises  of  the  monarch 
by  wdioni  the  temple,  or  portion  of  the  temple,  on  which  the 
relief  stood,  had  been  constructed.  Widely  different  from 
the  temples  of  Greece  and  Rome,  on  which  inscriptions  were 
evidently  regarded  as  unwelcome  additions,  forming  no  part 
of  the  original  architectural  design,  but,  on  the  contrary,  in- 
terfering with  and  marring  it— the  hieroglyphic  writings 
were  absolutely  essential  and  indispensable  to  the  decoration 
of  a  perfect  Egyptian  temple. 

"  This  writnig,  moreover,  was  by  no  means  confined  to 
constructions  of  a  public  nature,  snch  as  temples  or  tombs, 
but  was  also  inscribed  on  objects  of  art  of  every  other  con- 
ceivable description.  Xothing,  even  down  to  the  palette  of 
a  scribe,  the  style  with  which  a  lady  painted  her  eyelashes 
with  powdered  antimony,  or  even  a  Avalking-stick,  was  deem- 
ed too  insignificant  to  be  inscribed  with  the  name  of  the 
owner,  and  a  votive  dedication  of  the  object  itself  to  his  pa- 
tron divinity.  Inscriptions  with  the  names  of  the  artists  or 
owners,  so  rare  on  the  remains  of  Greece  and  Rome,  are  the 
universal  rule  in  Egyptian  art.  There  was  no  colossus  too 
orcat,  and   no   amulet  too   small,  to   be   inscribed   with  the 


52  HISTORICAL  AUTHUIilTIES. 

name  of  its  owner,  Miid  sonic  account  of  tlie  occasion  on  which 
it  was  executed.'"" 

The  vast  variety  of  these  inscriptions  supplies  a  check  on 
their  trustworthiness.  In  those  of  a  piiblic  character,  we 
may  suspect  a  fictitious  history  composed  by  priests,  or  dis- 
played for  their  own  glory  by  desi)otic  monarchs  ;  but  we 
can  turn  to  the  private  records  of  tombs  which  have  been 
sealed  up  since  the  day  when  tliey  were  closed. 

§  5.  It  has  already  been  said  that  those  monuments  stud 
the  whole  valley  of  the  Nile,  with  one  interruption,  from  the 
Delta,  through  "Upper  Egypt  and  Nubia,  to  the  island  of 
Meroe.  Their  antiquity  and  i)erfection  corresponds  very 
nearly  with  their  order  along  the  river,  the  best  and  old- 
est being  the  lowest — one  striking  proof  that  the  civiliza- 
tion which  they  represent  (iscended  the  course  of  the  river. 
They  may  be  grouped  in  the  following  series :''  (i.)  About 
Memphis. — The  Pyramids  and  tombs  at  Ahou-Roash^Jizeh^ 
Abou-Seir,  Sakkairf,  and  Bashoor.  Tliese  are  the  monuments 
of  the  Old  Monarchy,  chiefly  of  the  Fourth,  Fifth,  and  Sixth 
Dynasties  of  Manetho.  (ii.)  Contemporary  with  the  oldest  of 
these  are  the  monuments  in  the  peninsula  of  Sixai,  at  Wady- 
Feiran  (Faran),  Wady -el-Ma c/harah,  and  ,Sarhut-el-Kadeni. 
(iii.)  In  Middle  Egypt. — TJie  monuments,  partly  perhaps 
of  the  kings  of  Manetho's  Ninth  and  Tenth  Dynasties,  but 
chiefly  of  those  of  tha  Twelilli,  at  3Ieidt(u,  Ill((hiln,  and  the 
Fijdm.  (iv.)  Returning  to  Sais,  Taxis,  and  Heliopolis,  we 
And  monuments  which  break  the  geographical  series,  owing 
to  the  power  which  the  New  ]\Ionarchy,of  Theban  Kings,  held 
also  over  Lower  Egypt,  (v.)  But  in  their  own  ])roper  dis- 
trict the  series  continues  upward,  in  the  sculptured  tombs  of 
Henl-hassan,  opposite  Hermopolis  the  Great,  and  at  7'ei- 
Amarna.  (ri.)  At  This  and  Abydos  (about  Arah(it-el-3Iad- 
fotnieh),  the  old  seat  of  Manetho's  First  and  Second  Thinite 
Dynasties  (but  none  of  the  monuments  are  theirs),  (vii.) 
The  stupendous  remains  of  Thebes  about  the  villages  of 
Medinet-Ahou^  Luxoi\  and  Karimk.  (viii.)  The  remains  at 
Emeh  (Latopolis),7^7-ii7^?>  and  El-mU(ml{l^\\Q\i\\Y\^),Fdfoii 
(A})ollinopolis),  Iladjar-Selseleh  (Silsilis),  with  its  quarries. 
(i\.)  The  quarries  of  Syene,  and  the  rock-hewn  temples  of 
Elephantine  and  Phila^.  (\.)  Above  Egypt  itself;  the  monu- 
ments at  Abou  Simhel,  Soleb^  and  Barhd.  (xi.)  And  lastly, 
those  of  Meroi^,  at  Sofra,  Naga^  etc.  These  last  are  the 
smallest,  the  poorest  in'  style,  and  th<'  most  decayed,  though 

J2  Oil  the  Hieroglyphic  Wriiinir,  see  chap.  ix.  :^ec.  5. 

13  Lep^i'is:  "  Der.kmaler."    This  prcat  work  has  ihe  advantage  of  depicting  the 
Egyptian  raonumeuti?  in  clironoloiacul  ordei-. 


RECORDS  OF  SPECIAL  VALUE.  53 

tlie  n!'>st  modern.  To  tljese  monuments  must  be  udded  the 
innumerable  extant  books,  chiefly  of  religious  ritual  and  mor- 
al precepts,  which  the  Egyptians  wrote,  from  time  imme- 
morial, upon  the  delicate  membrane  prepared  from  the  reed 
called  papyrus,  which  anciently  fringed  the  baidcs  of  the  Nile, 
and  which  gave  its  name  to  2)((per. 

§  6.  Among  these  records  there  are  some  which  deserve 
especial  mention  for  their  historical  value.  They  may  be 
divided  into  two  classes,  according  as  they  relate  to  the  his- 
tory of  Egypt  in  general,  or  to  particular  reigns.  Of  the 
first  class,  the  following  are  the  most  important:  (i.)  The 
Turin  Pa2njrus,  if  perfect,  would  give  us  an  authoritative 
Egyptian  counterpart  of  the  Lists  of  Manetho,  down  to  the 
most  flourishing  period  ol  the  monarchy.  It  is  a  list  drawn 
up  under,  and  apparently  by  oi'dei-  of,  the  great  Rameses  II. 
(of  the  19th  dynasty),  of  all  the  personages,  whether  mytho- 
logical or  historical,  who  were  believed  to  have  reigned  in 
Egypt  from  the  earliest  age.  Unfortunately  it  only  exists 
in  164  small  fragments,  which  it  is  often  impossible  to  piece 
together,  (ii.)  The  Ckcnnher  of  Ancestors  was  found  at  ICar- 
nak,  and  is  now  in  the  Imperial  Library  at  Paris.  It  is  a 
sort  of  shrine,  on  the^  walls  of  which  is  depicted  Thothmes 
III.,  the  greatest  king  of  the  18th  dynasty,  making  oflerings 
before  the  images  of  61  of  his  predecessors,  whose  names, 
as  usual,  are  inscribed  in  hieroglyphics.  Besides,  however, 
some  unfortunate  mutilations,  the  ancestors  form  a  selection, 
not  a  com.plete  list,  (iii.)  The  Table  of  Abi/dos,  now  in  the 
British  Museum,  represents  a  similar  adoration  of  ancestors 
by  Rameses  II.,  but  in  a  sadly  mutilated  condition.  Of  50 
names,  only  30  remain  more  or  less  legible.  Happily,  how- 
ever, nearly  all  the  lacunm  have  been  supplied  by  the  New 
Table  of  Abi/dos,  of  Seti  I.,  the  father  of  Rameses  II.,  recently 
discovered  by  M.  Mariette.  (iv.)  The  Table  of  Sakkara,  an- 
other discovery  of  M.  Mariette,  and  now  in  the  Jluseum  at 
Cairo,  was  found  in  the  tomb  of  a  priest  named  Tounari,  who 
lived  under  Rameses  II.  In  accordance  with  the  belief  cf 
the  Egyptians,  it  represents  the  pious  deceased  as  admitted, 
in  the  other  world,  to  the  society  of  the  kings,  of  whom  58 
are  represented  on  the  monument.  These  are  doubtless  the 
kings  most  honored  at  Memphis  ;  and  the  selection  corre- 
sponds very  nearly  with  that  on  the  Table  of  Abydos,but  witli 
a  few  interesting  differences.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that, 
while  these  lists  are,  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt,  the  au- 
thentic memorials  of  the  historical  belief  of  the  priests  and 
scribes  who  comjjiled  them,  they  are  no  more  conclusive  evi- 
dence that  all  the  kii;gs  they  represent  ever  lived  and  reign- 


54  HISTORICAL  AUTHORITIES. 

eel,  than  are  the  pictures  of  the  Scottish  sovereigns  at  Holy- 
rood  ;  and  that  their  conformity  with  the  lists  of  Manetho 
carries  us  back  no  fartlier  than  the  same  priestly  tradition. 
But  they  are  invaluable  aids  in  determiuing  the  succession 
of  the  kings  whose  names  we  find  on  contemporary  docu- 
ments, (y.)  For  the  Apis-steke,  or  Apis-tablets,  we  are  also 
indebted  to  M.  Mariette's  discovery  of  the  sepulchre  of  the 
sacred  bulls  at  Memphis.  We  have  to  speak,  in  the  proper 
pluce,  ofthat  celebrated  article  of  the  Egyptian  faith,  that 
Osiris  was  periodically  revealed  in  the  form  of  a  bull,  known 
by  cei-taiu  marks,  and  named  Apis  at  Memphis,  and  3fnevis 
at  Heliopolis.  When  an  Apis  died,  he  was  buried  with  a 
pomp  that  sometimes  ruined  his  curator.  The  sepulchre  is 
an  arched  gallery,  hewn  in  the  rock,  about  20  feet  in  width 
and  height,  to  the  length  of  2000-  feet,  besides  a  lateral 
branch.  On  both  sides  of  the  gallery  are  liewn  recesses,  or, 
as  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  calls  them,  stalls,  each  containing 
a  sarcophagus  of  granite  15  feet  by  8,  on  only  a  few  of  which 
is  a  cartouche  of  the  name  of  the  inclosed  Apis,  But  on  the 
walls  at  the  entrance  of  the  cavern,  as  well  as  scattered  on 
the  floor  beneath,  tablets  were  found,  recording  the  visits 
paid  to  the  sepulchre  by  kings  and  other  persons.  Tliese 
'^Apis-steke  "  are  contem.porary  documents. 

§  6.  Of  the  second  class  of  monuments — those  referring  to 
particular  reigns — the  most  important  will  require  notice  as 
we  proceed.  They  are  of  two  descriptions — papyrus  MSS. 
and  monumental  inscriptions.  Among  the  former  are  pane- 
o-yrics  on  the  deeds  of  kings,  official  correspondence  and  ac- 
counts, and  literary  compositions  of  a  more  general  nature. 
We  may  mention  one  interesting  example.  At  the  brilliant 
court  of  Rameses  II.  there  wei'e  nine  principal  men  of  learn- 
ing attached  to  the  person  of  the  king  ;  and  at  their  head 
one  whom  we  may  venture  to  style  Pharaoh's  Master  of  the 
Rolls.  This  officer,  named  Kagabu,  who  is  described  as  un- 
rivalled in  elegance  of  style,  wrote  a  work  for  the  use  of  the 
crown  prince,"Seti  Menephtha  (who  is  now  identified  with 
the  Phai-aoh  of  tlie  Exodus),  the  moral  of  which  resembles 
that  of  the  story  of  Joseph  and  Potiphar's  wife.'* 

The  monumental  inscriptions  of  this  class  are  both  public 
and  private.  The  former  are  engraven  on  obelisks  or  tab- 
lets, or  on  the  walls  of  temples,  where  they  often  serve  as 
the  written  exposition  of  scenes  presented  more  vividly  to 
the  eve  by  immense  colored  bas-reliefs,  dcjiicting  the  military 
exploits  of  the  kings,  or  their  triumphs  after  battle.     The  in- 

"  This  papyri!?,  acquired  by  Mrs.  D'Orbiney  in  1352,  and  uow  in  the  British  Mnse- 
am,  is  translated,  among  other  dociiinent.',  by  Bni-scli,  "Aiis  dem  Orient,"  1865. 


REIGNS  OF  THE  GODS  IN  EGYPT.  5n 

scriptions  and  paintings  relating  to  private  persons  tlirow  a 
Hood  ot"  light  on  the  daily  life  of  the  people,  the  condition  of 
their  families  and  slaves,  the  economy  of  their  estates,  the 
construction  of  their  houses  and  gardens,  their  banquets  and 
recreations,  within  and  out  of  doors,  and  sometimes  even  on 
their  individual  history  and  character.  Besides  all  this,  they 
^ive  most  important  data  for  history  and  chronology;  when, 
for  instance,  we  iind  it  recorded  that  the  occupant  of  the 
tomb  was  born  on  a  particular  day  and  month  and  year  of 
the  reign  of  one  king,  and  died  at  such  an  age  on  a  particu- 
lar day  and  month  and  year  of  another. 

This  mass  of  records,  however,  was  sealed  up  in  an  un- 
known character  till  the  present  century  ;  when,  among  the 
fruits  of  the  French  exhibition  to  Egypt,  the  famous  "  Roset- 
ta  Stone  "  was  brought  to  our  Museum.  This  trilingual  in- 
scription, in  the  hieroglyphic,  demotic  (or  ordinary  Egyptian), 
and  Greek  characters,  supplied  tlie  key  by  which  the  inge- 
nuity of  Young  and  Champollion  independently  unlocked  the 
secret  of  hieroglyphic  writing,  and  gave  a  living  voice  to  an- 
cient Egypt.'^  The  results  of  this  discovery  have  prescribed 
the  course  of  all  inquiries  into  Egyptian  history.  We  must 
rest  upon  the  native  records  as  our  only  sure  foundation,  but 
of  course  submitting  them  to  the  laws  of  criticism.  The 
scanty  accounts  of  ancient  writers  are  generally  to  be  inter- 
preted by  the  monuments;  but  sometimes  they  supply  other 
facts.  The  Lists  of  Manetho  may  serve  to  some  extent  as  a 
guide  to  the  order  of  the  whole. 

§  7.  As  in  India  and  China,  so  in  Egypt,  a  fabulous  antiq- 
uity was  claimed  for  the  beginning  of  the  nation.  The  reign 
of  the  gods,  for  ages  before  that  of  human  kings,  is  supposed 
to  indicate  a  primeval  hierarchy.  Manetho  prefixes  to  his 
list  of  purely  human  dynasties,  reckoned  from  Menes,  a  pc- 
riod  of  about  25,000  years  for  the  reigns  of  gods,  demigods, 
heroes,  and  manes  (the  souls  of  the  departed).  Tlie  series 
of  the  seven  divine  rulers  looks  like  a  religious  allegory  of 
the  creative  energy  and  conflicts  of  nature,  by  which  the  land 
was  prepared  for  human  habitation.  The  first  is  the  creative 
Phtiia,  the  worker  by  the  energy  of  ^ire.  Next  comes  Ra, 
the  Siui,  wdio  was  worshipped  from  time  immemorial  at  On 
(Heliopolis).  The  third  is  Agathod^mox,  the  Greek  trans- 
lation of  an  Egyptian  name,  which  is  supposed  to  represent 
the  vital  principle  generated  from  the  waters.  The  middle 
place  is  filled  by  Seb  (Cronos  or  Saturn),  the  personification 
of  Time,  standing  between  the  creative  powers  and  those  by 
wliich  tlie  world  is  governed.     The  latter  are  the  childi-cn  of 

13  See  chap.  ix.  sec-t.  5. 


56  HISTORICAL  AUTHORITIES. 

Seb  and  Netpe  ;  ai]d  among  them  are  Osiris  and  Isis.  Of 
these,  Osiris  appeared  in  luirnan  form,  as  tlie  fifth  divine 
ruler,  who,  after  \voi"king  all  manner  of  good  for  men,  is  put 
to  death  by  the  malice  of  Typhon,  the  evil  principle,  but  is 
restored  to  life  and  made  tho  judge  of  souls.  Typiion,  the 
usurper,  is  slain  by  Isis,  with  the  assistance  of  her  son  IIorus, 
who  fills  the  seventh  and  last  place  (as  a  demigod)  among 
the  divine  kings  of  Egypt,  and,  as  the  type  of  youthful  en- 
ergy ])ei-[)etually  renewed  (like  Apollo),  he  is  tlie  source  of 
succeeding  dynasties  and  the  special  leader  of  the  Egyptians. 
Tlie  demigods  of  Manetho  (on  the  authority  of  Syncellus) 
w^ere  eight :  Mars,  Anubis,  Hercules,  Apollo,  Amnion,  Tithoes, 
Zosos,  Jupiter. ^"^  This  mythological  age  is  called  on  the  in- 
scrijjtions  "the  times  oi  i\\Q  Ilor-sheson''''  (servants  of  ITorus). 
§  8.  The  Lists  of  Manetho,  the  statements  of  the  priests  to 
Herodotus  and  Diodorus,  and  the  inscriptions,  all  agree  in 
making  Mex  or  Menes  the  first  man  who  reigned  in  Egypt; 
and  the  very  name  suggests  a  mythical  impersonation  of  the 
human  race,  like  the  Indian  Menu^  tha  Greek  Minyas  and 
Minos^  the  Etruscan  Menerfa^  and  the  German  M(fn/ms. 
His  claim  to  historical  existence  fail*  before  the  only  proper 
test;  for  the  hieroglyphs  of  his  name  are  not  contemporary.^'^ 
The  pi-iestly  tradition  connected  him  v/ith  the  widest  range 
of  Egypt's  dominion,  placing  his  birth  and  early  kingdom 
at  This,  in  Upper  Egypt,  his  great  works  at  Memphis,  and 
his  conquests  and  death  in  Ethiopia,  whore  he  was  killed  by 
a  liippopotamus.  The  significance  of  the  legends  respecting 
Menes  will  be  seen  better  wlien  we  gain  some  sure  basis  of 
genuine  liistory. 

§  9.  The  priests  road  to  Herodotus,  from  a  papyrus,  the 
names  of  330  kings,  the  successors  of  Menes,  among  whom 
were  eighteen  Ethiopian  kings  and  one  native  queen,  Nito- 
cris ;  all  the  rest  wei-e  kings  and  Egyptians.  The  last  of 
them  was  Mceris,  the  constructor  of  the  great  lake  in  the 
FyUm^  wlio  had  not  been  dead  900  years  when  Herodotus 
visited  Egypt.'*  Moeris,  as  we  shall  see,  represents  proba- 
bly one  or  more  kings  of  Manetho's  12th  dynasty.  Herodo- 
tus then  passes  on  to  Sesostris,'^  the  great  conqueror,  and 
his  son  PiiERON,""  who  was  struck  blind ;  names 
which,  like  Moeris,  are  disguised  under  their  Greek 
form,  but  point  to  the  great  exploits  of  the  18th 
and  19th  dynasties,  though  the  name  of  Sesos- 
^     I    tris  may  possibly  come  from  the  12th.     The  Mem- 

■V.  M         J«  See  Sir  G.  Wilkinson's  Note  on  Herod,  ii.  44  (Rawliuson). 

His  hieroglyph  reads  Mna  or  Metmi.  "^  Ileiod.  ii.  101  and  13. 

MENES.         I'*  Heiod.  11.102  seq.  20  Herod,  ii.  111. 


CONQUEST  BY  SABACOS.  57 

phian  Proteus,  the  successor  of  Piicroii,'''  is  made  con< 
temporary  with  the  Trojan  war,  a  pseudo-chronological  in- 
ference from  the  Homeric  fable  of  Proteus  ;  while  the  amus- 
ing anecdote  about  his  successor,  Kiiampsixitus,^"  and  the 
thief,  puts  all  chronology  at  defiance  by  placing  a  Rhamses 
(as  the  name  seems  to  imply)  before  the  Pyrannd-kings.  It 
would  seem,  in  fact,  that  Herodotus  had  before  him  two  lists 
of  kings,  the  one  belonging  to  Upper  and  the  oiher  to  Low- 
er Egypt;  and,  having  told  all  that  he  found  interesting 
about  the  Thinites  and  Thebans,  from  the  1st  dynasty  to  the 
IDtli,  he  passes  to  the  earliest  Memphiajis  of  the  4th,  unaware 
of  his  chronological  disorder."^  We  shall  have  to  notice  in 
their  proper  place  his  statements  about  the  ])yramid-bui]ders, 
Cheops,  Cephrex,  and  Mycerixus,'*  names  now  perfectly 
identified.  That  of  Asychis,  the  builder  of  a  brick  pyramid, 
is  more  doubtful  f  and  so  is  Axysis,  the  blind  king,  who  w^as 
driven  into  the  marshes,  w  hile  Egypt  was  conquered  by  a 
vast  army  of  Ethiopians,  led^by  Sabacos,  who  ruled  for  fifty 
years.-"  This  conquest  corresp^onds  to  the  25th  (Ethiopian) 
dynasty  of  Manetho,  which  we  find  synchronizing  with  As-^ 
Syrian  and  Hebrew  history  about  the  time  of  the  downfall  of 
the  kingdom  of  Israel  ;  and  the  restoration  of  Anysis  may  be 
probably  connected  with  the  revolution  by  which  the  native 
princes  who  had  preserved  their  independence  in  the  Delta 
expelled  the  Ethiopians.^' 

With  the  completion  of  that  revolution  b.y  the  establish- 
ment of  PsAMMETiciirs  ou  the  throne  (about  b.c.  664),  the 
notes  of  Herodotus  fall  into  historical  oi-dei-.  We  have  now 
collected  into  one  view  the  outline  of  his  contributions  to 
the  earlier  history  of  Egypt.  His  order,  or  rather  disordei-, 
is  followed  by  Diodorus,  with  the  addition  of  a  few  facts  of 
some  importance,  of  which,  however,  no  separate  statement 
need  be  made  at  present. ^^ 

21  Herod,  ii.  112  seq.  The  "successor,"  in  these  anecdotes,  is  simply  the  king 
whom  Herodotus  pleases  to  mention  next.  22  Herod,  ii.  121  seq. 

23  See  Sir  G.  Wilkinson's  note  to  Herodotus,  ii.  124  (Rawlinson).  The  two  follow- 
in>r  sets  of  five  comprise  all  the  klni?s  selected  by  Herodotns  from  the  330  read  out  to 
him  by  the  priests : 

hinites  and  Thebans.  MemphiteA. 

Menes.  Cheops. 

Moeris.  Cephren. 

Sesostris.  Mycerinus. 

Pheron.  Asychis. 

Rhanipslnitns.  Auysis. 

24  Herod,  ii.  124  fi"q. 

'"•>  Herod,  ii.  136.  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  supposes  him  to  have  been  Shishak,  of  the  22d 
dynasty  (called  Asochieas  by  Josephus),  perhaps  partly  confounded  with  some  other 
kiu<?.     In  Rawliuson's  '"Herodotus,"  i.  c. 

2"  Herod,  ii.  137.     See  further  in  chap.  vii. 

27  Herod,  ii.  139, 140.  The  legend  of  the  priest-king  Setuos  (c.  141)  seems  to  be  a 
confusion  of  various  stories  belonLaug  to  different  times.  28  Djod.  i.  45-6S. 

8* 


58  HISTORICAL  AUTHORITIES. 

• 

§  10.  Turning  to  the  Lists  of  Manctho,  we  find  the  whole 
succession  of  kings,  from  Menes  to  the  final  conquest  of 
Egypt  by  the  Persians,  divided  into  30  dynasties,  to  which 
is  added  a  31st,  composed  of  the  Persian  kings  till  the  con- 
cpiest  by  Alexander.  The  30  dynasties  are  distinguished  by 
the  seats  of  the  royal  power,  except  the  three  dynasties  of 
Shepherd  Kinr/s  (15-17),^^  the  Etliiopians  (25),  and  the  Per- 
sians (27)  of  the  first  Persian  conquest.  These  capitals  were, 
in  Upper  ^^?/;>?,  This,  Elephantine,  and  Thebes;  in  Middle 
Efjypt^  Heracleopolis  ;  and  in  Lov^er  E<jypt^  Memphis,  Xois, 
Tanis,  Bubastis,  Sais,  Mendes,  and  Sebennytus.  The  years  as- 
signed by  Manetho  to  ihc  respective  dynasties  make  up  a  to- 
tal of  5462  years  ;  but  his  own  statement  at  the  end  gives  a 
period  of  3555  years.^^ 

Tliis  discrepancy  seems  almost  decisive  of  the  question 
whetlier  tlie  dynasties  of  Manetho  are  successive  and  contin- 
uous or  in  part  contem])oraneous.^^  The  former  alternative 
seems  quite  incredible,  with  reference  both  to  the  times  and 
places;  and,  if  not  irreconcilable  with  the  monuments,  it  is 
certainly  not  confirmed  by  them.  The  latter  view  is  adopt- 
ed by  the  best  modern  authorities,  with  a  few  distinguished 
exceptions  ;^'^  nor  is  the  difficulty  of  arranging  the  contemj^o- 
raneous  dynasties  in  an  exact  scheme  a  sufficient  objection 
to  the  principiL\  Neither  is  the  attempt  of  much  conse- 
quence; for  the  whole  history  of  Egypt  may  easily  be  group- 
ed under  the  following  broad  divisions  :  (i).  The  Old  Mon- 
arcJiy^  which  had  its  capital  at  Mem])his,  in  Lower  Egypt, 
but  probably  ruled  over  the  whole  land,  (ii,)  Tlie  Middle 
3Ionarc]iy^  and  the  foreign  domination  of  the  l^'^hepJierd  Kings. 
(iii).  The  N^ew  3Io)tarchy  of  Thebes^  under  which  Egypt  was 
reunited  and  raised  to  the  acme  of  its  power,  (iv.)  A  period 
during  which  power  was  held  by  various  princes  of  Lower 
Egypt,  till  the  establishment  of  a  second  foreign  domination 
— the  Ethiopian,  (v.)  Tlie  later  Scute  Monarchy.^  which  re- 
united Egypt  till  it  was  conquered  by  Cambyses.  (vi.)  The 
Persian  JDoniinatioi}^  with  one  episode  of  recovered  inde- 
pendence, down  to  the  conquest  by  Alexander,  (vii.)  The 
Hellenist  Kingdom  of  the  Ptolemies,  tiU  Egypt  became  a  Ro- 
man province,  (viii.)  The  Homan  Provi?ice  of  Egypt,  till  the 
conquest  of  the  country  by  the  Arabs. 

2'*  But  in  some  copies  these  are  Thehan. 

3"  Reckoning  back  from  about  u.o.  350,  the  former  date  would  carry  us  to  i?.o.  5812, 
the  l:itter  to.n.<f.  S9C5.     But  the  numbers  vary  in  difierent  copies. 

31  Manetho  himself  speaks  of  cimtemporary  "kings  of  Thebais  and  of  the  othe? 
provinces  of  Egypt." 

s"  Buuseu  aud  Keuau  are  the  raosi  emiucut  advocates  of  the  long  chronology. 


AKRANGEMENT  OF  DYNASTIES. 


r>i) 


NOTE. 

CONTEMPORANEOUSNESS    OF   DYNASTIES. 

The  following  is  the  arrangeiment  proposed  by  Mr.  Lane  and  Mr.  Stiiars 
Poole  for  the  Dynasties  down  to  the  New  Theban  Monarchy. 


(l.  THINITES. 


III.  Memphites. 


II. 


IV. 


VI. 


VII. 


VIII. 


V.  Elephanliues. 


JDiospulites 


IX.  Heracleopolites. 

1 

X. 

XI.    1  XII.        |XIII. 

XVIII. 

Ixix. 

XIV.  Xoites. 

^yjj- Shepherds. 

XVII. 

Shephe 

rds. 

Sphiux  and  Pyramid*. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE    OLD    MEMPIIIAN    MONArvCIlY. 


i  1.  Memphis  the  tirst  sent  of  tlie  Egyptian  monarchy.  What  is  meant  by  the  origin 
of  Meiies  from  This?  §  '2.  The  First  and  Second  {TJnnitc)  Dj/nciMics  of  Manetho. 
Introduction  of  animal-worship.  Succession  of  women  to  the  crown.  §  3.  The 
Third  Dynastij  {Menqjhian).  The  Libyans  snbdued.  §  4.  Contemporary  History 
begins  with  the  Fourth  DynaHtij  {Memphian),  and  the  Pyramidfi.  Names  of  Knc- 
FU  and  his  brother  in  t)ie  Great  Pyramid:  the  CuEori-;  of  Herodotus.  §  5.  The 
Second  Pyramid  of  Ckimiken  or  Siiafre.  His  temple  and  statue.  §  G.  The  Third 
Pyramid  of  Myckrinik  or  Mknkare.  His  coffin  and  mummy.  Soris  and  the  Pyr- 
amid of  Abou-Seir.  §  7.  The  Pyramids  in  general.  Motives  for  their  construc- 
tion. §  S.  Their  testimony  to  the  power  and  art  of  the  Memphian  kings.  Ab- 
Beuce  of  all  figured  decorations  and  inscriptions.  They  are  the  temple-tombs  of 
deilied  kings.  §9.  The  colossal  Sphinx:  probably  of  the  time  of  Shafre.  Sym- 
bolical meaning  of  the  figure.  §  10.  Tombs  of  the  Pyramid-period.  Their  vivid 
pictures  of  life  under  the  Old  Monarchy.  Physical  appearance  and  dress.  Social 
and  economical  condition.  Wealth  and  oppression  of  the  land-owners.  Pastoral 
and  agricultural  operations.  Amusements.  Domesticated  animals.  Absence  of 
the  horse.  Mechanical  arts.  Vv  riting.  High  state  of  art.  Moral  philosophy  of 
the  age.  §  11.  It  was  a  period  of  peace  and  prosperity.  Sudden  n-ppcarance  of 
this  high  civilization.  ?  12.  Ti-aditions  of  earlier  works.  Mencs  turned  the  course 
of  the  Nile.  §13.  Thecity  of  Mf-mpuis.  Its  precedence  over  Thebes  and  Ileliopolis, 
5  14.  Necropolis  of  Memjjhis.  Architecture  of  the  tombs.  §  15.  The  Memphian 
Dynasties:  3d,  4th,  6th,  7th,  Sth.  Connection  of  the  Fifth  (Elephantine)  Dynaatij 
with  Memphis.  Relations  between  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt.  §  IG.  Religious  con- 
flicts under  the  Fourth  Dynasty.  Imjiiety  and  oppression  of  Cheops  and  Cephren. 
Piety  and  deiticaticm  of  Mycerinus.  Confirmations  from  the  monuments.  §  17. 
Bnnsen's  view  of  the  religious  and  political  union  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt. 
§  IS.   The  Sixth  Dynai^ij:  difficulties  about  its  origin.    Pepi-Maire  and  Pepi  Nefer- 


MEMPHIS.  61 

Kei'a.  NiTOOEis.  Her  cor.nection  with  the  Third  Pyramid.  5 19.  Seventh  and 
L'if'hth  Dinia.sties.  Fall  of  the  Memphiar.  monarchy.  Xinth  and  Tenth  Djnasties 
at  Heracleopolis.     §20.  Absence  of  a  chronology  thus  far.    Various  hypotheses. 

§  1.  Memphis  was  tlie  earliest  seat  of  tlie  Egyptian  king- 
tlom.  There  are  the  oldest  monuments,  and  its  foundation  is 
ascribed  to  Menes.  If  the  origin  of  Menes  from  This^  indi- 
cates a  still  older  local  kingdom  in  Upper  Egypt,  that  king- 
dom has  disappeared,  leaving  no  contemporary  records,  but 
only  the  traditions  recorded  in  the  List  of  Manetho.  The  re- 
moval of  Menes  from  This  to  Memphis  implies  the  subjection 
of  the  former  to  the  lattei- ;  and  tlie  N'ew  Table  of  Abydos 
and  the  Table  of  Sakkara  appear  to  make  the  two  contempo- 
raneous. The  traditions  seem  to  indicate  a  rivalry  between 
the  priests  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt  for  the  first  honors  of 
national  civilization.  While  both  rendered  equal  reverence 
to  Menes,  Neclierophes,  the  head  of  the  Third  (the  first  Mem- 
phite)  Dynasty  was  regarded  as  liis  contemporary  ;  and  to 
Athotliis,  the  son  of  Menes,  and  Tosorthus,  the  son  of  Neche- 
rophes  (who  seem  indeed  to  be  identical)  are  ascribed  in  com- 
mon tlie  possession  of  great  medical  knowledge,  the  patron- 
ao-e  of  letters,  and  the  first  use  of  hewn  stones  in  buildino-  a 
temple  at  Memphis. 

§  2.  Manetho  assigns  to  his  I^irst  {Titiidte)  Dynasty  seven 
kings  during  a  jieriod  of  250  years.  The  fifth  king,  Hesep-ti 
(Usapliaidos,  ^I."),  is  often  mentioned  in  the  funereal  Ritual 
(an  extant  papyrus)  as  the  author  of  some  sacred  books. 
The  Second  I) y nasty ^  also  of  T/iinites,  consisting  of  nine 
kings  in  302  years,  is  signalized  as  the  period  of  the  intro- 
duction of  animal-worship,  which  is  thus  marked  as  an  inno- 
vation. In  the  reign  of  Caiechos  {Kekeou)^  the  second  king 
of  this  dynasty,  the  bulls  Apis  and  Mnevis  were  worshipped 
at  Mempliis  and  Heliopolis  respectively,  and  the  goat  at 
Mendes  ;  all,  be  it  observed,  in  Lower  Egypt.  His  succes- 
sor, Binotliris  {Raneter-e7i),is  said  to  have  legalized  the  suc- 
cession of  women  to  the  crown  ;  and  the  eighth  king,  Seso- 
chris,  is  described  as  a  giant. 

§  3.  The  Third  Dynasty  of  Manetho  consists  of  nine  or 
eleven  Jlem^^hian  kings,  ior  a  space  of  214  years.  The  first 
king,  Necherophes,  the  contemporary  of  Menes,  subdued  a  re- 
volt of  the  Libyans,  the  rebels  being  panic-stricken  at  a  sud- 
de]i  increase  of  the  moon  ;  so  early  did  tradition  place  the 
subjugation  of  the  tribes  of  the  Western  Desert. 

§  4.  These  notices  are  culled  by  Manetho  from  tlie  tradi- 

1  This  was  a  city  of  Upper  Eu'vpt,  about  100  miles  below  Thebes,  and  near  Abydoe 
(Arabat-el-Mad foil  nail),  which  supplanted  it. 

2  This  abbreviation  indicates  the  name  given  by  Manetho. 


G2  THE  OLD  MONAKCHY. 

tions  of  the  priests  ;  but  now  we  approach  the  confines  of 
that  real  history  which  is  attested  by  contemporary  records. 
The  ovals^  of  the  first  and  second  dynasties  are  certainly 
none  of  them  contemporary ;  they  are  votive  or  traditional 
inscriptions  on  buildings,  tablets,  or  writings  of  a  much  later 
date.  Some  are  ascribed  to  the  Third  Dynasty ;  but  the 
only  three  legible  names,  which  are  clearly  contemporary, 
are  assigned  by  the  highest  authority,  Lepsius,  to  the  Fourtli 
and  Fifth  Dynasties.  The  most  important  of  these  is  on  a 
bas-relief  carved  on  the  rocks  of  the  Sinai  group,  representing 
Kinf»:  Snofru  (commonly  identified  with  Se])huris  of  Manetho's 
Third  Dynasty)  as  subduing  the  Arabs  of  the  peninsula. 

It  is  with  the  Fourth  Dynasty  of  Memphian  kiugs  that  we 
first  find  monumental  records  coinciding  with  historical  tra- 
dition ;  and  lolth  thetn  the  real  history  of  Egypt  begins.  Their 
names  are  recorded  alike  in  the  pages  of  the  father  of  histo- 
ry and  on  the  stones  of  the  oldest  and  most  majestic  mou- 
nmeuts  of  the  world,  the  Pyramids  of  Jizeh,  north-west  of 
Meu4)his.  If  the  mound  of  the  Dirs-A^imroudhe  indeed  the 
remains  of  the  Tower  of  Babel,"  it  has  been  for  ages  a  shape- 
less ruin,  while  the  oldest  Pyramids,  preserving  their  first 
form,  and  not  entirely  stript  even  of  the  outermost  stones, 
still  rise  like  everlasting  mountains  over  the  vast  level  plain, 
challenging,  from  the  beginning  of  recorded  history,  research 
into  the  mystery  of  their  meaning. 

Hidden  during  all  those  ages  in  the  very  centre  of  the 
mass  of  the  Great  Pyramid,  safe  from  defacement  and  muti- 
lation, and  so  placed  as  to  be  beyond  all  suspicion  of  their 
o-enuineness,^  General  Howard  Vyse  discovered,  as  lately  as 
the  year  1837,  the  hieroglyphic  characters  which  the  work- 
men painted,  for  their  own  mechanical  uses,  on  the  hwge 
stones  before  they  left  the  quarry  ;  and  those  characters  have 
been  decipliered  as  KnuFU  or  Shofo,  and  Num-Khufu  or 
Nu-Shofo  (the  brother  of  Khufu  or  Shofo,  and  doubtless  co- 
reo-ent  with  him)."  In  these  kings  we  at  once  recognize  the 
Su'i:)his  I.  and  TI.  of  Manetho'  and  the  royal  tablets,  and  in 

3  lu  hiei-o<ilyphic  writing  the  uaine  of  n  king  is  always  iuclosecl  in  an  oval  or  car- 
touche, as  the  name  of  Menes  on  p.  5G.  ^  See  below,  chap.  x. 

5  On  the  rough  surfaces  of  stones  built  into  the  mass. 

6  On  Horace's  principle,  "Segnius  irritant  animos,  etc.,"  wo  give  copies  of  these 


quarry-marks 


,  \^4^4®)  '^  •""■'"^  |^^^®iC^^ 


Nuin- 


Khvfii,  or,  in  an  abridged  form,  i   ^   -rf      (V^  J\        ^'^' 

1  That  thesa  two  reigned  together,  in  ))art  at  least,  is  contirmed  by  the  lengths  (»f  their 
reigns  as  stated  by  Mauetho,  either  tifiy  and  tifty-six  years,  or  sixty -three  and  sixty-six; 
for  even  the  smaller  pair  could  hardly  have  been  tilled  up  by  two  brothers  successively. 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


63 


the  former  the  Cheops  to  whom  Herodotus  expressly  as- 
cribes the  Great  Pyramid.  Justly,  therefore,  does  Lepsius 
describe  this  work  as  "  the  Pyramid  of  Cheops,  to  loliidi  the 
first  link  of  our  mommiental  history  is  fastened  hmnovably^ 
not  only  for  Egyptian,  but  for  Universal  History." 

§  5.  Tlie  tiecond  Pyramid  of  Jizeh  is  doubtless  that  which 


Plan  of  the  Pyramids  ol  Ji 

Herodotus  sayrj  was  built  by  Cephren,  th:^  successor  of  Che- 
ops, close  to  the  former,  and  of  nearly  the  same  size,  but 
somewhat  lower.®  This  king  is  probably  identified  Avith 
Shafre,  tlie  Sephres  of  Mauetlio's  Fiftli  Dynasty,  but,  accord- 
ing to  Lepsius,  of  the  Fourth.  His  luime  has  not,  indeed, 
been  found  on  the  Pyramid,  but  it  appeai-s  on  several  tombs 

•  Ilernd.  ii.  127.  In  caJliiig  Cephren  the  brother  of  Cheops,  Herodotus  .«cems  to 
have  confused  him  with  Num-Khufu  or  Snphis  II.  Diodorns  (i.64)  mentions  a  tra- 
dition, that  this  kins:  was  the  kou.  (not  the  brother)  of  Cheops,  and  that  his  true  nanie 
was  Cl)al)ryis,  a  much  nearer  approach  to  Shafre. 


6i  THE  OLD  MDXAKCHY. 

arid  tablets,  often  with  the  addition  "  of  the  Lesser  Pyramid.'' 
It  is  also  distinguished,  in  tlie  tablets  of  kings,  like  that  of 
Cheops,  by  a  pyramid  among  its  component  hieroglyphics. 

A  most  interesting  monument  of  this  king  is  the  great 
temple,  close  to  the  Sphinx,  only  lately  uncovered  by  M,  Ma- 
riette,  who  found  in  it  a  life-sized  portrait-statue  of  the  king, 
sculptured  in  the  hard  trap-rock  called  diorite,  and  inscribed 

with  his  name,  f/-=^  ^^^   O) ;  besides  fragments  of  other 

statues  with  the  same  inscription. 

§  6.  The  Third  Pyramid^  much  inferior  in  size  to  the  other 
two,  but  excelling  them  in  beauty,  as  it  was  cased  half-way 
up  with  Etliiopian  granite,  is  ascribed  by  Herodotus  to  My- 
cp:rinus,  whom  he  makes  the  successor  of  Cephren;®  and,  in 
Manetho,  Suphis  II.  is  followed  by  Mencheres.'"  In  this  case, 
the  identification  is  even  more  striking  than  in  that  of  tlie 
Pyramid  of  Cheops.  Tiie  Third  Pyramid  still  retains  some 
courses  of  its  granite  facing,  bevelled  at  the  edges  ;  and  when 
Belzoni  entered  the  edifice,  he  found  indeed  that  Arab  spoilers 
liad  been  there  before  him  ;  the  coffin  had  been  taken  from  the 
sarcophagus,  and  broken  open  ;  but  there  lay  the  coffin-lid,  in- 
scribed with  the  name  of  Mex-ka-re,  and  in  the  neighboring 
|)assage  were  the  withei'ed  relics  of  a  body,  supposed  to  be 
that  of  the  king  himself;  though  some  say  that  it  is  the 
corpse  of  an  Arab,  who  perished  in  the  Pyramid  when  it  was 
entered  by  Othman.  The  human  relics  and  the  fragments  of 
the  case  may  both  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum  ;  and  the 
hieroglyphics  of  the  name  are  repeated  on  the  tablets  of 
kings,  in  one  of  the  small  pyramids  which  are  grouped  about 
the  great  ones,  and  elsewhere. 

The  Middle  Pyramid  oi  Ahoii-Seir^  to  the  south  of  those  of 
Jizeh,has  been  claimed,  on  the  authority  of  a  name  inscribed 
as  a  quarry-mark,  for  Soris,  the  first  king  of  the  P^ourtli  Dy- 
nasty; but  Lepsius  refers  it  to  Usercheres,  of  the  Fifth. 

§  7.  These  Pyramids  are  but  the  chief  and  the  most  an- 
cient of  a  series  extending  along  the  rock}"  platform,  Avhich 
raises  them  beyond  reach  of  the  inundation,  to  the  west  of 
Memphis,  along  a  space  of  about  twenty  miles,  from  Jizeh  on 
the  north  to  I)ashour  on  the  south. 

Such  was  the  extent  of  the  vast  cemetery,  where  the  myr- 
iads of  tlie  Memphian  dead  reposed  in  their  rock-hewn  sep- 
ulchres, high  over  which  the  temple-tombs  of  theii-  sover- 
eigns pointed  tQ  the  sky.  Monuments  of  haughty  grandeur 
and  despotic  power  as  they  are,  common  sense  suggests  the 

9  Ilerod.  ii.  129. 134.  i '  The  name  also  occurs  iu  the  FifLh  Dynasty. 


THE  PYKAMIDS.  65 

higher  artistic  motive  ior  their  size  and  form ;  a  motive 
which  is  felt  as  soon  as  they  are  seen.  Like  the  cathedral, 
spires  of  tlie  Middle  Ages,  they  are  tlie  landmarks  of  a  vast 
space  which  sets  them  before  tlie  eye  in  their  sacred  dionity 
while  their  huge  mass  is  in  harmony  with  all  the  object's  that 
surround  them,  and  with  the  very  atmospliei-e  throua:h  which 
they  are  seen.  The  emotions  excited  in  a  thousand  genera- 
tions are  the  justification  of  their  builders. 

§  .8.  It  is  a  misleading  generality  to  speak  of  the  Pyra- 
mids simply  as  Egyptian.  They  ai'e  the  characteristic  mon- 
uments of  the  old  Meniphian  Monarchy,  just  as  the  vast  tem- 
ples of  Luxor  and  Karnak,  with  theii- ])illared  naves  and  tow- 
ering propyla^,  are  of  the  New  Theban  Monarchy.  The  prac- 
tice of  pyramid  -  building  can  not  be  traced"^  beyond  the 
Twelfth  Dynasty,  for  the  pyramids  of  ISTubia  are  later  and 
very  inferior  resuscitations  of  the  form.  Equally  distinct  is 
the  religious  idea  of  the  Pyramids  from  tliat  of'the  palaces 
and  temples  of  after-ages.  While  the  walls  of  the  latter  dis- 
play immense  reliefs  and  paintings,  and  are  covered  with 
liieroglyphics,  to  the  glory  of  their  kings  and  their  patron 
deities,  the  former  are  almost,  and  in  the  best  and  oldest  ex- 
ample, the  Great  Pyramid,  quite  bare  of  even  structural  dec- 
oration. Not  for  want  of  skill  and  art,  as  is  abundantly 
shown  by  the  contempoi-ary  tombs  around  them,  and  by  the 
perfection  of  their  own  workmanship.  Had  we  no  other 
monuments  of  the  age,  the  mechanical  skill  required  to  re- 
move the  huge  stones  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  Nile,  and 
to  raise  them  to  the  height  of  nearly  500  feet;  to  quarry, 
and  polish,  and  transport  the  granite  used  in  the  linings  an"^d 
sarcophagi;  to  preserve  every  form  and  angle  vvith  geomet- 
rical exactitude,  and  to  fit  the  masonry  with  joints  as  thin 
as  writing-paper  (not  to  insist  on  the  supposed  evidences  of 
higli  astronomical  and  other  science) — all  this  would,  of  itself, 
display  the  work  of  a  highly  civilized  people,  govei-ned  by  a 
power  which,  in  the  security  of  peace,  could  command  unlim- 
ited resources  of  labor,  and  was  ready  to  expend  the  human 
material  with  the  unsparing  selfishness  of  a  despot.  The 
priests  told  Herodotus"  that  "  Cheops  closed  the  temples 
and  forbade  the  Egyptians  to  sacrifice,  compelling  theni  in- 
r>tead  to  labor,  one  and  all,  in  his  service.  A  hundred  thou- 
sand men  labored  constantl}^,  and  Avere  relieA'ed  every  three 
months  by  a  fresh  lot.  It  took  ten  years'  oppression  of  the 
people  to  make  the  causeway  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
stones.     The  Pyramid  itself  was  twenty  yeai-s  in  building." 

The  ffiirest  conclusion  from  the  absence  of  those  decora- 

n  Ilerod.  ii.  109. 


G6  THE  OLD  MONARCHY. 

tions  which  were  lavished  on  private  tombs,  is  that  the  Pyr- 
amids were  regarded  as  temples^  as  well  as  tombs,  in  an  age 
and  nation  which  had  not  yet  adopted  image  worship  ;  and 
when,  as  we  have  seen,  the  pantheistic  symbolism  of  animal 
woi-ship  was  new.  Tombs,  in  general,  were  sacred  to  the 
deities  of  Amenti^  the  Egyptian  Hades;  but  the  pyramid- 
kind's  seem  themselves  to  have  aspired  to  divine  honors  after 
dea^h,  and  among  the  epitaphs  of  their  subjects  we  find  such 
titles  as  "priest  of  Khufu,"  "priest  of  Shafre;"  nay, the  Great 
Pyramid  is  called  the  "Temple  of  King  Khufu."  The  ab- 
sence of  decoration  is  equally  remarkable  in  the  great  tem- 
ple of  Shafre,  near  the  Pyramids.  The  temple-towers  of  Baby- 
lonia, though  in  many  respects  of  a  different  type,'^  have  a 
sufficient  resemblance  to  the  Pyramids  to  suggest  a  common 
derivation  of  the  idea  from  the  Tower  of  Babel,  a  sugges- 
tion cpiite  consistent  with  the  Cushite  origin  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, and  the  position  of  the  Pyramids  in  time  as  the  ear- 
liest extant  of  human  works.  Their  perfection  shows  that 
they  were  no  first  rude  essays  in  architecture. 

§  9.  In  front  of  the  Pyramids,  on  the  edge  of  the  platform 
of  rock  on  which  they  stand,  but  lower  down  and  looking 
eastward  over  the  Nile,  stands  the  colossal  /Sphinx  (at  e  on 
the  Plan).  A  man's  head  rises  above  the  sands  which  leave 
visible  only  the  back  of  the  body  of  a  lion,  both  hewn  out  of 
the  solid  rock,  the  strata  of  which  are  not  only  clearly  seen, 
but  "the  figure  appears  all  cruelly  cut  into  by  the  Aveather- 
ino'  of  its  rock.'"'  "  The  head  and  face  are  reddish,  the  neck 
and  line  of  the  back  white,  on  the  yellow  sand.'"'  "About 
the  face  and  head,  though  nowhere  else,  there  is  much  of  the 
original  statuary  surface  still,  occasionally  painted  dull  red  ; 
and  the  curvature  of  the  cheeks  and  cheek-bones  shows  a 
certain  degree  of  high  sculpture,  especially  Avhen  we  observe 
the  scale  on  which  it^is  wrought."  "  The  temporary  clearance 
of  the  sand  effected  by  Captain  Caviglia,  in  1818,  showed 
that  the  length  of  the  body  is  140  feet  f  the  foie-paws,  which 
are  constructed  in  masonry,  project  fifty  feet  farther;  and  the 
height  from  the  platform  between  the  paws  to  the  top  of  the 
head  is  62  feet,  the  original  elevation  of  the  native  rock.'^ 

The  rock  is  not,  however,  levelled  to  this  depth,  but  the 
platform  is  approached  from  the  side  of  the  Nile  by  a  slop- 
ing descent  cut  in  the  rock  for  135  feet,  and  ending  in  a  flight 
of  13  steps;  from  the  platform  there  is  another  descent  of 
30  steps  to  the  space  between  the  Sphinx's  feet.     Like  the 

12  See  belfiAV,  chap.  x. 

13  Pinzzi  Stnvth,  "  Life  nirl  Work  at  the  Great  Pyrnmid,"  vol.  i.  p.  n22. 

14  ri,;(i.,  vol.  i.  p.  5S.  1*  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  p.  323. 
50  Howard  7yse,  "  Pyramids  of  Gizeh,"  vol.  iii.     Appendix,  pp.  109-lia. 


THE  COLOSSAL   SPHINX.  67 

Pyramids,  it  is  free  from  hieroglyphics;  but,  on  the  side  of 
a  little  temple  between  its  paws,  Caviglia  discovered  tablets 
representing  Thothmes  lY.,  of  the  18th  dynasty,  and  Rameses 
the  Great,  oi'  the  19th,  worshipping  the  figure  of"  the  Sphinx, 
Har-Hat^  the  giver  of  life,  etc.,  tbe  ruler  of  the  upper  and 
low^er  world,  etc.,  like  the  sun  forever  and  ever."  These  tab- 
lets only  prove  it  to  be  older  than  the  kings  wdio  set  them 
up;  its  real  age  is  probably,  from  many  indications,  tliat  of 
the  Pyramids  themselves. 

Its  meaning  has  no  connection  with  the  classic  fable  of 
GEdipus.  The  Greek  Sphinx  was  female  f  the  Egyptian  was 
jiiale — the  symbolical  statue  of  a  god  or  king,  uniting  the  at- 
tributes of  power  and  intelligence  in  the  lion's  body  and  the 
man's  head,  crowned  with  the  royal  fillet.''  From  the  prox- 
imity of  the  Sphinx  to  the  building  called  Shafre's  temple, 
and  some  other  indications,  it  is  thought  by  some  to  be  the 
statue  of  that  king,  by  others  a  divine  image  wdiich  he  con- 
secrated. If  the  former,  it  was  doubtless  a  portrait ;  but  the 
weathering  of  the  strata  has  worn  the  essentially  Egyptian 
features  into  what  some  have  mistaken  for  tlie  negro  type. 
In  the  later  ages  of  Egypt,  we  find  sphinxes  used  in  the  dec- 
oration of  temples  ;  and  the  human  head  is  often  replaced  by 
those  of  animals  symbolical  of  divine  attributes,  such  as  the 
ram  and  hawk. 

g  10.  The  silence  of  the  Pyramids  respecting  the  life  of  the 
Egyptians  under  the  Old  Monarchy  is  made  up  for  by  the 
surrounding  tombs.  Their  internal  Avails  are  covered  with 
hieroglyphics  and  with  the  more  universally  intelligible  lan- 
guage of  pictures,  which  show  us  the  subjects  of  the  Old 
Memphian  kingdom  in  the  midst  of  their  daily  business,  ban- 
quets, and  recreations.  "Here  Ave  see  the  regular  physical 
type  of  the  Egyptians  :  a  reddish-broAvn  complexion,  with 
the  nose  long,  and  either  straight  or  slightly  aquiline,  the  lips 
rather  full,  and  the  forehead  not  high  ;  but  the  shape  of  the 
head  is  hidden  by  the  already  universal  ?r?V/.'"  Other  cloth- 
ing is  scanty;  a  short  kilt,  sandals,  a  necklace;  and  in  some 
cases  a  leopard's  skin  over  the  shoulders,  the  distinctive 
dress  of  the  priests.  The  complexion  of  the  Avomen  is  a 
yellowish  pale  olive;  they  Avear  a  single,  close-fitting,  elas- 
tic dress  of  a  brilliant  scaVlet,  supported  under  the  breasts 
by  shoulder-straps,  and  coming  doAvn,  Avithout  a  fold  or 
wrinkle,  to  the  ankles,  Avhere  it  is  wide  enough  to  alloAV  of 

I''  If  the  Greeks  borrowed  the  idea  from  the  Egyptians,  they  may  have  been  misled 
as  tn  the  sex  by  the  wig  aud  head-dress.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  sphinx  is  not 
mentioned  by  Herodotus,  nor  by  any  Greek  or  Latin  author  earlier  than  Pliny. 

18  Clemens  "Alex.  Strom."  5,  p.  GTl  (Potter).    'AAk-^v  \i(.-rU  Ti/i't'o-ecor  av\i.{io\ov  h  ff^'^f. 

i»  An  Egyptian  wig  may  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum. 


68  THE  OLD  MONARCHY. 

the  separation  of  tlie  feet  in  walking  or  dancing.  The  wig 
is  larger  than  that  of  the  men  ;  and  princesses  are  only  dis- 
tinguished from  servants  by  their  necklaces,  bracelets,  and 
anklets  of  blue  and  white  glass  beads." 

The  social  state  is  tliat  of  an  aristocracy  of  land-owners, 
using  wdth  harsh  oppression  the  labor  of  a  servile  peasantry 
and  of  domestic  slaves.  "  Throughout  the  ^vhole  of  the  pic- 
tured -scenes,  there  is  not  a  single  instance  of  a  peasant  en 
joying,  or  working  for,  himself  under  his  own  vine  and  his 
own  tig-tree;  no  independent  thought,  or  look, or  action,  on 
the  part  of  the  poor  men  is  allowed;  but  they  are  all  in  of- 
ficial training  to  serve  the  prince  of  the  time  being;  and  ad- 
inhiistration  is  the  order  of  the  day.'""  According  to  a  con- 
stant convention  in  Egyptian  pictures,  the  owner  of  the  tomb 
is  represented  by  a  colossal  figure,  armed  with  a  baton,  and 
standing  the  Avhole  heiglit  ot^the  wall,  which  is  divided,  in 
front  ot^him,  into  horizontal  compartments,  in  which  his  serv- 
ants are  at  their  various  occupations.  The  task-master  is  al- 
ways  present, and  the  bastinado  at  work:  not  even  the  crip- 
ples are  exempt  from  labor ;  and  over  tliem  we  often  find  the 
words  "  Slaves  born  in  the  house  (registered)  in  the  books  of 
the  house  forever." 

The  estates  were  large,  as  many  as  ten  or  fifteen  belong- 
ing to  one  owner,  w'ho  receives  from  his  overseers  accounts 
of^the  produce,  which  a  scribe  records,  each  with  its  distinct- 
ive name.  Every  thing  seems  done  on  a  scale  of  vastness 
and  profusion :  the  droves  of  oxen  arc  numbered  by  thou- 
sands; two  or  three  rows  of  cows  are  milked  at  once  ;  long 
trains  of  servants  come  in  laden  with  provisions ;  whole 
droves  of  oxen  are  slaughtered  before  the  master;  and  his  ta- 
ble is  piled  up  with  slices  of  bread,  pyramids  of  fruit,  joints 
of  meat,  and  the  favorite  dishes  of  roast  geese.  Pastoral  op- 
erations are  on  a  larger  scale  than  agricultural.  The  seed  is 
sow^n  broadcast,  and^beaten  in  by  driving  sheep^'  and  goats 
over  the  newly-inundated  land;  reaping  is  performed  wnth  a 
fiickle  ;  threshing  by  driving  herds  of  donkeys  about  a  floor  ; 
and  winnowing  with  spades. 

The  amusements  of  the  field  are  eagerly  pursued  :  hunting, 
fishing,  and  fowding.  We  see  the  fowler,  in  his  papyrus  boat, 
approaching  the  reeds  that  then  fringed  the  banks  of  the 

20  Piazzi  Smyth,  "  Life  and  Work,  etc.,"  voi.  iii.  p.  ?.S0. 

21  M.  Reiiaii  (in  his  valuable  article  in  the  "  Revue  des  Deux  Monde?,'''  April,  1865) 
denies  that  there  are  any  sheep;  hut  Professor  Piazzi  Smyth  (p.  3S1)  distinguishes 
the  sheep,  "long-legged  things,  with  horizontal  and  mutually-diverging  horns,  and 
the  goats  with  venerable  beards  and  lyre-shaped  retreating  horns."  But  ueither  are 
numerous,  compared  with  the  oxen,  "of  mao;nificent  quality,  and  of  a  portliness 
which  shows  them  rather  intended  for  the  butcher  than  the  farmer." 


LIFE   DEPICTED   IN  THE  TOMBS.  69 

Nik',  to  strike  the  birds  wiiicli  fly  into  the  clap-nets  spread  by 
his  servants.  Tiie  chief  in-door  anuisenients  are  concerts  and 
the  performances  of  dancing-girls,  witnessed  by  the  master 
and  by  ladies,  who  sit  on  chairs  of  an  elegant  form. 

One  curious  feature  of  these  scenes  is  the  number  and  va- 
riety of  the  domestic  animals  :  donkeys,  dogs,  apes,  antelopes, 
gazelles,  geese,  ducks,  tame  storks,  and  pigeons  ;  but  others, 
familiar  to  a  latter  age  of  Egypt,  are  never  seen,  as  fowls, 
camels,  giraffes,  elephants,  and  horses.  The  absence  of  the 
liorse  is  peculiarly  interesting,  as  showing  that  we  have  not 
reached  the  period  of  that  Pharaoh  who  made  Joseph  to  vide 
in  the  second  chariot  that  he  had.^^  It  was  to  their  Semitic 
neighbors,  and  probably  to  the  invasion  of  the  Shepherd 
Kings  that  the  Egyptians  were  indebted  for  the  horse. 

Among  the  luechanical  arts  dejjicted  are  cabinet-making, 
and  what  has  been  interpreted  as  glass-blovnng ;  but  the 
handleless  hammers  of  the  carpenters  show  an  age  in  which 
human  labor  was  unrelieved  by  even  the  simplest  machinery. 
Writing  Avith  a  reed  on  papyrus  is  in  constant  use ;  and  the 
cursive  characters  of  the  quari-y-marks  in  the  Great  Pyramid 
prove  that  it  had  passed  out  of  its  earliest  stage.  In  short, 
the  civilization  rei)resented  is  in  every  respect  as  iiigh  as 
that  of  any  later  period  of  the  Egyptian  monarchy  ;  and  the 
art  is  even  higher.  The  ignorance  of  perspective,  common  to 
every  period  of  Egyptian  ai't^  and  the  absence  of  any  idealiz- 
ing power,  must  not  lead  us  to  undervalue  the  perfect  truth 
to  nature  with  which  the  animals  and  other  objects  are  de- 
picted, or  the  freedom  of  form  and  motion  in  the  human  fig- 
ure, not  yet  trammelled  by  the  sacred  conventionalism  of 
later  ages.  This  free  style  of  art  is  thought  to  show  a  period 
when  the  sacerdotal  poVer  was  not  dominant ;  and  the  in- 
scriptions, which  tell  us  of  the  social  position  and  offices  of 
"hese  long-buried  dead,  confirm  the  view  that  the  country 
iiad  reached  that  political  stage  in  which  the  government 
had  passed  from  the  priestly  to  the  military  class. 

Nor  are  we  without  testimony  to  the  moral  views  of  these 
oldest  Egyptians.  In  the  Imperial  Library  at  Paris  there  is 
a  pajn^rus  written  by  Phtha-Jiotep^  an  old  man  of  the  royal 
bloodjin  the  reign  of  Assa-Tatkera  (probably  theTancheres  of 
Manetho's  5th  dynasty),  and  containing  thirty-five  moral  pre- 
cepts addressed  to  his  son  ;  in  which  filial  obedience  is  made 
the  basis  of  morality,  and  its  principle  is  extended  to  the 
duties  of  a  suV)ject  to  his  king — the  sign  of  an  age  of  patri- 
archal despotism.  It  contains  such  prece]its  as  the  follow- 
ing:  "The  son   who  receives  the  words  of  his  father  shall 

22  Gc'uesis  xli.  43.     Comp.  chap.  v.  §  10, 


70  lllE  OLD  MONAHIMIY. 

grow  old  thereby.  The  obedience  of  a  son  to  his  fatlier  is 
happiness.  He  is  dear  to  liis  father,  and  his  renown  is  on  the 
tongues  of  the  living  who  walk  upon  the  earth.  The  rebel- 
lions sees  knowledgH3  in  ignorance,  virtue  in  vice;  each  day 
he  audaciously  perpetrates  frauds  of  every  kind  ;  and  so 
he  lives  as  one  already  dead.  That  which  the  wise  know  to 
be  death,  is  his  daily  life  ;  he  goes  on  in  his  way,  loaded  with 
maledictions."^^ 

The  conclusion  is  interesting  as  an  example  of  longevity, 
and  breathes  the  spirit  of  seU-satisfaction  which  character- 
ized the  religion  and  morality  of  the  old  Egyptians  :  "  I  have 
become  one  of  the  old  men  of  the  land  ;  I  have  accomplished 
one  hundred  and  ten  years  with  the  grace  of  tlie  king  and 
the  approbation  of  the  elders,  fulfilling  my  duty  towards  the 
king  in  the  place  of  favor." 

§11.  The  monuments,  inscriptions,  and  pictured  scenes  of 
this  period,  all  testify  to  a  period  of  prosperity  and  peace. 

No  soldiers  appear  on  the  monuments;  and  none  of  the 
great  men  carry  arms.  The  only  sign  of  war  is  the  coercion 
of  troublesome  Arab  tribes  in  the  peninsula  of  Sinai,  Avhere 
the  Memphian  kings,  as  we  have  seen,  worked  copper 
mines.'''  The  country  is  at  a  high  pitch  ol  wealth  under  a 
powerful  government.  That  such  should  be  the  earliest 
scene  presented  to  us  in  the  ancient  world,  fills  every  student 
of  history  with  amazement.  "When  we  think  of  this  civili- 
zation," says  M.  Kenan,  "  that  it  had  no  known  infancy  ;  that 
this  art,  of  which  there  remain  innumerable  monuments,  had 
no  archaic  epoch ;  that  the  Egypt  of  Cheops  and  Cephren 
is  superior,  in  a  sense,  to  all  that  followed,  on  est  ^^r,/.9  de 
vertlgeP 

Of  the  ruder  labors  which  prejjare  the  country  for  this  high 
condition,  Ave  have  no  other  indication  than  the  traditions 
preserved  by  Herodotus  about  Menes. 

§  12.  Before  the  time  of  Menes,  he  says,  the  Nile  flowed 
close  under  the  sandy  range  of  hills  Avliich  .skirts  Egypt  on 
the  side  of  Libya.  By  raising  a  dike  at  the  bend  which  the 
river  forms  about  a  hundred  furlongs  soutli  of  Memphis, 
Menes  turned  the  river  into  a  new  course  half-way  between 
the  two  lines  of  hills  ;  and  on  the  site  thus  reclaimed  on  the 
left  bank  he  built  IVIemphis.  He  also  built  the  temple  of 
Hepha?stus  (Phtha)  within  the  city."  Herodotus  testifies'" 
to  the  care  with  which  the  dike  was  preserved  by  the  Persians 

^3  Lenorniant,  "  Histoire  Aucienne,"  vol.  i.  p.  208.  ^*  See  chap.  i.  §  14. 

25  The  Tem;)lc  was  enlari^^cd  by  successive  kings  at  distant  periods.  See  Herod,  ii. 
99,  101,  108-110,  121,  1.00,  15iV,  17G ;  Diud.  i.  45,  51,  62,  07.  Its  grand  aveuwe  {dromon) 
was  used  for  bnll-fights,  which  are  represented  on  the  tombs  ;  though  the  bull  Apis 
was  the  sacred  animal  of  Memphis.  "'"■  Herod,  ii.  99. 


ENGINEKllJNG  WOliK^i  OF  .MENES.  71 

in  his  time,  lest  the  inuiKlation  should  burst  upon  ^Meuiphis. 
There  seems  no  reason  to  reject  this  tradition  of  some  gi'eat 
engineering  works  connected  with  the  tirst  establishment  of 
Memphis;  but  their  nature  may  have  been  misunderstood. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  true  object  Avas  to  confine  the 
Nile  to  its  clayey  bed,  and  to  prevent  the  percolation  of  its 
waters  through  the  sanddiills  of  ilie  Libyan  Desert  and  behind 
the  pyramid-hills,  into  the  chain  of  the  lower  Natron  Lakes 
on  the  west  of  the  Delta,  which  wasted  its  fertilizing  waters 
and  caused  its  lower  arms  to  be  lost  in  marshes,  which,  in 
the  earliest  age  of  Egypt,  were  probably  uninliabitable,  so 
that  the  population  was  confined  to  the  narrow  valley.  The 
bifurcation  of  the  river  aj)pears  to  have  been  at  one  time  some 
14  miles  above  Memphis,  at  Kasr-el-Syat,  whence  an  ancient 
bed  may  be  traced  to  the  Libyan  hills.  Here  is  the  elbow 
of  which  Herodotus  speaks  ;  and  the  dike  of  Menes  (of  which 
all  trace  is  obliterated  by  the  rise  of  the  soil)  nniy  have 
stopped  up  this  western  branch,  and  diverted  the  rest  of  its 
Avater  into  the  lake  which,  Herodotus  says,  Menes  construct- 
ed on  the  west  of  Memphis." 

§  13.  This  securing  of  the  site  of  Mempliis  was  the  first 
pressing  labor  of  its  founders.  Of  the  city  itself  our  knowledge 
is  sadly  small.  Its  position  "  in  the  narrow  part  of  Egypt'"^ 
— ^just  below  the  expansion  of  the  valley  towards  the  FyCnii^ 
and  above  the  opening  to  the  Delta — commanded  the  pas- 
sage between  L^pper  and  Lower  Egypt,  and  fitted  it  to  be 
the  capital  of  the  whole  country.*^ 

It  seems  to  have  occupied  the  whole  space  of  about  three 
miles  between  the  river  and  the  hills.  Its  circuit  is  said  by 
Diodorus  to  have  been  150  stadia,  or  15  geographical  miles. 
Its  walls  contained  three  inclosures,  of  which  the  innermost, 
or  citadel  was  called  "  the  White  Wall ;'""  and  one  of  its  hi- 
eroglyphic names  is  "  the  white  building."  It  is  also  callecl 
"the  knd  of  the  pyramid  "and  "the  abode  of  Phtha,""  its 

2T  It  was  across  this  lake  the  dead  were  terried  to  their  sepulchres.     See  Piazzi 
Smyth,  vol.  iii.  p.  386  neq. ;  and  Keurick,  "Ancient  Enypt,"  vol.  i.  pp.  112,  li:i. 

2«  Herod,  ii.  99  ;  corap.  ii.  8.        29  Diod.  i.  50.  ao  Thucyd.  i.  108;  Herod,  iii.  1.3,  91. 

31  Memphis  is  the  Greek  form  of  the  Egyptian  name,  which  is  compounded  of  tbe 
hieroglyphics,  "  Men  "  =  foundation,  or  station,  and  "  Xofrc  "  :=  good,  va- 
riously interpreted  as  "  the  place  or  haven  of  good  men,"  or  "the  gate  of     JT^  ^ 
the  blessed,"  and  "  the  tomb  of  the  good  man,"  i.  e.  Osiris.     Plutarch  ("  De     H    r    f 
Isid.  etOsir."  20)  explains  it  by  opjuo^u-zci^tZi' or  T(i^ov'o<T(p<6or.    Both  senses,     3    C    i 
Geseuius  remarks,  are  applicable  to  Memphis,  as  the  sepulchre  of  Osiris,     "^"^ 
the  Necropolis  of  the  Egyptians,  and  hence  also  the  haven  of  the  blessed,     Mj^j^ 
since  the  right  of  burial  was  conceded  only  to  the  good.    The  name  seems 
also  connected  with  that  of  Mcn-cn,  the  hero  eponynius  of  the  city.     In  He- 
brew, it  was  yoph   (Isaiah  xix.  IC;   Jeremiah  ii.  IG,  xlvi.  14,  19;  Ezekiel 
XXX.  1.3,  IC),  or  Mo2ih  (IJosea  ix.  <i).     The  name  is  preserved  iu  the  Coptic 
Mephi,  Metnphi,  Menofre,  Mojih,  and  Panovf;  and  in  the  modern  Manoiif 
of  the  Delta.     See  Sir  G.  Wilkin«on's  Note  to  Herod,  ii.  91,  Rawlinson. 


72  THE  OLD  :\IOXARCIIY. 

great  patron  deity.  The  worship  of  that  oldest  of  the  gods 
marks  its  religious  precedence  before  both  Heliopolis  and 
Thebes,  whose  patron  deity  was  Ra,  the  Sun.  As  is  usual  in 
the  old  lands  of  castes,  the  priestly  Memphis  preceded  the 
warlike  Thebes.  The  substructions  of  the  temple  of  Phtha, 
and  of  other  buildings,  as  well  as  the  colossal  statues  and 
stelae  of  Kameses  II.,  and  a  broken  statue  bearing  the  name 
of  Sabaco,  identify  its  site  with  the  plain  covered  with  palm- 
trees,  in  which  stands  the  village  oi Mitrahenny  or  Mitvaulch^ 
about  10  miles  south  of  Cairo.  (This  modern  capital,  how 
ever,  is  on  the  opposite,  or  right,  bank  of  the  river.)  The 
mounds  whicli  mark  the  ancient  site  extend  over  a  circum- 
ference of  three  leagues. ^^ 

§  14.  To  the  vvest,  on  the  foot-terraces  of  the  Libyan  range 
of  hills,  t!ie  great  Plain  of  the  Pyramids  extends  from.l^>w^ 
Boash,  a  little  to  the  north-west  of  Cairo,  to  Meycloom^  about 
40  miles  to  the  south,  and  thence  in  a  south-westerly  direc 
tion  about  25  miles  farther,  to  the  pyramids  of  Howard  and 
UlaiunUy'  containing  about  60  pyramids  great  and  small.  I3at 
the  ^\'0\)QY  ^lemjj/dte  Necrop(jliii  is  comprised  within  a  length 
of  about  15  miles  from  Jizeli  to  Sal'l-ara^  and  contains,  prob- 
ably, 30  tombs  of  the  sovereigns  of  Memphis. ^^  There  are  no 
tombs  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Xile:  the  West  was  regard- 
ed as  the  land  of  darkness  and  of  death. 

Tlie  internal  architecture  of  these  tombs  is  instructive. 
The  sepulchral  abodes  of  tlie  dead,  who  only  slept,  would 
naturally  be  modelled  after  the  homes  of  the  living.  Par- 
taking of  that  simplicity  wliich  we  have  seen  in  the  Pyramids 
and  in  the  temple  of  Shafre,  their  only  decoration  consists  in 
bands,  both  vertical  and  horizontal,  with  rounded  surfaces,  as 
if  reproducing  in  stone  the  trunks  of  trees  most  common  in 
Egypt,  the  palm  and  sycamore.  It  may  be  inferred  that  the 
primitive  Egyptians  were  no  dwellers  in  caves  {troglodytoi)^ 
as  some  have  supposed,  but  that  their  habitations  were  wood- 
en houses,  in  which  the  natural  trunks  served  for  pillars  and 
mouldings. 

§  15.  Mem})his  was  unquestionably  the  seat  of  the  Third, 
Fourth^  Sixt/t,  Severtth^  and  EhfJith  Dynssties  of  JNIanetho. 
He  styles  his  FiftJi  Dynasty  Elephantine ;  and  assigns  to  it 
31  kings^*  and  nearly  600  years.  Their  names  are  associated 
in  Memphian  t()mi)s  with  those  of  the  P^ourth  Dynasty;  and 
some  are  identical  in  both  lists.     No  facts  are  recorded  of 

'2  Kenrick,  "  Ancient  Egj'pt,"  vol.  i.  p.  111. 

33  Buusen,  "Egypt's  Pl;ice,"  etc.,  vol.  ii.  p.  SS. 

»*  According  to  the  better  rending  in  the  Armenian  Chronicle  of  Ensebins :  ths 
Greek  text  has  only  nine  in  21S  year;^.  The  hypothesis  thnt  they  reigned  at  some  nn- 
known  Elephantine  in  Lower  Egypt  violates  a  sound  canon  of  criticism. 


THE  MEMPHIAN  DYNASTIES'.  73 

these  kings.  They  seem  to  have  been  a  contemporary  branch 
of  the  royal  house  of  Memphis,  ruling  at  Elephantine  on  the 
southern  border  of  Egypt ;  the  two  governments  being  some- 
times united  under  the  sovereign  reigning  at  Memphis. 

But,  in  truth,  the  relation  of  the  3Iemphian  Monarchy  to 
Upper  Egypt  is  altogether  obscure.  "  No  mention  is  even 
incidentally  made  of  Thebes ;  a  city  may  have  existed  there, 
but  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  a  rival  power  to  Mem- 
phis, Hitherto  no  trace  of  the  dominion  of  the  Memphian 
kings  has  been  found  at  Thebes  or  elsewhere  in  Upper  Egypt, 
except  some  alabaster  vases  fi-om  Abydos,  bearing  the  stand- 
ard of  Chufu  ;  and  portable  antiquities  afford  no  decisive  evi- 
dence. But  this  is  no  proof  of  Theban  independence,  since 
the  fixed  monuments  of  this  age  are  entirely  sepulcliral ;  and 
the  Memphian  kings  and  their  great  officers  would  be  buried 
near  their  own  capital.  Ix  Thebes  has  no  monuments  of 
Memphian  dominion,  neither  lias  it  any  of  its  own,  and  it  ap- 
pears probable  that,  till  the  Twelfth  Dynasty  of  Manetho,  it 
continued  to  be  a  place  of  little  account."^" 

§  16.  The  period  of  these  great  Memphian  kings  of  the 
Fourth  Dynasty  seems  to  have  been  one  of  religious  strife 
and  convulsion.  Their  memory  had  an  ill-savor  with  the 
sacerdotal  colleges.  The  priests  told  Herodotus  that  Egypt 
was  well  governed  till  the  reign  of  Cheops,who  closed  the  tera- 
pleG  and  forbade  the  Egyptians  to  offer  sacrifice ;  a  statement 
contradicted  by  the  evidence  of  contemporary  tombs.^^  Man- 
etho only  says  tliat  Suphis  I.  (Cheops)  was  arrogant  towards 
the  gods,  but,  repenting,  wrote  the  sacred  book  ;  but  Diodo- 
rus  declares  that  Cliembes  {i.  e.  Cheops)  was  excluded  after 
death  from  his  own  pyramid,  and  buried  in  a  secret  place  to 
save  his  body  from  the  insults  of  the  oppressed  people."  The 
period  of  oppression,  Herodotus  adds,  lasted  for  106  years, 
the  united  reigns  of  Clieops  and  Cephren,  whose  names  the 
Egyptians  so  detested  that  they  chose  rather  to  call  the  Pyr- 
amids after  Philition,  a  shepherd  who  at  that  time  fed  his 
flocks  about  the  place. ^® 

Mycerinus  at  length  opened  the  temples,  and  allowed  the 

S9  Keurick,  "Aucient  Egypt,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  142, 143.  Tho  removal  of  the  dead  to  their 
family  sepulchie?,  however  distant,  was  a  sacred  custom  of  the  Egyptians. 

3«  Herod,  ii.  \%i:  comp.  the  absnrd  tale  in  c.  1'2G.  Observe  the  historian's  own  cau- 
tion (c.  123),  already  quoted.     See  chap.  ii.  §  2. 

s^  Diod.  i.  G4.  The  argument  has  been  urged,  that  the  traditional  character  of 
Cheops  but  ill  accords  with  the  prosperity  shown  on  the  monuments  of  his  reign. 
But  this  prosperity  of  the  landed  aristocracy  is  quite  consistent  with  the  oppression 
(f  the  common  people ;  and  of  their  happiness,  as  wc  have  seen,  the  monuments  give 
no  proof. 

38  Herod,  ii.  12S.  In  this  curious  and  obscure  tiadition  there  may  possibly  be  an 
allusion  to  the  inroad  of  the  Shepherd  Kings  from  the  side  of  Palestine;  and  their 
oppression  may  have  been  confounded  witli  that  of  the  Pyramid  Kings. 

4 


74  THE  OLD  MONARCHY. 

people  to  return  to  tlieir  occupations  and  to  resume  the  rites 
of  sacrifice.  He  surpassed  all  Ibrnier  kings  in  justice  ;  and,  if 
^ny  man  was  dissatisfied  with  his  decision,  he  ])aid  the  pen- 
alty he  had  awarded  out  of  his  own  purse.  Yet  another 
story  made  him  die  of  grief  from  a  passion  for  his  own  daugh- 
ter, and  another  shows  forth  the  opposition  between  king  and 
priest  in  his  grotesque  device  for  proving  the  oracle  of  Buto 
a  liar.  The  fatalism  of  the  Egyptian  religion  is  shown  in  the 
sentence  on  Mycerinus  for  his  very  virtues  towards  his  peo- 
ple, because  he  had  not  fulfilled  the  destined  term  of  their 
oppression  for  150  years.^" 

These  traditions  of  a  religious  conflict  are  not  unconfirmed 
by  the  monuments.  In  the  temple  of  Shafre  is  a  well,  con- 
taining broken  fragments  of  statues  of  that  king,  made  of 
the  most  costly  stones,  and  evidently  flung  in  by  violence; 
a  token,  so  far  as  it  goes  for  any  thing,  of  an  outburst  of 
revolutionary  hatred.  The  respect  of  the  priests  for  the 
memory  of  Mycerinus  looks  like  their  tribute  to  the  author 
of  a  new  establishment,  which  secured  the  sway  they  after- 
wards exercised  over  the  whole  life  of  the  Egyptians.  We 
liave  many  proofs  of  his  deification.  On  the  coftin-lid  found 
in  the  Great  Pyramid,  Menkera  is  identified  with  Osiris.  ^  In 
the  Tablet  of  Abydos,  his  shield  contains  the  sign  denoting 
"god."  In  the  "Ritual  of  the  Dead"  he  appears  as  a  de- 
ceased and  deified  king ;  and  his  name  is  often  found  on  the 
carved  beetles  (scarabcei),  which  were  used  as  amulets,  of  a 
date  (as  their  workmanship  proves)  long  subsequent  to  his 
death." 

§  17.  According  to  the  view  of  Bunsen,  "The  amalgama- 
tion of  the  religions  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt  had  already 
united  the  two  provinces,  before  the  power  of  the  race  of 
This  in  the  Thebaid  extended  itself  to  Memphis  ;  and  before 
the  giant  Avork  of  Menes  converted  the  Delta  from  a  desert, 
checkered  over  with  lakes  and  morasses,  into  a  blooming  gar- 
den." After  this,  the  political  union  of  the  two  divisions  was 
effected  by  the  builder  of  Memphis.  "  Menes  founded  the 
Em2nre  of  Egypt  by  raising  the  people  who  inhabited  the 
valley  of  the  Nile  from  a  little  provincial  station  to  that  of 
an  historical  nation.""  The  process  of  consolidating  this 
power  would  not  unnaturally  lead  to  conflicts  with  the  priests 
of  the  local  deities  that  were  revered  in  every  part  of  Egypt. 
At  all  events,  it  seems  certain  that  the  main  elements  of  the 

39  Herod,  ii.  120-133.  Two  kings  of  the  same  name  are  perhaps  mixed  up  in  these 
fstories.  Lepsius  suspects  that  the  skeptical  Psammetichus,  on  whose  shield  Ave  find 
ihe  name  Monkera  as  an  "augmentation,"  may  have  been  confounded  Avith  the  pious 
rvramid-kiug.  *°  Kenrick,  "  Ancient  Egypt,"  vol.  ii.  p.  138. 

'41  BuuseD,  "Egypt's  Place,"  etc.,  vol.  i.  p.  -141 ;  vol.  ii.  p.  400. 


UNION  OF  UPPER  AND  LOWER  EGYPT.  7a 

Egyptian  religion  had  received  their  permanent  form  under 
the'  old  Memphian  kings.  M.  ^lariette  has  found  the  names 
of  Osiris,  Isis,  and  Xephthys,  the  great  deities  common  to  all 
Egypt,  on  monuments  at  Sakkara,  which  he  regards  as  con- 
temporary with  Cheops. 

§  18.  The  Sioith  Dynasty^  of  six  kings  in  203  years,  is  styled 
by  Manetho  Memphian.  Some  hold  that  this  Sixth  Dynasty 
succeeded  the  Fourth  at  Memphis,  wliile  the  Fifth  continued 
to  reign  at  Elephantine,  even  as  late  as  the  domination  of  the 
Shepherd-kings  in  Lower  Egypt. ^"  In  the  absence  ofMane- 
tho's  Ilistor}',  his  mere  List  fails  to  vshow  the  ground  of  dis- 
tinction between  the  dynasties,  or  the  causes  which  handed 
down,  or  handed  over,  the  power  fi-om  each  to  its  successor. 
But  he  tells  us  that  the  tirst  king  of  the  Sixth  Dynasty, 
Othoes,  was  killed  by  his  guards,  after  a  reign  of  thirty 
years."  Now,  if  the  critics  are  right  who  identify  this 
Othoes  with  the  Onnos  who  closes  the  Fifth  Dynasty,  we  have 
the  not  improbable  inference  that  the  original  Memphian 
monarchy  was  supplanted  by  a  revolution,  which  had  its 
beginning  with  the  guards  stationed  on  the  frontier  at  Ele- 
phantine. 

But,  be  the  cause  what  it  might,  the  second  king  of  the 
Sixth  Dynasty,  Pepi-Maire  or  Pepi-B.emcd  (Phios,  M.),"  ruled 
over  the  whole  country,  with  a  power  attested  by  the  nuni- 
ber  and  variety  of  his  monuments,  from  Syene  at  the  cata- 
racts to  Tan  is  in  the  Delta. 

The  monument  which  gives  us  his  titular  name  indicate* 
that  he  constructed  or  improved  the  road  to  the  port  oi Kos- 
seii\  on  the  Red  Sea,  and  so  raises  the  presumption  of  a  conv 
merce  between  Egypt  and  the  seas  of  Arabia,  and  perhaps 
India.  The  military  prowess  of  Fepi  is  attested  by  his  monu- 
ments to  the  east  and  south  of  Egypt.     We  see  him  warring 

■^2  The  evidence  for  this  is  an  inscription,  making  Unas,  the  last  king  of  the  Fifib 
Dynasty  (Onuos  in  Manetho)  contemporary  with  Assa,  the  Fifth  king  of  the  Fifteenth 
DjTiasty  (of  Shepherds)  at  Memphis  ;  bnt  the  reading  is  very  doubtful.  Lepsius  cou' 
eiders  not  only  the  fifth  dynasty  (whose  seat  at  Elephantine  bordered  on  Ethiopia) 
bnt  the  sixth  also,  as  Ethiopian';  their  fifteen  kings,  with  the  three  of  the  twenty-fifth 
dynasty,  making  up  the  eighteen  Ethiopian  kings  of  Herodotus. 

<3  The  monuments  show  two  competitors  against  this  king,  whose  name  appear^ 
as  A  ti. 

44  Either  reading  has  the  same  ineaning— "  beloved  of  Re  (the  Sun)."  The  full  form 
of  the  name  is  Pepi-meri-ro .  The  title  is  derived  from  a  monument  on  the  road  to 
Kosseir,  on  the  Red  Sea,  exhibiting  two  kings,  named  /Vji?,  and  Mairc  or  Remai,  seal- 
ed on  thrones  side  by  side,  one  wearing  the  crown  oi  Upper,  the  other  that  of  Lower 
Egypt.  At  first  sight  we  should  take  them  for  contemporary  sovereigns  ;  but,  as  the 
second  name  appears  nowhere  else,  and  as  its  meaning  is  perfectly  analogous  to  the 
titles  which  the  Theban  kings  prefixed  in  a  separate  shield  to  that  containing  the 
phonetic  characters  of  their  own  names,  it  seems  most  probable  that  thie  was  another 
mode  of  signifying  the  same  thing.  If  so,  Pepi's  is  the  first  example  of  a  titular  prae- 
nomen  among  the  Egyptian  kings^  The  kings  of  the  Fourth  and  other  eai  ly  dynasties 
have  but  one  shiekCcontainiug  their  uanies  in  phonetic  characters. 


76  THE  OLD  MONARCHY. 

against  the  Arabs  of  the  peninsula  of  Sinai  (like  tlve  kings 
of  the  Fourth  Dynasty)  ;  against  otlier  Arab  tribes  between 
Upper  Egypt  and  the  Red  Sea ;  and  in  Ethiopia,  above  the 
second  cataract,  against  tlie  Wa-Wa,  a  people  of  a  decidedly 
negro  tyi)e.''^  A  second  Pepl,  surnamed  Neferkera  (Phiops, 
M.),  is  distinguished  by  Manetho  for  the  phenomenon  of  a 
centenarian  reign.  He  came  to  the  throne  at  six  years  of 
age,  and  reigned  for  100  years  all  but  a  month  ;"  but  noth- 
ino'  else  is  recorded  of  him  ;  only  his  monuments  confirm  the 
length  of  his  reign  by  the  festivals  which  he  celebrated  at 
the  completion  of  its  several  periods. 

The  successor  of  Phiops  reigned  but  one  year,  and  then  we 
come  to  the  one  queen,  vrhose  name  was  read  to  Herodotus 
among  the  330  kings,  the  "  rosy-cheeked  "  Nitoeris''  of  M:ine- 
tho,  wlio  also  calls  her  "  the  most  spirited  and  most  beautiful 
woman  of  her  time."  The  character  is  justified,  and  the 
shortness  of  her  predecessor's  reign  accounted  for,  by  the  le- 
gend which  the  ])riests  related  to  Herodotus,  that  she  suc- 
ceeded hev  brother,  who  had  been  put  to  death  by  his  sub- 
jects ;  andj  having  invited  the  principal  murderers  to  a  ban- 
quet in  a  subterranean  chamber,  she  let  in  the  river  upon 
them  as  tiiey  were  feasting.  Then,  to  escape  the  veng-eance 
of  their  friends,  she  threw  herself  into  an  apartment  full  of 
ashes.^^ 

Manet]]o  assigns  12  years  to  her  reign,  and  says  that  she 
built  the  Tliird'Pyramid,  that,  namely,  of  Mycerinus.^  Now 
it  is  remarkable  that  this  pyramid  has  been  at  some  time  en- 
larged, tlie  original  enti-ance  having  been  built  over  l)y  the  new 
masonry,  and  a  second  entrance  constructed,  as  if  to  receive  a 
second  occupant.  Even  the  story,  which  Herodotus  himself 
rejects,  of  the  building  of  the  Third  Pyramid  by  the  courte- 
san  Ivhodope,  is  an  undesigned  corroboration  of  its  connection 
with  Nitocris,  for  the  Greek  word  Bhodo^je  has  the  same 
meaning  as  the  "  rosy-cheeked"  queen  of  Manetho. "'■* 

45  It  is  enough  to  meutiou,  without  discussing,  the  iuference,  that  Nu'oia  was  at 
this  time  occnuied  by  a  uegio  population,  previous  to  the  entrance  of  the  Cushite 
Ethiopians  from  S.  Arabia  across  the  Straits  of  Bab-el-Mandeb.  (See  Lenornv.mt, 
"  Histoire  Ancienne,"  vol.  i.  p.  209.) 

^6  Eratosthenes  assigns  100  years  to  Apappua;  and  the  name  Pepi  may  bo  read 
Apap.  The  Turin  pnjjyrus  gives  90  years  to  a  nameless  king;  and  that  this  was 
Pepi  is  confirmed  by  the  one  year  and  one  month  assigned  to  his  successor. 

47  In  Egyptian  Neitakri,  i.  e.  "  Neith  (Minerva)  the  Victorious."  Her  name  is  in  ihe 
Turin  papyrus.  There  is  another  Nitocris  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Dynasty,  living  about 
the  same  time  as  the  celebrated  Babylonian  queen  of  the  same  name,  who  (Sir  G. 
Wilkinson  conjectiues)  may  have  been  an  Egyptiafi  princess,  demanded  in  marrias:e 
by  the  King  of  Babylon  on  his  invasion  of  Egypt.  The  wife  of  Psammetichus  III. 
was  also  named  Neitakri.     SccRawlinson's  "  Herodotus,"  Note  to  ii.  100. 

4»  Herod,  ii.  100.  The  last  j^art  of  the  story,  at  all  events,  seems  of  foreign  origin. 
Smothering  in  ashes  was  a  Persian  }>nnishnicnt,  but  unknown  to  the  Egyptians. 

49  Herod,  ii.  134.    The  historical  Khodopc,  v.ho.-e  proper  name  was  Dorichu  (aa 


NTTOCRIS.  77 

§  19.  With  Nicotris  ends  the  splendor  of  the  Old  Mem- 
phian  Monarchy  ;  and  the  result  of  the  preceding  troubles 
is  traced  in  the  eclipse  that  settles  over  Egyptian  his- 
tory from  the  Sixth  Dynasty  to  the  Eleventh.  For  this  in- 
terval the  monuments  are  dumb  ;  or  rather,  there  are  no 
monuments  to  speak.'"  The  Seventh  Dynasty,  of  70  kings  in 
as  many  days,  looks  like  an  interregnum  of  a  senate  or  a 
priestly  college."  To  the  Eighth  Dynasty  Manetho  assigns 
28  kings  in  146  years,''' and  that  is  all  we  know.  On  the 
hypothesis  that  Manetho's  dynasties  are  in  part  contem- 
j^orary,  these  shadowy  dynasties  seem  the  remnants  left  at 
Memphis  of  a  divided  em])ire,  on  the  ruins  of  which  new 
kingdoms  were  founded  in  Middle  and  Upper  Egypt,  proba- 
bly during  the  troublous  times  of  the  Sixth  Dynasty."  The 
seat  of  tiij  former  was  at  Heracleopolis  ;'*  that  of  the  latter 
was  at  the  new  capital  of  Upper  Egypt,  whicli  the  Greeks 
called  Thebes,  and  of  which  we  have  soon  to  speak  more 
fully. 

The  double  conflict  which  Heracleopolis  must  have  had  to 
maintain,  against  Thebes  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Shepherd 
invaders  on  the  other,  will  account  for  the  darkness  of  its 
history.  Of  the  4  kings  of  the  Ninth  Dynasty  in  100  years" 
and  the  19  of  the  Tenth  in  185  years,  we  are  only  told  that 
the  first,  Achthoes,  was  the  most  atrocious  of  all  who  pre- 
ceded him,  and  having  done  much  mischief  to  the  people  of 
all  Egypt,  he  went  mad,  and  was  killed  by  a  crocodile.     His 

Sappho  calls  her)  lived  in  Egypt  in  the  reign  of  Amasis.  The  story  of  her  marriage 
to  Psamnietichns,  under  circumctances  resembling  the  tale  of  Cinderella,  and  of  her 
bnrial  in  the  Third  Pyramid,  seems  to  have  arisen  from  a  double  confusion  with  the 
two  Neitakris,  the  ancient  queen  and  the  wife  of  Psammetichus  III.  (^liau.  "  Var. 
Hist."  xiii.  33  ;  Strabo,  xvii.  p.  SOO. 

50  The  hypothesis  of  a  foreign  invasion  has  been  suggested,  on  the  ground  that  the 
ccmiparisou  of  the  skulls  found  in  the  tombs  prior  to  the  sixth  dynasty  with  those 
subsequent  to  the  eleventh,  shows  the  introduction  of  a  new  element  of  race.  But 
this  is  ccmfessedly  very  doubtful.     See  Lenormant,  "  Histoire  Aucienne,"  vol.  i.  p.  211. 

51  The  reading  of  Eusebius  (Armenian  Version),  five  kings  in  seveuty-live  days, 
seems  an  arbitrary  correction.  Mr.  Poole  regards  the  seventh  and  eighth  as  native 
dynasties  who  temporarily  rcc(.vered  jjovver  at  Memphis,  at  the  ^nd  of  the  Fifteenth 
Di/nast;;,  the  first  of  the  Shepherd  Kings. 

52  Oi-  five  kings  in  one  hundred  years.— Euseb.  "  Chron.  Arm." 

53  Even  M.  Lenormant,  who  sees  no  reason  to  question  the  continuity  of  Manetho's 
dynasties,  speaks  of  an  energetic  struggle  of  the  Theban  kings  of  the  eleventh  dy- 
nasty against  the  separatists  of  the  Delta,  represented  in  the  ninth  aud  tenth  Herac- 
leopolite  dynasties. 

54  Heracleopolis  the  Grer/t  is  di).ibtless  meant,  since  Heracleopolis  Parva,  in  the 
Delta,  is  only  mentioned  in  later  times.  The  former  (so  named  by  the  Greeks  after 
its  patron  deity,  whom  they  ideiititied  with  Hercules)  stood  at  the  mouth  of  the 
opening  from  the  valley  of  the  Nile  into  the  Fyuin,  on  an  island  formed  by  the  Nile, 
the  Bahr  Yusvf,  and  a  canal,  in  a  position  well  suited  for  a  capital  both  of  Upper  and 
Lower  Eirypt.  Its  site  is  marked  by  the  mounds  al)out  the  village  of  Ancmeh  or 
Anas-cl-Mcdinch,  the  Coptic  Hims.  There  is,  however,  a  doubt  both  as  to  the  name 
and  numbers  of  these  two  dynasties.     See  chap.  iv.  5  3. 

**  So  in  Eusebius,  "  Chron.  Arm."    Africanus  has  19  kings  in  409  years. 


78  THE  OLD  MONARCHY. 

fato  looks  like  a  local  tradition,  to  account  far  the  permanent 
hostility  of  the  Heracleopolites  to  the  crocodile,  which  was 
worshipped  by  their  neiglibors  of  Arsinoe  in  the  FyUni. 

Considering  the  position  of  Heracleopolis,  and  the  number 
of  years  assigned  to  its  two  dynasties,  it  seems  not  improba- 
ble that  the  great  engineering  works  by  which  the  Lake 
Moiris  was  made  a  reservoir  for  i-egulating  the  inundation  of 
the  I'lilc,  were  at  least  commenced  during  this  period.  "  If 
the  Fyuni  was  rendered  habitable  and  fertile  by  the  kings 
of  the  Heracleopolitan  dynasties,  it  will  be  explained  how  it 
becomes  of  so  much  importance  under  the  Twelfth/® 

§  20.  In  this  account  of  the  old  Memphian  Monarchy,  we 
have  not  attempted  to  give  a  single  date.  There  is,  thus  far, 
and  long  after,  710  established  Egijptian  chronology ;  and,  if 
data  exist  from  whicli  it  miglit  be  constructed,  the  results  as 
yet  obtained  are  purely  hypothetical.  Various  Schools  of 
Egyptologers  place  the  era  of  Menes  as  high  as  b.c.  5735, 
and  as  low  as  b.c.  2429,  and  that  of  the  Great  Pyramid  at 
the  beginning  of  the  fifth  or  the  second  chiliad  b.c.  All  the 
stronger  for  this  diversity  is  that  body  of  testimony  to  the 
antiquity  of  Egyptian  civilization  which  places  the  lowest 
date,  not  of  its  beginning,  but  of  its  perfection,  in  all  essen- 
tial elements,  at  least  4000  years  ago ! 

The  chief  principles  on  which  the  constrnction  of  a  chro- 
nology has  been  attempted  are  the  following:  —  (i.)  The 
simple  expedient  of  adding  together  the  numbers  assigned 
by  Manetho  to  his  dynasties,  leads  us  back  to  the  sixth  chil- 
iad B.C."  But,  besides  that  the  various  numbers  in  the  dif- 
ferent texts  make  even  this  method  inexact,  it  falls  to  the 
ground  if  any  of  the  dynasties  were  contemporary,  (ii.)  A 
more  refined  and  more  probable  system  is  based  on  calcula- 
tions derived  from  the  various  epochs  and  periods  which  are 
known  to  have  been  used  by  the  Egyptians,  but  which  are 
too  technical  to  be  explained  here.  Following  this  method, 
authorities  such  as  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson,  Mr.  Lane,  and 
Mr.  Stuart  Pool,  place  the  Era  of  Menes  at  or  about  b.c.  2700, 
and  that  of  the  Fourth  Dynasty  about  b.c.  2440.''  (iii.) 
Partly  in  conjunction  with  the  preceding  method,  and  partly 

^8  Keurick,  "Ancient  Egj'pt,"  vol.  ii.  p.  156. 

5T  The  priests  told  Herodotus  that  there  had  been  Ml  generations,  both  of  kings 
and  high-priests,  from  Menes  to  Sethos  ;  and  this  he  calculates  at  11,340  years.  The 
"  Long  Chronology  "  has  been  adopted,  with  varions  moditications,  by  the  most  dis- 
tinguished Continental  Egyptologers,  as  Bunsen,  Lepsins,  and  Renan.  Lepsins,  in 
his  "Letters  from  Egypt"  (1852),  makes  the  Era  of  Menes  u.o.  4800,  and  that  of  the 
Fourth  Dynasty  u.o.  4000  ;  but  in  his  "  Konigsbuch  "  he  brings  doAvn  the  same  dates 
about  1)00  years  lower,  namely,  u.o.  3892  and  b.o.  3124.  Bnusen  puts  them  at  b.o.  3623 
and  ]$.«!.  3'20;)  respectively. 

58  See  Ml-.  Poole's  "  Horte  Eeyptiaca;,"  and  art.  Egypt  in  the  "Eucyclopsedia  Bri- 
taniiica,"  ninth  edition. 


EAKLY  CIIlIONX)LOGy.  71» 

by  itself,  the  Great  Pyramid  has  been  made,  by  astronomical 
calculations,  to  tell  the  date  of  its  own  erection.  This  meth- 
od is  too  interesting  to  be  passed  over  in  silence  ;  but  its  very 
ingenuity  is  a  ground  of  suspicion.  It  has  been  mixed  up 
with  certain  extraordinary  theories  about  the  origin  and  ob- 
ject of  the  Pyramid,  which  lie  quite  beyond  our  province.^® 
The  three  chief  pyramids  are  all  accurately  placed  with  their 
four  faces  to  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  a  fact  itself 
suo-gestive  of  the  astronomical  knowledge  of  their  builders. 
Then*  entrance  is  always  on  the  northern  face,  by  a  long  slop- 
ing passage,  the  angle  of  which  with  the  horizon  differs  but 
slightly  from  30°,  which  is  just  the  latitude  of  Jizeh.  More- 
over, this  difference  is  almost  uniform  in  the  three  pyramids, 
and  its  mean  gives  26°  16'  for  the  inclination  of  the  p:issage. 
If  the  angle  were  exactly  30°,  the  passage  would  point  to  the 
true  North  Pole  of  the  heavens.  But  this  is  an  invisible 
point,  though  at  present  marked  very  nearly  by  what  we 
therefore  call  the  Polar  Star,  a  in  Ursa  Minor.  Owing, 
however,  to  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  the  true  Pole, 
though  fixed  in  our  celestial  hemisphere,  is  alw^ays  changing 
its  place  among  the  stars ;  and  about  4000  years  ago  the 
star  a  Draconis  was  the  only  conspicuous  star  near  the  Pole, 
its  distance  from  which  was  then  just  3°  44'.  Consequently, 
its  lower  culmination  on  the  meridian  would  be  26°  16'  above 
the  horizon.  Astronomy  enables  us  to  calculate  the  exact 
date  when  these  conditions  were  fulfilled,  and  that  (it  is  ar- 
gued) niust  have  been  the  date  of  the  Great  Pyramid. 

By  an  elaborate  comparison  with  various  other  data,  the 
Astronomer  Royal  for  Scotland  has  fixed  this  date  within 
narrower  limits  than  preceding  inquirers — at  2170  b.c. 

The  reasoning  is  beautiful  ;  and,  to  those  who  know  how 
many  scientific  discoveries  have  been  based  on  the  mutual 
coherence  of  observed  facts,  it  is  not  improbable.  But  the 
sterner  spirit  of  criticism  hesitates  to  accept  it  in  the  absence 
of  some  independent  evidence  that  its  assumed  principle  is 
true — that  the  inclination  of  the  entrance-passage  was  in- 
tended to  point  to  the  polar  star.^"     On  the  whole,  however, 

59  The  curious  in  such  matters  are  rcferied  to  the  late  Mr.  John  Taylor's  work  on 
"  The  Great  Pyramid  "  (1S50  and  1864),  which  is  at  all  events  worthy  of  the  ingenious 
author  of  "Junius  Identified;"  and  to  Professor  Piazzi  Smyth's  two  books,  "Our 
Inheritance  in  the  Great  Pyramid"  (1S'J4),  and  "Life  and  Work  at  the  Great  Pyramid 
in  1S65"  (3  vols.  1S6T).  The  leading  idea  of  these  authors  is  that  the  Great  Pyramid 
is  (whether  with  any  other  purpose  or  nol )  rt  monument  of  vietrological  stamlards.  But 
the  pains-taking  measiuements  and  scientific  authority  of  the  Astronomer  Royal  for 
Scotland  give  his  work  a  value,  which  is  quite  independent  of  his  theory. 

80  Sir  Henry  James— in  his  valuable  tract  ("Notes  on  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Egypt 
and  the  Cubits  u:-:ed  in  its  Design"),  18G9,  giving  the  results  of  the  measurements  of 
the  Great  Pyramid  by  the  Ordnance  Surveyors  in  the  winter  of  1S68-9— points  out  that 
the  slcMie  of  the  entrance  passage  (a  little  over  20°)  is  just  the  "angle  of  rest"  for 


80  THE  OLD  MONARCHY. 

we  may  venture  so  fur  as  to  say  that  there  is  a  concurrence 
of  probability  in  favor  of  a  date,  for  the  Fourth  Dynasty  and 
the  Great  Pyramids,  not  exceeding  B.C.  2000.  But  this  is 
hypothesis^  not  clironology. 

The  chronology  of  Scripture,  even  if  thoroughly  establish- 
ed, would  only  aid  ut  with  a  maximum  limit  of  time ;  for  it 
is  agreed  on  all  hands  that  we  have  not  yet  reached  the 
ej^och  of  Abraham's  visit  to  Egypt. 

guch  materials  as  the  stoue  of  the  Pyramids,  and  therefore  the  proper  inclination  for 
enabling  the  sarcophagus  to  be  easilj'  moved,  without  letting  it  descend  of  itself. 
This  is  Just  as  good  a  "  sufficient  reason"  as  the  astronomical  theory,  and  equally  ac- 
counts for  the  near  agreement  of  the  slope  in  both  of  the  passages,  and  in  all  the  chief 
pyramids.    The  exact  slope  iu  the  Great  Pyramid  is  26°  23'. 


ml^ 


^^(;,— . 


Bull-fight. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  MIDDLE  MOXARCHY  AND  THE  SHEPHERD  KINGS. 

5  1  Siiimnary  of  the  Period.  Dynasties  XI,  to  XVII.  The  Theban,  Shepherd,  ancl 
Xolte  Kingdoms.  §  2.  The  Eleventh  Dijnasti/.  Infancy  of  the  Theban  Monarchy. 
§  3.  Monuments  of  the  Enentefs  and  Muntotps.  Amenemks  I.  §  4.  Order  of  the 
Kings  of  the  Twelfth  Dynasty.  §  5.  Their  recovery  of  Egypt  and  Sinai.  Monu- 
ments of  Sesortaseu  I.  §  6.  Amenemks  II.,  killed  by  his  eunuchs.  Arabian  con- 
quests. §  7.  Sf.gortasen  III.  Prototype  of  SKgosruis.  His  conquests  and  for- 
tresses in  Ethiopia.  His  deification.  State  of  Ethiojiia  at  this  time.  His  brick 
pyramid  at  Dashoor.  §  S.  Amenemes  III.,  builder  of  the  Labyrinth.  §  9.  The 
Lake  Moeris,  as  described  by  Herodotus.  The  natural  lake,  Birket-el-Kerun,  wot 
the  Lake  Moeris.  Discovery  of  the  latter  by  ]M.  Linaut.  §  10.  Use  of  the  Lake 
Moeris.  Change  in  the  Nile  by  the  breaking  of  the  rocky  barrier  at  Silsilis.  §  11. 
The  Art  of  the  Twelfth  Dynasty.  §  12.  Sepulchral  grottoes  of  Beui-hassan. 
Scenes  of  life  under  the  Middle  Monarchy.  Great  lords:  their  possessions  and 
functions.  §  13.  Tomb  of  Arueni:  its  pictures  and  epitaph.  §  14.  First  appear- 
ance of  military  exploits  and  captiA'es.  Grouj)  of  Jebusit^s,  formerly  taken  from 
the  Famil'j  of  Jacob.  §  15.  The  Thirteenth  {Theban),  and  Fourteenth  {Xolte)  D:j- 
vMiiths:  their  relations  to  each  other  and  to  the  Shepherd  Kings.  §  IG.  The  Hyk- 
S03,  or  Shepherd  Kinfjf<.  Their  story  as  quoted  from  Manetho  by  Josephus.  Ab- 
surdity of  their  identification  with  the  Hebrews.  §  17.  Real  meaning  of  the  nar- 
rative. Race  of  the  Shepherd  Kings.  §  IS.  Progress  of  the  conquest.  Their  re- 
lations to  the  kingdom  of  Upper  Egypt.  §  19.  Monumental  Discoveriesr  Saites 
or  Set-aa-pehti  Xoubti  their  chief  King.  Worship  of  the  Hittite  god,  Set,  or  Sou- 
tekh.  Indications  of  time  and  place.  Importance  of  Tanis.  Style  of  the  Shep- 
herd Monuments.  §  •2().  Adoption  of  Egyptian  customs.  Time  of  Jobeph.  §  21. 
Expulsion  of  the  Hyksos.  Interesting  contemporary  narrative.  §  22.  Relations 
of  Egypt  with  Phoenicia  and  Greece. 

§  1.  As  a  key  to  the  difficulties  of  the  ensuing  period,  it 
may  be  well  to  prefix  the  general  results  which  seem  to  be 
established.  During  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  Memphian 
Monarchy,  a  new  kingdom  arose  in  Upper  Egypt;  new,  at 
least,  in  its  extensive  power,  tliough  perhaps  developed  from 
an  old  local  monarchy  or  viceroyalty.  This  kingdom  is  call- 
ed by  Manetho  BiospoUtan  (that  is,  Tlteban) ;  but  that  cnpi- 
tal  was  only  as  yet  in  the  infoncy  of  its  power.  Beginning 
with  the  obscure  Eleventh  Dynasty^  this  monarchy,  m  tln^ 


82  THE  MIDDLE  MONARCHY. 

Tioelfth  Dynasty^  extended  its  power  over  all  Eg'ypt,  and 
gave  a  presage  of  the  brilliant  period  of  the  New  Theban 
Monarchy  of  the  18th  and  19th  Dynasties. 

About  or  just  after  the  time  of  this  dynasty,  nomad  hordes, 
probably  of  Semitic  race  (or  of  Hamite  and  Semitic  inter- 
mingled), who  are  included  under  the  general  name  o?  Ilyk- 
SOS,  or  Shepherd  Kings,  entered  the  Delta  from  the  East, 
whether  in  mere  rapacity  for  the  country's  wealth,  or  press- 
ed forward  by  other  conquerors,  or  invited  by  the  decayed 
princes  of  Lower  Egypt  to  aid  them  against  their  southern 
masters,  or  from  a  combination  of  these  motives.  Becoming 
masters  of  the  lower  country,  and  fixing  their  capital  at  Mem- 
phis— where  they  appear  at  length  to  have  respected  the  re- 
ligion and  adopted  the  usages,  as  well  as  the  name,  of  the 
Egyptians — they  waged  long  wars  with  the  kingdom  of  the 
Thebaid.  The  llyksos  were  ultimately  successful;  but  tlse 
continuity  of  the  Tlieban  Monarchy  was  never  entirely 
broken.  Sometimes,  as  under  a  part  of  the  Thirteenth  Dynas- 
ty, its  kings  took  refuge  in  Ethiopia,  and  used  the  military 
resources  of  that  country  against  the  invaders  ;  sometimes 
they  seem  to  have  become  tributaiy  to  the  Hyksos ;  and  so 
intricate  were  their  relations  tliat,  in  the  various  copies  of 
Manetho's  Lists,  the  15t}i,  16th,  and  17th  dynasties  figure 
both  as  Shepherd  and  Theban. 

At  the  same  time  another  native  dynasty,  the  1 4th,  sur- 
vived at  Xo'is,  in  Lower  Egypt,  perhaps  protected  by  the 
Shepherds,  or  even  coalescing  with  them  in  rivalry  against 
Thebes.  At  length,  by  a  great  national  movement,  the  peo- 
ple of  Upper  Egypt  rallied  their  force  under  Amosis  (or 
Aahmes),  who  expelled  the  shepherds,  and  reunited  all  Egypt 
under  the  Eighteenth  Dynasty,  with  its  capital  at  Thebes.' 

§  2.  A  line  of  deraarkation  is  drawn  by  Manetho,  or  his 
copyists,  at  the  end  of  his  Eleventh  Dynasty : — "Thus  far 
Manetho  brought  his  first  volume,  altogether  192  kings,  2300 
years,  70  days."  To  this  eleventh  dynasty  he  assigns  16 
Diospolitan  kings  in  43  years,  "  after  whom  An)menemes," 
the  immediate  ancestor  of  the  Twelfth  Dynasty.  The  monu- 
ments confirm  the  view  that  the  r2th  dynasty  sprang  from 
the  11th;  and  the  line  of  demarkation  is  best  drawn  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Eleventh  Dynasty,  as  the  true  commence- 
ment of  the  dominion  of  Upper  Egypt.  Such  a  line  is  justi- 
fied by  tlie  monuments  : — "  When,"  says  M.  Mariette,  "  with 
the  Eleventh  Dynasty  we  see  Egypt  awake  from  her  long 
isleep,  the  old  traditions  are  forgotten.  The  proper  names 
used  in  the  old  families,  the  titles  given  to  the  functionaries, 

1  Tlie  description  of  Thebes  belongs  more  properly  to  the  next  chapter. 


THE  ENENTEFS  AND  MUNTOTPS.  8-^ 

tlie  writing  itself,  and  every  thing,  even  to  the  religion,  seem., 
to  be  new.  Thinis,  Elephantine,  AEenij^liis,  are  nolonger  tlie 
chosen  capitals:  it  is  Thebes  which  becomes,  for  the  first 
time,  the  seat  of  the  sovereign  power.  Egypt  is,  besides,  dis- 
possessed of  a  notable  part  of  her  territory,  and  the  authori- 
ty of  the  legitimate  kings  no  longer  extends  beyond  a  limit- 
ed district  of  the  Thebaid.  The  study  of  the  monuments 
confirms  these  general  views.  They  are  rude,  pi-imitive, 
sometimes  clumsy  ;  and,  from  their  appearance,  we  might 
believe  that  Egypt,  under  the  Eleventh  Dynasty,  was  i-ecom- 
mencing  the  period  of  infancy  through  Avhich  it  had  passed 
under  the  Third." 

§  3.  Very  few  monuments,  however,  of  the  Middle  Mon- 
archy are  found  at  Thebes.  Tliose  of  the  Eleventh  are  chief- 
ly at  Hermonthis,  and  the  most  remarkable  of  the  Twelfth 
are  about  Lake  Moeris  (in  the  Ft/uni)  and  in  the  rock-hewu 
tombs  of  J?e/ie*-Art6'5<//?,  opposite  to  Hermopolis  the  Great,  just 
where  the  line  was  afterwards  drawn  between  Upper  and 
Middle  Egypt.  At  Hermonthis  {Erment),  a  great  seat  of 
the  worship  of  Osiris,  Isis,  and  Horns,  we  find  the  monuments 
of  several  kings,  all  of  whom  have  the  same  nrnwe^  Nentef  ox 
Enentef^  except  two,  who  are  called  Mandopt  or  Muntotp^ 
from  Mandoo  or  Munt,  the  patron  god  of  Hermonthis.*  It 
was  to  Muntotp  I.,  probably  the  founder  of  this  dynasty, 
that  the*later  Theban  kings  traced  back  their  origin  ;  for  in 
the  List  of  iiameses  IL  his  name  alone  occurs  between  that 
of  Menes  and  that  of  Aahmes,  the  founder  of  the  18th  dy- 
nasty ;  and  he  is  repeatedly  mentioned  as  an  ancestor  on  the 
monuments  of  other  kings  of  the  18th  and  19th  dynasties. 
On  a  monument  at  Silsilis  we  see  an  Enentef  dom^  homage 
to  Muntotp  I  Muntotp  II.  is  mentioned  on  a  tablet  on  the 
road  to  Kosseir,  with  Araenemes  L,^  whom  he  may  liave  es- 
tablished in  the  kingdom  during  his  own  lifetime.  The  Tui'in 
papyrus  shows  that  Amenemes  was  twice  deposed  by  othei 
kings;  and  several  other  synchronisms,  too  intricate  for  dis- 
cussion here,  confirmed  Manetho's  mention  of  "Theban  and 
other  kings."  In  the  name  of  Amenemes,  compounded  as  it 
is  of  Amen  or  Amun, the  patron  god  of  Thebes,  we  at  length 
see  a  decisive  proof  of  the  supreniacy  of  that  city ;  and  his 
name  is  the  earliest  found  upon  its  monuments. 

2  Sii-  Gardner  Wilkinsou  refers  these  kinjrs  to  the  Ninth  Dynapt^v;  the  title  of 
which  (as  well  as  of  the  Tenth),  HcraclenpoUte,  he  supposes  to  "be  an  error  for  Ilcr- 
niouthite,  arising  from  the  circumstance  that  the  names  of  the  EncntefH  begin  with 
the  hieroglyphic  characters  which  constitute  the  title  of  Hercules.  (App,  to  Herod. 
II.,  ch.  viii.  §  12:  Kawlinson.) 

3  We  use  this,  the  Greek  form  of  the  name,  f.)r  convenience  of  i)!'onMnciation.  The 
hieroglyphic  name  is  read  Amenemhe  or  Amun-m-fw.  Maneiho's  copyists  spell  it 
Am^ieuemes. 


84  THE  MIDDLE  MONARCHY. 

§  4.  In  the  Twelfth  Dynast  1/  tlie  name  of  A777ejiemes  alter- 
nates with  that  of  Osirtastn^  or  (for  tlie  first  syllable  is  doubt- 
ful) Sesortasen  or  tSeserttsen,  in  which  we  may  trace  the  Se- 
sosTRis  of  the  Greeks,  at  least  as  far  as  the  name  o)dy  is  con- 
cerned/ The  series  of  kings  has  been  made  out  satisfactori- 
ly through  the  correction  of  Manetho's  list  by  the  monuments: 


Manet  ho. 

Monwnents. 

1. 

Sesonchosis. 

1. 

Sesortasen  I. 

2. 

Ammenemes. 

2. 

Amenenihe  11. 

3. 

Sesostris. 

3. 

Sesortasen  II. 

4. 

Laoliaies. 

4. 

Sesortasen  III. 

r>. 

Ameres. 

5. 

Amenemhe  III. 

G. 

Ammenemes. 

6. 

Amenemlie  IV. 

7. 

Skemiophris  (his  sister). 

7. 

Ka-Sebeknofiii. 

Tlie  names  are  found  in  their  due  succession,  partly  in  the 
tables  of  Abydos,  and  partly  in  the  Turin  papyrus. 

§  5.  From  the  beginning  of  this  dynasty  the  monarchy  of 
Egypt  has  recovered  its  widest  ancient  limits.^  Tlie  monu- 
ments of  Sesortasen  I.  (son  of  Amenemes  I.)*"  are  found,  not 
only  from  the  Delta  to  Syene,  but  upward  in  Nubia  as  far 
as  the  second  cataract,  on  the  tablet  of  Wady-halfa  ;  wliile 
liis  name,  inscribed  on  the  rocks  of  Sinai,  proves  the  re-con- 
quest of  that  peninsula  and  the  renewed  working  of  its  mines. 
So  far  as  the  monuments  are  concerned,  he  may  claim  to  rank 
as  \\\Q  founder  of  Thebes^  for  liis  name  is  seen  on  the  oldest 
portion  of  the  great  temple  of  Karnak,  and  on  a  broken  statue. 
Sepulchral  tablets  bearing  his  name  are  found  in  the  necrop- 
olis of  Abydos  and  in  that  of  Memphis.  In  Lower  Egypt 
an  obelisk  of  his  is  still  erect  at  IIelio])olis,  and  a  fallen  one 
in  t\\Q  Fyihn  is  the  first  sign  of  tJJe  great  works  of  his  dy- 
nasty in  that  district. 

§  6.  Of  Amenemes  II.  Manetho  only  says  tliat  he  was  kill- 
ed by  his  own  eunuchs;'  but  a  monument  of  his  28th  year 
records  his  conquests  over  the  people  of  Ponnt.  while  its  po- 
sition at  a  watering-place  on  the  road  to  jffb^se^'?*  attests  com- 
mercial  intercourse  with  the  Arabian  Gulf*  This  monument 
even  indicates  Egyj)tian  conquests  in  Arabia;  for  "the  Pount^ 
with  whom  the  kings  of  the  18th  and  19th  dynasties  were  af- 
terwards at  war,  were  a  northern  race,  being  ])laced,  on  monu- 
ments at  Soleb  and  elsewhere,  with  the  Asiatic  tribes.     They 

*  Lepsiiis,  Bnnsen,  etc.,  read  the  S-i:  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  adheres  to  the  0. 

'•>  This  fact  seems  to  contiadict  the  theory  which  phices  the  irruption  of  the  Shep- 
herds at  or  before  this  epoch.  «  Manetho. 

">  Kenrick  translntes  tlvovxoi  literally  "  truards  of  the  bed-chamber,"  on  the  <irouud, 
maintained  by  Wilkinson,  that  the  Egyptians  had  no  eunuchs.  On  this  question  see 
'•  Diet,  of  the  Bible,"  art.  Eunuch. 

^  There  is  a  tablet  of  Sesortasen  II.  at  the  same  place. 


SESOKTASEN  II.,  A  SESOSTRIS.  85 

appear  to  have  lived  in  Arabia,  probably  in  the  southeni  as 
Aveil  as  northern  part ;  and  their  tribute  at  Thebes,  in  the 
time  of  Thothraes  III.,  consisted  of  ivory,  ebony,  apes,  and 
otlier  southern  productions ;  partly,  perhaps,  obtained  by 
commerce."^ 

§  7.  The  next  king,  Sesortasen  II.,  was  tlie  greatest  of 
this  dynasty.  In  his  8th  year  he  completed  the  conquests 
of  his  two  predecessors  in  Ethiopia,  and  built  the  fortress 
of  jSenine/i,  some  distance  above  tlie  second  cataract.  Here  a 
temple  was  erected  to  him,  as  a  deified  king,  by  his  descend- 
ant, Thothmes  III.,  and  he  was  also  worshipped  as  a  god  by 
Thothmes  IV.  at  A?nada,  in  lower  Ethiopia;  and  one  vari- 
ation of  his  name  has  the  Qpithat  (/ood.  These  divine  honors 
were  probably  paid  to  Sesortasen  II.  on  account  of  the  vast 
importance  of  his  Ethiopian  conquests,  in  respect  of  which 
also  he  was  the  prototype  of  the  Greek  ^esobtris,  a 2)er son- 
age,  hoivever,  made  up  of  several  kings  of  different  dynasties 
and  epochs?'^ 

On  these  conquests  Lenormant  observes  :  "At  this  epoch 
a  state  extended  beyond  the  First  Cataract  almost  to  the 
extremity  of  Abyssinia,  which  was  to  Ancient  Egypt  what 
Soudan  is  to  Modern  Egypt;  this  was  the  Land  of  Cash 
(ITesh),  or  Ethiopia.  AVithout  well-defined  limits,  without 
unity  of  organization  or  territory,  Ethiopia  supported  numer- 
ous tribes,  differing  in  origin  and  in  race  ;  but  the  bulk  of 
the  nation  was  formed  by  the  Cushites  of  the  race  of  Ham,  who 
had  lately  established  themselves  there  since  the  time  of  the 
Sixth  Egyptian  Dynasty.  These  Cushites  appear  to  have 
been,  under  the  Twelfth  DyUeasty,  the  real  enemies  of  Egyjit. 
.It  was  towards  Ethiopia  that  the  forces  of  the  nation  were 

s  Sir  G.  Wilkinson's  Note  to  Herod,  ii.  102,  Rnwlinson. 

10  In  the  List  of  Mauetho,  Sesortasen  II.  is  expressly  ideutifled  with  Sesostris,  who 
"was  esteemed  b}'  the  E^j'ptians  the  first  after  Osiris."  The  exploits  added  are  evi- 
dently copied  from  Herodotus  by  the  Greek  editors.  Sesostris  may  also  include  Se- 
sortasen I.,  whose  name  in  Mauetho,  SesoncJwsis,  seems  even  to  point  backward  to 
Sesochris,  the  ei,i,'hth  king'of  the  second  dynasty,  and  downward  to  Seso7ichis  (She- 
shonk)  of  the  twenty-seccmd.  The  former  was  a  giant  (Mauetho) :  and  such  both 
Herodotus  and  Mauetho  make  Sesostris.  The  name  Sesoiichos-is  is  also  found  in  the 
"  Scholiast  to  Apollonius  Rhodins  "  (iv.  272),  as  "King  of  all  Egypt  after  Horus,  son  of 
Isis  and  Osiris  :  he  conquered  all  Asia  and  the  greater  part  of  Europe :  Herodotus  calls 
him  SesostHs."  Here  is  a  confusion  of  the  mythical  age  with  both  the  nineteenth 
dynasty  and  twenty-second  dynasty  ;  for  the  wider  conquests  of  Sesostris  answer  to 
tho.se  of  Rameses  II.  and  his  leather  ScM  I.,  who  was  the  son  of  Horus,  the  last  of  the 
eighteenth  dynasty;  and  the  true  Sesonchis  (Sheshonk)  was  really  a  great  foreign 
conqueror,  and  inscribed  the  palace  of  Karnak  with  the  representations  of  numerous 
sovereigns  whom  he  had  led  captive.  In  the  same  spirit,  "  Dicaearchus,  whom  the 
Scholiast  appears  to  follow,  ascribes  to  Sesonchosis  the  institution  of  castes  and  of 
the  use  of  horses  for  riding— a  fresh  illustration  of  the  propensity  to  refer  the  origin 
of  customs  lost  in  immemorinl  antiquity  to  some  eminent  name."— Kenrick's  "An- 
cient Egypt,"  vol.ii.  p.  10.^.  On  Sesostris  as  the  representative  of  Rameses  II.,  see 
the  reign  of  that  king,  chap.  vi.  §  5. 


86  THE  MIDDLE  MONAllCIIY. 

then  turned  ;  against  the  tribes  of  Cush  were  raised,  on  both 
banlcs  of  the  Nile  above  tlie  second  cataract,  the  fortresses  of 
Khumneh  and  of  Sev.ineh^  which  mark  the  southern  limit  at 
whicli  the  empire  of  the  Pliaraolis  then  stopped."^'  The 
testimony  of  an  inscription  at  Semneh,that  the  frontier  was 
thus  fixed  by  Sesortasen  II.,  accords  with  the  statement  of 
Herodotus,  that  Sesostris  was  the  only  (he  should  rather 
have  said  the  first)  Egyptian  monarch  that  ever  ruled  over 
Ethiopia." 

The  monuments  on  the  Kosseir  road  may  justify  our  repeat- 
ing liere  also  the  story  which  the  priests  told  Herodotus,  that 
Sesostris  was  the  first  of  all  who  proceeded  in  a  fleet  of  ships 
of  war  from  the  Arabian  Gulf  along  the  shorc^s  of  the  Ery- 
thraean Sea  {i.  e.,  from  the  Red  Sea  to  the  Arabian  Sea  and 
Indian  Ocean)  until  he  finally  reached  a  sea  which  could  not 
be  navigated  by  reason  of  the  shoals.^^  All  else  that  Herod- 
otus relates  of  Sesostiis  seems  to  belong  to  Seti  I.  and  Iva- 
meses  II,,  of  the  Nineteenth  Dynasty.  An  evidence  that  the 
Twelfth  Dynasty  recovered  the  power  of  the  old  monarchy 
is  the  burial  of  Sesortasen  11.  (or  perhaps  HI.)  in  the  pyramid 
of  D(fshoor^  the  southernmost  of  the  Memphian  pyramids, 
remarkable  as  the  first  example  of  a  building  constructed  of 
bricks.  (It  was,  however,  faced  with  stone.)  Tliis  might 
connect  liim  with  the  Asychis  of  Herodotus,  the  sage  legis- 
lator, who  left  a  brick  pyramid  as  his  peculiar  monument ; 
but  thei-e  are  several  pyramids  of  brick."* 

§  8.  Tlie  name  of  Amenemes  III.  is  associated  with  his  fa- 
ther's in  the  records  of  theii*  victories  in  Ethiopia  and  over 
the  negroes,  but  it  shines  Avith  a  liigher  splendor  in  those  of 
art  and  civilization.  The  monuments  have  now  cleared  up 
the  riddle  hidden  in  the  words  of  Manetho:  "  Labaris  (or  La- 
cheres),  who  prepared  the  Lahjirlntli  in  tlie  Arsinoite  nome  " 
(the  Fiiuni)  "  as  a  tomb  for  himself"  The  false  name,  La- 
^«r/5,  perpetuated  by  the  copyists  for  the  sake  of  an  etymol 
ogy  of  Labyrinth.^  and  written  Lamarls  by  Eusebius,  proba 
bly  conceals  the  Jfoeris,  whom  Herodotus  makes  the  greatest 
king  after  Menes,  and  to  whom  he  ascribes  the  formation  of 
the  great  lake  named  after  him  ;  but,  since  meri  is  the  Egyp- 
tian for  lake,  it  would  ratlier  seem  that  the  name  of  the  king 

"  Lenormaut,  "Histoiie  Ancieniie,"  vol.  i.  p.  215.  Besides  the  evidence  of  the  in- 
scription referred  to  In  the  text,  the  water-gates  of  both  fortresses  are  ou  the  Egyp- 
tian side  of  the  works.     (Wilkinson's  Note  to  Herod,  ii.  102.) 

12  Herod,  ii.  110.     See  Sir  G.  Wilkinson's  Note  on  the  power  of  Egypt  in  Ethiopia. 

^'■^  Herod,  ii.  102.  "This  is  perhaps  an  indication  that  the  Egyptians,  in  the  time 
of  Herodotus,  were  aware  of  the  difficulties  of  the  navigation  towards  the  mouths  of 
the  Indus."— Sir  G.  Wilkinson,  who,  however,  regards  "  the  conquests  of  Sesostris  Jii 
this  direction''  (Herodotus  only  speaks  of  a  voijagc)  as  pure  fables. 

i"*  Herod,  ii.  130.     See  Sir  G.  Wilkinson's  Note,  in  Rawlinson's  translation. 


LAKE  MCERIS— VALLEY  OF  THE  FYUM.  87 

was  invented  from  bis  work  of  engineering/^  But,  in  fact, 
both  Labaris  of  the  labi/rint/t,  and  Moeris  of  the  r/iere,  may 
now  be  disentangled  and  merged  in  the  historic  name  of 
Amexemhe  III.,  discovered  by  Lepsius  on  the  ruins  of  tliat 
great  pahice,  which  the  Greek  traveller,  bewildered  as  he 
was  led  in  darkness  through  its  countless  halls  and  corri- 
dors, called  a  lahyrintlC  This  discovery  proves,  what  the 
style  of  tlie  building  attests,  the  great  mistake  of  Herodotus 
in  assigning  the  edifice  to  the  much  later  age  of  the  Dodec- 
archy/  From  his  own  observation  he  declares  that  the  Pyr- 
amids surpass  description,  and  are  severally  equal  to  a  num- 
ber of  the  greatest  works  of  the  Greeks ;  but  the  Labyrinth 
surpasses  the  Pyramids.'^ 

§  9.  "  Wonderful  as  is  the  Labyrinth,"  Herodotus  goes  on 
to  say,  "  the  work  called  the  Lake  of  Moeris,  which  is  close 
by  the  Labyrinth,  is  yet  more  astonishing/^  And  with  good 
reason  ;  for  in  utility  it  excelled  the  Labyrinth  as  much  as 
the  works  on  the  channel  of  the  Nile,  ascribed  to  Menes,  ex- 
celled the  Pyramids.  He  gives  its  circuit  as  60  schffini,  or 
3600  stadia "^(360  geographical  miles),  equal  to  the  entire 
length  of  Egypt  along"  the  sea-coast.'''  Its  longest  direction 
was  from  north  to  south,  and  its  greatest  depth  50  fathoms. 
"  It  is  manifestly,"  he  adds,  "  an  artificial  excavation,  for  near- 
ly in  the  centre  there  stand  two  pyramids,  rising  to  the 
height  of  50  fathoms  above  the  surface  of  the  Avater,  and  ex- 
tending as  far  beneath,  crowned  each  of  them  with  a  colos- 
sal statue  sitting  upon  a  throne.  Thus  the  whole  height  is 
600  feet"  (which  is  one-fourth  higher  than  the  great  Pyra- 
mid). "The  water  of  the  lake  does  not  come  out  of  the 
ground,  which  is  here  excessively  dry,'"  but  is  introduced 
by  a  canal  from  the  Nile.  The  current  sets  for  six  months 
from  the  lake  into  the  river,  and  for  the  next  six  months 
from  the  river  into  the  lake"— that  is,  evidently,  according 
to  the  rise  and  ebb  of  the  inundation.  Till  very  recently, 
this  account  was  as  great  a  puzzle  as  the  origin  of  the  lake 
itself  was  to  the  ancients. 

In  describing  the  country  of  Egypt,  we  have  mentioned 
the  position  of  the  great  valley,  or  basin,  called  in  the  Ptole- 

16  The  other  EgJ'ptian  name  of  the  lake,;;i-07u  (ilie  sea),  is  preserved  iu  the  modern 
Fyuvi,  the  province  in  which  it  lies. 

i«  This  passage  of  Herodotus  affords  the  earliest  known  example  of  the  use  of  the 
word  \a/3,'pnf^9,  hut  it  is  clearly  not  an  Egyptian  word.  It  is  probahly  connected 
etymologically  with  Xai'-p",  fiu  alley. 

1'  Herod,  ii.  148.     Conip.  chap.  ix.  5  13.  ^'^  Herod,  ii.  149.  _ 

•9  The  manifest  exaggeration  may  be  explained,  at  least  in  part,  by  the  supposition 
that  the  visit  of  Herodotus  was  at  the  time  of  the  inundation,  when  the  whole  valley 
was  under  water,  and  the  natural  lake  was  united  with  the  artificial  excavation. 

20  The  Avholc  valley  of  the  IXile  is  almost  destitute  of  springs :  but  there  ave  some 
iu  the  Birkct-el-Kerfin. 


88  THE  MIDDLE  MONARCHY. 

maic  age  the  Nome  of  x\rsinoe,  and  in  modern  times  the 
Fymn.  It  is  formed  by  a  depression  in  the  limestone  plateau 
which  here  intersects  the  valley  of  the  Nile  transversely,  and 
is  inclosed  on  the  north  and  south  by  ridges  of  natural 
rocks.  The  bottom  of  the  valley  sinks  on  the  north-western 
side  ;  and  this  depression  is  filled  up  by  the  lake  called  Birkei- 
el-Keriin.^  the  water  of  which  is  supplied  partly  by  springs, 
and  partly  by  an  artificial  branch  of  the  Yusuf  canal,  which 
connects  it  with  the  Nile.  This  lake  is  now  30  miles  long 
and  7  broad  ;  its  greatest  depth  is  only  24  feet,  and  is  gradu- 
ally becoming  shallower  from  the  mud  brought  into  it  by 
the  canals.  Its  level  is  inconsistent  with  Herodotus's  ac- 
count of  the  influx  and  efflux  of  the  Nile,  the  bed  of  which 
was  then  much  lower.  In  short,  this  natural  lake  (for  such 
it  unquestionably  is)  was  not  tiie  Lake  Moeris,  which  had  van- 
ished even  in  Pliny's  tinie."^'  The  site  of  the  artificial  lake 
has  been  recently  discovered  by  M.  Linant,  on  the  limestone 
plateau  between  the  Birket-el-Kerun  and  the  river,  near  Me- 
dinet-el-Fyurn^  the  ancient  Crocodilopolis.  It  has  long  form- 
ed part  of  the  cultivated  plain  of  the  Fyum,  which  is  still 
irrigated  from  "  a  small  reservoir  at  the  modern  town,  a  very 
humble  imitation  of  the  Lake  Mceris."" 

§  10.  The  function  of  the  ancient  lake,  however,  was  far 
more  extensive  ;  it  evidently  formed  a  resei'voir  for  regula- 
ting the  inundation  over  a  considerable  part  of  the  valley  of 
the  Nile,  and  recent  discoveries  on  this  point  have  added  a 
strong  argument  for  its  date  to  the  presumption  raised  by 
its  connection  with  the  labyrinth.  In  remote  ages,  the  hills 
Avhich  border  the  valley  of  the  Nile  approached  so  close  to 
one  another  at  some  points,  as  either  to  form  lakes,  or  at  least 
to  dam  up  the  waters  of  the  inundation  in  certain  parts,  till 
the  river  forced  its  way  through  the  barrier  of  rocks.  Such 
a  barrier  once  existed  at  Silsilis  (Hadjar  jSelseleh),  some  40 
miles  below  the  first  cataract.^^  The  effect  of  this,  in  spread- 
ing the  water  of  the  inundation  over  the  now  barren  plains 
of  Nubia,  is  still  seen  in-  ancient  alluvial  deposits,  which 
reach  northward  as  far  as  Silsilis,  and  in  water-worn  rocks 
at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  river.     But  this  is  not 

21  As  is  proved  by  the  word  fuit.  Plin.  v.  0,  s.  9.  Of  course,  however,  from  the  na- 
ture of  the  case,  the  natural  lake  would  have  some  connection  with  the  artificial  ba- 
ein,  and  would  be  used  as  a  second  reservoir. 

22  Sir  G.  Wilkinson's  Note  to  Herod,  ii.  US,  Rawlinson. 

23  By  a  coincidence  not  unusual  in  names,  silsUi  is  the  Arabic  for  a  chain  ;  and 
there  is  a  tradition  that  a  king  at  one  time  threw  a  chain  across  the  channel,  which 
is  here  only  1095  feet  broad.  Wilkinson  thinks  that  the  ancient  nan^e  represents  the 
Coptic  Golgel,  an  earthquake,  as  the  supposed  cause  of  the  catastrophe,  or  Goljol,  al- 
luding to  the  many  channels  of  the  cataracts,  or  to  the  breaking  away  of  the  rocks  at 
the  time  of  the  fall  of  the  barrier.     (Apj)fc'ndix  to  Herod,  ii.  chap.  4,  §  4 ;  Rawlinson.) 


AKT  IN  THlf  TWELFTH  DYNASTY.  89 

all .:  we  can  determine  the  historic  period  witliin  which  the 
barrier  was  broken  down.  On  the  i-ocks  at  Semneh,  inscrip- 
tions of  Ament)nes  III.  and  other  kings  of  the  Twelfth  Dy- 
nasty, show  that  the  inundation  then  readied  27  feet  above 
its  present  height ;  while  on  the  otiier  "hand,  the  foundations 
of  buildings  on  the  old  deposit,  and  the  caves  in  the  rocks 
near  the  Nile,  prove  that  the  lower  level  was  permanently 
established  by  the  time  of  the  Eighteenth  Dynasty.  What 
period,  then,  could  be  so  suited  for  the  construction  of  the 
Lake  Moeris  as  that  in  which  these  mighty  changes  were  af- 
fecting the  regularity  of  the  inundation,  and  what  kings  so 
likely  to  do  the  work  as  tliose  who  were  then  erecting  gi- 
gantic buildings  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  lake  ?  These 
were  Amenemes  III.  and  his  successors.  But  it  must  be  ob- 
served that  the  name  of  this  king  gives  us  only  an  iqncani 
limit;  and  among  the  inscriptions  at  Semneh,  some  are  now 
said  to  bring  down  the  period  of  the  river's  higher  rise  into 
the  Thirteenth  Dynasty.'* 

The  want  of  any  particulars  concerning  Amexemes  IV. 
and  his  sister  Skemiophris  (or  ^Sebeknofru,  whom  some  make 
a  king)  is  perhaps  a  sign  that  the  dynasty  was  beginning  to 
suffer' from  the  attacks  of  the  Shepherds. 

§  11.  Besides  the  ruins  of  the  Labyrinth,  the  principal  re- 
mains of  art  of  the  12th  dynasty  are  the  two  obelisks  of 
Osirtasen  I.  at  Heliopolis  and  in  the  Fyum,  and  some  fine 
frao;ments  of  colossal  statues  ;  among  them  one  of  the  same 
kin'g  found  at  Thebes.  The  style  of  the  sculpture  is  scarce- 
/y  inferior  to  the  finest  works  of  the  18th  and  19th  dynasties. 
The  realistic  freedom  of  the  primitive  school  has  yielded  to 
the  hieratic  canons  which  lienceforth  prevail ;  but  traces  of  it 
are  seen  in  the  powerful  rendering  of  the  muscles  of  the  arms 
and  leo's.  The  distinctive  excellences  of  this  period  are  har- 
mony of  proportions  and  delicacy  of  execution  in  the  most 
refractory  materials.  The  mode  in  which  the  colossal  statues 
were  transported  on  a  sledge  is  represented  in  a  tomb  near 
JEl-Bershehr. 

§  12.  In  architecture  we  have  the  remarkable  phenome- 
non of  columns,  which  seem  to  furnish  the  prototype  of 
the  Doric  order."  This  occurs  in  the  rock-hewn  frontis- 
piece to  the  sepulchral  grottoes  at  Beni-hassan  (the  ancient 
Speos  Artemidos,  Cave^  of  Artemis  or  Diana)  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Nile,  opposite  to  Hermopolis  Magna.'"     Within 

24  We  can  onh' just  allude  to  the  ingeuious  suggestion  which  connects  the  catas- 
trophe at  SilsilisAvith  the  seven  yeaip'  plentj^  and  seven  years"  famine  in  the  time  of 
Joseph.     (See  Piazzi  Smyth,  "  Life  and  Work,"  etc.  vol.  iii.  pp.  410-413.) 

25  The  prototype  of  the  Ionic  has  heen  found  in  Assyria. 
'■"^  Also  in  a  similar  position  at  Kalabsclie  in  Nubia. 


90  THE  MIDDLE  MONARCHY. 

those  caverns  are  pi-eserved  pictures  of  life  under  tlie  Middle 
Monarchy,  as  vivid  and  instructive  as  those  of  the  Old  Mon- 
archy which  Ave  have  seen  in  the  Meniphian  tombs: — 
"Egypt  caught  in  the  fact,"  says  Kenan.  "The  actors 
therein  are  still,  in  their  leading  characteristics,  the  same 
people  as  under  the  fourth  dynasty,  or  at  least  their  literal 
descendants.  All  the  occupations,  manners,  or  customs,  rep- 
resented of  old  in  the  tombs  around  the  Great  Pyramid,  ai-e 
represented  in  those  of  Beni-hassan  ;  there  are  the  same  toil- 
ing multitude,  the  same  official  system  of  scribes,  overseers, 
and  task-masters,  and  the  same  feasting  according  to  order. 
Something,  indeed,  of  the  gloomy  sameness  is  gone  ;  manu- 
factures now  compete  with  agricultural  operations ;  the 
plough  drawn  by  oxen  dispenses  with  many  sheep  treading 
the  seed  into  the  soft  mud  ;  the  cultivation  of  the  vine,  and 
the  process  of  wine-making,  diversify  the  scenes;  flax  may 
be  traced  through  its  several  stages — men  reaping  it  in  the 
fields,  and  women  weaving  its  fibres  in-doors.  But  there  sits 
the  great  man  still  in  colossal  grandeur  and  unbending  se- 
verity, overlooking  the  busy  hive,  every  one  of  whose  human 
bees  is  working  for  his  benefit.  And  he  still  enjoys  his  field- 
sports  much  as  his  ancestors  did  before  him,  but  with  a  va- 
riation ;  for  now  the  ropes  of  the  clap-nets  are  led  by  ingen- 
ious devices  to  his  hands,  as  he  sits  far  away  on  an  easy- 
chair,  so  that  he  may  have  the  honor,  by  giving  a  little  pull 
to  the  trigger,  of  appearing  to  have  caught  all  the  birds  him- 
self Or,  if  his  designs  are  against  four-footed  game,  as  the 
graceful  antelopes  of  the  desert — no  longer  content  with  tak- 
ing them  alive  and  taming  them — he  pursues  them  now  cruel- 
ly^both  tearing  them  wi^h  dogs  and  transfixing  them  with 
long  arrows;  whence  some  most  touching  pictures  of  a  poor 
gazelle  turning  round  in  pain  to  lick  the  place  where  one 
of  these  darts  is  sticking  in  its  flesh,  and  even  protruding 
through  the  opposite  side  of  its  body  ;  or  another  that  lias 
fallen  lifeless  on  its  tender  oftspring. 

"Very  great  lords  are  still  the  many  chiefs  avIio  ruled 
over  the  people,  under  the  king  ;  one  of  them  records  his  es- 
tates and  privileges  ;  first,  the  range  of  the  eastern  desert 
and  its  oasis,  for  his  antelope-hunting  ;  and  of  the  hinder  and 
nether  pools  for  his  bird-catching  ;  second,  the  land  of  liao- 
phis,  or  a  track  near  the  mouth  of  the  Fyilm,  and  a  sluice  in 
the  eastern  bank  of  tlie  canal  to  water  it;  third,  the  land  of 
the  Hawk  mountain,  and  another  sluice  from  the  canal  of  the 
Fyfim  ;  fourth,  the  land  of  the  two  streams,  or  a  narrow 
slip  of  ground  between  the  canal  and  the  Nile,  together  witli 
a  license  for  enlarging  the  sluices  from  both,  so  as  to  irrigate 


TOMB  OF  AMENI.  91 

the  fields  to  the  extcr.t  prescribed  in  the  sacred  book  for  the 
growth  of  the  plant  asut ;  and  the  fifth,  the  land  of  the  hare, 
with  a  permit  to  construct  two  sluices  on  the  Nile."  But  this 
chief  is  described  as  holding  honorable  offices  both  in  church 
and  state ;  being,  first,  the  custos  of  the  divine  stable  of  the 
sacred  buJJ  ;  second,  the  constable  of  the  palace  of  the  King 
Amenernes;  and,  third,  steward  of  the  laud-tax  for  the  su])port 
of  the  schools  of  the  sons  of  the  kings  of  Lower  Egypt. "^'^ 

§  13.  Thus  it  is,asM.  Renan  observes,  that,  in  these  tombs, 
"  the  dead  lifts  up  his  voice  and  relates  his  life."  Perhaps 
the  most  interesting  of  these  two-fold  utterances  is  that 
which  we  both  see  and  read  on  the  tomb  of  another  great 
functionary  of  this  highly-administered  monarchy,  whose 
name  was  Ameni.  On  one  wall  we  see  the  fat  oxen  grazing;:, 
and  the  sheaves  of  wheat  carried  in  carts  of  the  very  model 
still  used  by  the  Fellahs  of  Egypt,  and  threshed  out  by  the 
feet  of  oxen  ;  on  another  is  depicted  the  navigation  of  the 
Nile  ;  the  building  and  lading  of  large  ships  ;  the  fashioning 
of  elegant  furniture  from  costly  woods  ;  and  the  preparation 
of  garments :  in  a  word,  the  scenes  of  busy  husbandry  and 
navigation,  conmierce  and  handicrafts.  These  pictures  are 
interpreted  by  Ameni  himself  in  a  long  inscription.  As  a 
general,  he  made  a  campaign  in  Ethiopia,  and  was  cliarged 
with  the  protection  of  the  caravans,  which  transported  the 
gold  i)^  Jebel-Atoky  across  the  desert  to  Coptos.  As  the  gov- 
ernor of  a  province,  he  recites  the  praises  of  his  administra- 
tion : — "All  the  lands  under  me  were  ploughed  and  sown 
from  north  to  south.  Thanks  were  given  to  me  on  behalf 
of  the  royal  house  for  the  tribute  of" fat  cattle  which  I  col- 
lected. Nothing  was  ever  stolen  out  of  my  workshops ;  I 
worked  myself,  and  kept  the  whole  province  at  work.  Never 
was  a  child  afflicted,  never  a  widow  ill-treated  by  me  ;  never 
did  I  disturb  the  fisherman,  or  molest  the  shepherd.  Famine 
never  occurred  in  my  time,  nor  did  I  let  any  one  hunger  in 
years  of  short  produce.  I  have  given  equally  to  the  widow 
and  the  mari-ied  woman  ;  and  I  have  not  preferred  the  great 
to  the  small  in  the  judgments  I  have  given." 

§  14.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  too,  the  onilitary  element  be- 
gins to  appear  upon  the  tombs;  "and'in  vaults  beneath  some 
of  them,  and  not  yet  discovered,  are  deposited  the  mummies 
(so  the  hieroglyphics  tell  us)  of  many  hundred  soldiers  who 
had  fallen  in  the  wars  of  King  Sesortosis  against  the  black 
Cushites  in  Nubia.     Prisoners,  moreover,  are  brought  back 

^'^  All  these  "  water-pi-ivlle<res  "  t;n?.i;e)-t  the  ai^e  of  the  lake  Moeris. 

28  Piazzi  Smyth,  "  Life  auu  Work,"  etc.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  403,  '4.  Since  it  is  clear  that  the 
twelfth  dynasty  were  not  "Kings  of  Lower  Egypt"  exclusively,  it  would  seem  to 
follow  that  there  were  such  kings  under  their  protection. 


92  THE  MIDDLE  MONAKCIIY. 

from  these  ('am})aigiis,  and  account  for  tlie  negro  slaves  now 
occasionally  seen  in  the  great  man's  household  ;  while  under 
previous  dynasties,  we  had  met  with  no  closer  acquaintance 
with  Southern  lands  than  the  unpacking  of  a  box  containing 
elephant's  tusks.  At  the  same  time,  however,  other 2)er son- 
ages  now  appear  on  the  scene,  sometimes  singly, ife;ometimes 
in  groups  ;  men  oi  aquiline  features,  brighter  color  than,  and 
different  dress  from,  the  Egyptians;  imtnigrants  from  Ara- 
bia and  Palestine. '^'''^'^ 

One  such  picture  at  Beni-hassan  startled  the  world  some 
years  back  oy  its  supposed  discovery  oi  the  arrival  of  Jacob 
and  his  family  in  Egypt,  and  their  presodat ion  to  Pharaoh. 
It  is  on  the  tomb  of  a  man  of  the  military  caste  named 
N'eoofth;  and  depicts  the  presentation  of  a  procession  of  for- 
eigners to  a  standing  figure,  whom  some  make  the  son  of 
Neoofth,  and  otliers  the  King  Sesortasen  II.  They  are  pre- 
ceded by  a  royal  scribe,  holding  foith  a  scroll  inscribed  with 
the  6th  year  of  Sesoilascn  II.,  and  declaring  that  they  are  37 
vanquished  foreigners  ;  though  only  12  adults  and  8  children 
are  seen,  all  unbound.  The  king  of  the  strangers  advances, 
bowing  reverently,  and  leading  an  ibex  by  the  horns;  he 
wears  a  tunic  of  bright  colors  and  elaborate  pattern,  and  <*ar- 
ries  a  curved  staff  resembling  tiiat  of  Osii-is.  A  man  of  hum- 
bler rank  leads  another  ibex.  Then,  preceded  by  four  armed 
men,  comes  an  ass,  carrying  two  children  in  a  pannier;  next, 
a  boy  on  foot,  armed  with  a  lance,  precedes  four  females,  who 
are  followed  by  another  ass  with  panniei'S ;  and  the  proces- 
sion is  closed  by  two  men,  one  of  whom  carries  a  lyre  and 
plectrum,  the  other  a  bow  and  club.  Their  light  complexion 
and  aquiline  noses  show  a  Semitic  race  fi'om  a  more  northern 
climate  than  Egypt;  and  the  gift  of  the  ibex  implies  a  pas- 
toral tribe  from  Arabia  or  Palestine.^"  The  inscription  has 
been  read  by  Mr.  Osburn,  as  a  group  of  37  Jehnsites,  pur- 
chased for  slaves  by  one  of  their  petty  kings,  and  presented 
by  the  chief  Neoofth  to  King  Sesortasen  II.  in  the  6th  year 
of  his  reign,  on  account  of  their  skill  in  preparing  stibium,  a 
black  powder  produced  from  antimony,  and  used  profusely 
throughout  ancient  Egypt  as  a  cosmetic.^'  It  is  scarcely, 
perhaps,  necessary  to  remind  the  student  of  Scripture  that 
the  Jebusites,  or  Canaanite  people  of  Jerusalem,  were  a  race 
alien  to  that  of  the  Hebrev/  patriarchs. 

39  Piazzi  Smyth,  I.  c,  p.  405. 

80  Mr.  Keurick.  Avhose  description  we  follow  in  the  main,  compares  Isaiah  Ix.  7. 
"The  rams  ofNebaioth  shall  minister  r.nto  thee."— "Ancient  ELrypt,"  vol.  ii.  p.  109. 

3»  Osburn,  "Egypt,  her  Testimony  to  the  Trtith  of  the  Bible,"  pp.  .^S,  :!9.  The  la- 
bors of  this  painstaking  author  have  not  been  sufficiently  recognized  by  the  Egyptol- 
ogers. 


THE  HYKSOS  OK  SHEPHERD  KINGS.  93 

§  15.  After  the  Twelfth  Dynasty  comes  n  period  .of  great 
obscurity,  the  darkness  of  the  Middle  Age  of  Egypt,  preced- 
ing the  splendid  dawn  of  the  New  Theban  Monarchy  under 
the  Eighteenth  Dynasty.  ^Vt  this  time,  it  is  confessed  on  all 
hands,  the  dynasties  of  Manetho  become  contemporary;  but 
very  different  interpretations  are  given  of  their  names,  locali- 
ties, and  relations  to  each  other. 

The  Thirteenth  Dynasty^  of  60  Diospolitaii  kings,  reignecl 
453  years,  and  the  Fourteent/i  Dynasty^  of  76  Xoite  kings  (that 
is,  of  Xois,  in  the  Delta),  reigned  184  years  i^'^  this  is  all  we 
learn  from  Manetho,  but  we  lind  numerous  monuments  in 
Ethiopia,  wdiich  are  ascribed  to  the  former  dynasty  ;  and  the 
generally-received  view  is  that,  under  the  domination  of  the 
JTyksos,  the  native  Theban  line  took  refuge  in  Ethiopia, 
which  the  preceding  dynasty  had  conquered;  while  the  rival 
dynasty  of  Louer  Egypt,  Avhich  had  never  abandoned  its 
pretensions,  held  some  local  power  at  Xois,  either  in  defiance, 
or  under  the  protection,  of  the  Hyksos.  But  there  is  another 
opinion,  that  the  earlier  kings  of  the  13th  dynasty  retained 
the  power  of  the  12th  over  all  Egypt;  but  that  the  Xoite 
Dynasty  was  set  up  against  them  in  the  Delta,  and  that  the 
invasion  of  the  Hyksos  was  brought  about  by  these  dissen- 
sions. 

It  is  argued,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  monuments  found 
at  Tanis,  as  well  as  at  Abydos,  of  several  kings  who  all  bear 
the  names  of  Sevekhotep  or  Nofrehotep^  belong  to  this  dynas- 
ty ;  and  on  the  other,  the  name  Sevekhotep  (Sabaco),  Avhich 
characterizes  the  Ethiopian  kings  of  the  25th  dynasty,  is 
pleaded  as  a  sign  of  the  Ethiopian  .eat  of  the  13th.^'  At  all 
events,  the  principal  monuments  of  this  dynasty  are  in  Ethio- 
pia, where  a  colossus  at  tLe  island  of  Argo^  in  Donyola,  shows 
that  their  power  reached  far  beyond  the  old  frontier  at  Sem- 
neh^  and  above  the  Third  Cataract ;  and  there  are  no  mon- 
uments whatever  of  the  later  kings,  whose  names  are  only 
known  from  the  royal  lists.  It  may  be  safely  concluded  that 
the  conquest  of  tli^e  Thebaid  by  the  so-called "  Hyksos"  or 
"Shepherd  Kings"  was  completed  in  the  course  of  the  13th 
dynasty,  if  not^  at   its  beginning.     Of  the  Xoite  kings  we 

32  Or 4S4 years:  the  Armenian  "Chronicle"  of  Engebias  has  434;  evidently  making 
the  mth  and  14th  Dynasties  nearly  contemporary. 

33  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  finds  in  the  Sahacofi  of  the  13th  dynasty  the  "18  Ethiopi- 
an kini^s"  of  the  list  which  the  priests  read  to  Herodotus  (Herod,  ii.  100 :  see  note  by 
G.  W.  in  Rawlinson).  He  also  makes  their  flight  into  Ethiopia  the  origin  of  Mane- 
tho's  story  of  the  similar  ilight  of  Amenophis  III.  of  the  Eighteenth  Dynasty.  The 
c :)!()ssiis  of  tliat  king,  in  rose-colored  granite,  now  in  the  Louyre,  is  referred  by  some 
Eiryptian  antiquaries,  from  its  style,  to  the  13th  dynasty',  and  supposed  to  have  been 
adopted  by  Amenophis  as  his  own.     Such  appropriations  are  not  uncommon  in  all 


vi  THE  shephp:rd  kings. 

have  no  monuments  whatever  ;  and  even  the  locality  of  Xois 
is  uncertain.^* 

§  16.  The  great  catastrophe  of  the  kingdom  of  Egypt, 
brought  about  by  the  invasion  of  the  Hyksos,  is  related  in  one 
of  tlie  few  extant  fragments  of  the  History  of  Manetho,  a 
fragment  preserved  by  the  strange  ambition  of  the  Jewish 
historian,  Joseph  us,  to  glorify  his  nation  by  identifying  the 
conquering  hordes,  whom  the  Egyptians  at  length  expelled, 
with  the  chosen  people  who  were  led  tbrth  in  triumph  by 
the  power  of  God  and  the  hand  of  Moses  !  It  is  the  answer 
of  Josephus  to  the  taunt  of  his  antagonist  Philo  on  the  mean 
origin  of  the  Jews  ;  and  the  narrative  of  Manetho  has  evi- 
dently been  tampered  wath  in  some  points  to  suit  this  pur- 
])ose.  As  it  standti,  the  following  is  the  passage  cited  by  Jo- 
sephus from  the  Second  Book  of  Manetho's  "^^gyptiaca  :"^^ 
"  We  had  once  a  king  named  Timseus  (or  Amintim^us),  un- 
der whom,  from  some  cause  unknown  to  me,  the  Deity  was 
unfavorable  to  us;  and  there  came  unexpectedly, />w?i  the 
eastern  parts ^  a  race  of  obsenre  extretction,  who  boldly  invaded 
the  country  and  easily  took  forcible  possession  of  it  imthout 
a  battle.  Having  subdued  those  v^^ho  commanded  in  it,  they 
proceeded  savagely  to  burn  the  cities,  and  razed  the  temples 
c?f  the  gods;  inhumanly  treating  all  the  natives;  murdering 
some,  and  carrying  the  waives  and  children  of  others  into 
slavery.  In  the  end  they  also  established  one  of  themselves 
as  a  king,  whose  name  was  Sakitls  (Saites  in  the  list) ;  and  he 
took  up  his  abode  at  3femphis,Qx^ctmg  tribute  from  both  the 
upper  and  the  lower  country^  and  leaving  garrisons  in  the 
most  suitable  places.  He  especially  strengthened  the  parts 
towards  the  east,  foreseeing  that  on  the  part  of  the  Assy  r Urns  ^ 
loho  icere  then  powerful^  \\\exQ.  would  be  a  desire  to  invade 
their  kingdom.  Finding,  therefore,  in  the  Sethroite  nome  U 
city  very  conveniently  placed,  lying  eastward  of  the  Bubas- 
tic  river,  and  called  from  some  old  religious  reason  Avaris 
(or  Abaria),  he  built  it  up  and  made  it  very  strong  with 
walls,  settling  there  also  a  great  number  of  heavy-armed 
soldiers,  to  the  amount  of  240,000  men,  for  a  guard.  Hither 
he  used  to  come  in  the  summer  season,  partly  to  distribute 
the  rations  of  corn  and  pay  the  troops,  partly  to  exercise 
them  carefully  by  musters  and  reviews,  in  order  to  inspire  fear 

^■»  Champollion  placed  it  at  Snkkra  or  Sakha,  the  Arabic  syiionj'm  of  the  Coptic 
Xeos  aiul  the  old  ^Kyptian  Skhoo :  it?  position,  on  an  island  formed  by  the  Sehen- 
nytic  and  Phatnitic  branches  of  the  Nile,  defended  by  Uie  marshes,  would  enable  it 
to  hold  out  long  against  the  Hyksos,  or  to  come  to  terms  by  payinj;;  them  tribute. 
So,  in  later  times,  Auj-sis  and  Inarns  long  held  out  in  the  marshes  against  the  Ethi- 
opian and  Porsian  masters  of  Egypt. 

3s  Joseph,  contra  "Apion,"  i.  14,  We  mark  some  of  the  most  important  points  In 
italics.    The  translation  is,  in  the  main,  Mr.  Kenrick's. 


NOT  or  IJKBKEW  ORIGIN.  O:, 

into  foreign  mitions."  After  enumerating  the  five  siic(.'essors 
cf  this  first  king,  he  proceeds  :  "  Their  whole  nation  was  called 
Hyksos,  that  is,  Shepherd  Kings ;  for  Hyk  in  the  sacred 
language  denotes  Kincj^  and  l^os  is  a  shepherd  in  the  com- 
mon dialect/"  The  before-named  kings,  he  says,  and  their 
descendants^  were  masters  of  Egypt  for  511  years.  After 
this,  he  says  that  a  revolt  o^  the  kings  of  the  Thehaid  and  the 
rest  of  Egyi:>t  took  place  against  the  Shepherds,  and  a,  great 
and  prolonged  war  was  carried  on  with  them.  Under  a  king 
whose  name  was  Misphraginuthosis,^^  he  says  that  the  Shep- 
herds were  expelled  by  him  from  the  rest  of  Egypt  after  a 
defeat,  and  shut  up  in  a  place  having  a  ciicuit  of  10,000 
arur».  This  place  was  called  Avaris.  iVlanetho  says  that 
the  Shepherds  surrounded  it  entirely  with  a  large  and  strong 
wall,  in  order  that  they  might  have  a  secure  deposit  for  all 
their  possessions  and  all  their  plunder.  Thuthniosis,  the  son 
of  Misphragmuthosis,  endeavored  to  take  the  place  by  siege, 
attacking  the  walls  with  480,000  men.  Despairing  of  taking- 
it  by  siege,  he  made  a  treaty  with  them,  that  they  should 
leave  Egypt,  and  withdraw  without  injury  whithersoever 
they  pleased  ;  and,  in  virtue  of  this  agreement,  they  with- 
drew from  Egypt,  with  all  their  fjimilies  and  possessions,  to 
the  number  of  not  fewer  than  240,000,  and  traversed  the  des- 
ert into  Syria.  Fearing  the  power  of  the  Assyrians,  who 
were  at  that  time  masters  of  Asia,  they  biii/t  a  city  in  that 
which  is  now  called  Judma,  which  should  suffice  for  so  many 
myriads  of  men,  and  called  it  Jerusalem^ 

It  will  be  observed  that,  in  the  words  quoted  from  Mane- 
tho,  there  is  nothing  to  identify,  or  even  to  connect,  the 
Hyksos  with  the  Hebrews  ;  for  the  words  "our  forefathers" 
are  put  in  by  J osephus.  They  come,  indeed,  from  tfie  East, 
and  they  retreat  into  Palestine  ;  but  every  other  circum- 
stance of  their  entrance  into  Egypt,  their  conduct  and  condi- 

3^  Josephus  here  interpolates  a  statement,  which  he  presently  repeats,  from  anoth- 
er cop3',  or  another  book,  of  Mauetho,  evidently  to  get  rid  of  the  objection,  that  the 
Hebrews  were  not  kings,  but  slaves.  He  says  that  Hyk  or  Hak,  with  the  aspirate, 
means  Captives,  and  so  Hyksos  is  ca2Jtive-she]jherds ;  adding,  "And  he^  (Manetho) 
says  rightly;  for  the  keeping  of  sheep  was  the  ancient  habit  of  our  forefathers  ;  and 
they  were  not  unnaturally  described  asca])tives  by  the  Egyptians,  since  our  forefather 
Joseph  declares  himself  to  the  King  of  the  Egyptians  to  be  a  captive."  As  to  the 
true  meaning,  Wilkinson  says  that  hyk  is  the  common  title,  signifying  king  or  rider, 
given  even  to  the  Pharaohs  on  the  monuments,  and  shos  signifies  shepherd.  But  sha- 
so  means  Arabs,  and  hi/k  seems  cognate  to  sheik;  so  that  the  name  may  perhaps  sig- 
nify Arab  kings  or  sheiks.  This  view  becomes  more  probable  if,  as  some  say,  hak  de- 
notes, on  the  monuments,  the  chiefs  of  Semitic  tribes.  The  invaders  are  dcpignatcd 
on  the  monuments  3[ena  or  Amu,  i.  e.  shepherds  nf  oxen,"  and  Aadu,  "■detested.'' 

^■^  This  name,  which  occurs  again  in  the  list  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  seems  to  be 
for  Miphra  Thouthmosis,  i.  e.  "  Thothmes  beloved  of  Phra  (or  Ra)."  The  true  founder 
of  the  eighteenth  dynasty  was  not  a  Thothmes  but  Amasijs :  but,  as  the  tear  was  long^ 
Thotmes  I.  (the  third  king)  may  hav    finished  it. 


96  THE  SHEPHERD  KINGS. 

tion  there,  and  their  final  retreat,  is  totally  opposite  to  the 
true  biblical  history  of  "Israel  in  Egypt."  Even  the  start- 
ling mention  of  Jerusalem  is  an  argument  against  the  identi- 
ty, for  that  city  belonged  to  the  Canaanite  Jebusltes  for  some 
time  after  the  entrance  of  Israel  into  the  Holy  Land. 

§  ]  7.  Tlie  only  liken.ess  of  the  Hyksos  to  the  Hebrews  is 
their  occupation  as  shepherds,  and  (probably)  their  Semitic 
race.  They  were  a  nomad  pastoral  horde,  like  those  which 
have  ever  been  descending  upon  the  rich  settled  countries  of 
the  East  for  the  sake  of  plunder.  They  ravage  all  before 
them,  with  religious  hatred,  as  is  attested  by  the  ruins  of 
Memphis  and  the  demolished  mpnuments  of  tlie  twelfth  dy- 
nasty at  Thebes  ;''  and  they  collect  their  plunder  into  a  great 
fortiiied  city.  That  fortress,  moreover,  is  established  near 
the  eastern  frontier,  against  the  constantly  threatened  at- 
tacks of  a  powerful  enemy,  who  is  expressly  named.  That 
enemy,  ^6\syr/«,  is  the  master  of  Asia,  both  when  the  sliep- 
lierds'enter  Egypt  and  when  they  depart;  and  the  inference 
seems  almost  irresistible  that,  as  most  great  moveinents  of 
nomad  tribes  are  due  to  pressure  fi'om  behind,  the  Shepherd 
invasion  of  Egypt  was  due  to  the  growth  of  the  Assyrian  em- 
pire. But  'trhich  Assyrian  empi-j?  for  the  term  Assyrian, 
in  Greek  writers,  includes  the  old  obscure  ChakbTean  inon- 
arcliy,  and  the  Assyrian  properly  so  called.  An  answer  to 
this  question  has  been  sought  in  the  name  Phcmician^^  which 
is  applied  in  the  List  of  Manetho  to  the  same  kings  who  are 
enumerated  in  his  text,  as  quoted  by  Josephus  ;  and  the  en- 
trance of  the  Hyksos  into  Egypt  has  been  connected  with 
that  great  Phoenician  migration  of  which  we  have  to  speak 
in  its  proper  place.  The  latest  view  derived  from  recent 
monumental  discoveries  is  that  the  Hamite  Canaanites,  who 
had  recently  entered  the  land  of  Canaan"  as  a  part  of  the 
great  migration  referred  to,  pressed  forward  into  Egypt  at 
the  head'  of  a  mixed  horde  of  nomads,  of  whom  the  chief 
tribe  appears  to  have  beenthe  Kheta  so  often  named  on  the 
Theban  monuments,  the  Ilittites  of  the  Bible. 

§  18.  Entering  the  country  from  the  side  of  Arabia  and 
Palestine,  they  first  subdued  Lower  Egypt,  and  fixed  their 
capital  at  Memphis.  The  statement,  that  this  was  effected 
}rithout  a  battle,  is  best  explained  by  a  confederacy  ^yith  the 
native  powers  of  Lower  Egypt,  who  had  risen  against  the 

38  Of  all  the  temples  prior  to  this  time,  bnt  one  is  loft,  stnncling. 

39  But  it  is  poysiblo  that  the  uame  may  be  only  used  in  its  Greek  meaning  of  red, 
as  opposed  to  the  swarthv  Egyptians. 

40  "The  Canaanite  was  then  (already,  recently)  in  the  land."  Genesis,  xil.  6. 
Among  the  synchronisms  now  generally  received  is  that  of  Abraham  with  the  time  oC 
the  Twelfth  Dynasty. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  CONQUEST.  07 

Theban  Dynasty."'  The  latter  was  unable  to  resist  the  co- 
ah'tioii  of  its  enemies,  and  the  Shepherd  King  who  consoli- 
dated the  po'.ver  of  his  dynasty  received  tribute  from  Upper 
as  ivell  as  Lower  Egypt.  But,  when  we  come  to  details,  the 
difficulty  of  tracing  the  relations  between  the  several  partie*^ 
may  be  judged  from  Manetho's  lists  of  the  15th,  16th,  aitd 
17th  dynasties,  which  fall  within  the  period  of  the  Ilyksos.  A 
comparison  of  the  ordinary  text  (of  Africaiius  and  Syncellus) 
with  that  of  Eusebius  gives  the  following  curious  results  : 

Ordinarij  Text.  Years. 

15th  Dyuasty Of  Shepherds :  G  foreigu  Phoeniciau  Kings 248 

16th  Dynas' y oJ  othe.  Shepherd  Kings 518 

17th  Dynasty 43  other  Shepherd  Kings  and  43  Theban  Diospolites. 

Together  they  reigned 151 

Evsebitis.  Years. 

15th  Dynasty Diospolitaii  Kings 250 

10th  Dynasty 5  Theban  Kings 190 

ITth  Dynasty Foreigu  Phoenician  Shepherd  Kings. . 103 

Moreover,  the  names  and  remarks  given  in  the  15th  dy- 
nasty of  the  ordinary  text  are  the  same  (as  far  as  they  go) 
as  those  of  the  17th  in  Eusebius,  whom  Syncellus  censures 
for  the  transposition.*^  Of  the  other  dynasties  no  names  are 
given  ;  and  the  exact  correspondence  of  "43  Shepherd  Kings," 
and  "  43  Theban  Diospolites,"  in  the  same  dynasty,  is  mani- 
festly artificial.  Thus  much, hovrever,  we  may  safely  infer: 
that  the  continuity  of  ttie  Theban  Monarchy  was  never  en- 
tirely broken  during  the  Shepherd  rule,  though  it  was  proba- 
bly reduced  to  a  tributary  condition  in  Upper  Egypt,  while 
Lower  and  31iddle  Egypt  were  ruled  by  the  Shepherd  Kings 
in  person. 

§  19.  It  is  only  of  late  that  light  has  been  thrown  on  this 

41  Osburu  and  some  others  go  so  far  as  to  reject  a  Shepherd  Kingdom  altogether; 
malving  tlie  immigrants  the  anxiliary  allies,  and  not  the  conquerors,  of  the  uative 
Dynasty  of  Lower  Egypt,  on  which  the  ultimately  victorious  Thebans  fastened,  from 
this  alliance,  the  hateful  name  of  Shrpherd.s.'  But  this  view  can  hardly  be  pressed 
into  consistCMicy  with  Manetho  and  the  monuments. 

42  The  follov>-ing  comparison  is  instructive  as  showing  what  distortions  the  lists  of 
Manetho  have  suflered,  aud  consequently  how  little  dependence  can  be  placed  on 
them  when  uncontirmed  by  the  monuments  : 


Shepherd  Kings. 

(Manetho  in  Josephus). 

1.  Salatis 19 

2.  Bnon  (?  Anon) 44 

P>.  Apachnas 30 

4.  Apophis  Gl 

5.  Jannas 51 

6.  Asses 49 


15^/i  Di/n.  of  Shepherds.      i    Vith  Dyn.  of  Phoen.  Slicp. 
(Maxetho's  List).  |  (Eusebil-s). 

1.  Saites 19,1.  Saites 19 

2.  Bnon  (?  Anon) 44    2.  Bnon  40 

3.  Pachnan 61  j  3.  Aphonhis 14 

4.  Staan 50  |  4.  Archies 30 

5.  Archies 49  ' 

6.  Aphobis  61  I 


*  "Every  shepherd  is  an  abomination  to  the  Egyptians"  (Gen.  xlvi.  34;  couip 
xliii.  32),  a  feeling  of  caste,  we  think,  much  older  than  the  Shepherd  Kings.  If  de- 
rived from  hatred  of  them,  it  would  surely  not  have  been  felt  bg  them;  but,  if  older, 
its  being  felt  by  the  Egyptian ized  nomads  towards  strangers  whose  actual  occnj.'^'' 
tiou  was  pastoral,  is  a  proof  (as  is  every  part  of  Joseph's  story)  of  tl;sir  thorough 
adoption  of  Egyptian  ideas  and  usages. 


•JS  THE  SHEPllEKD  KlIs'GS. 

period  by  the  nionuinents ;  and  very  important  light  it  is. 
The  first  Shepherd  king,  Suites,  or,  in  Egyptian,  ^et-aa-peJd'i 
Noubti^  is  mentioned  on  a  tablet  of  Kanieses  II.,  found  at 
Tanis,  as  having,  400  years  before,  rebuilt  the  city,  and  I'ear- 
ed  in  it  tlie  temple  of /SV?"  or  Soutekh^  the  national  god  of  the 
Khetas  (Ilittites).  This  is  invaluable  testimony  in  respect  to 
time.place^  nationality^  and  religion.  The  fabulous  length 
of  the  Sheplierd  domination  is  i-educed  within  reasonable 
limits  ;"  for,  by  a  very  probable  computation,  400  years  be- 
fore Itarneses  II.  would  leave  only  about  200  years  for  tlie 
whole  Shephei'd  rule,  and  would  bring  tlie  date  of  King 
Saites  to  about  tlie  ISth  century.'* 

Kext,  as  to  tho  2}Iace.  The  Avaris  of  the  Shepherds  has 
been  usually  identified  with  Pelusium,  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  Pdusiac  mouth  of  the  Nile,  which  was  the  frontier  fort- 
ress of  later  times;  but  the  discoveries  of  M.  Mariette  have 
proved  it  to  be  Tanis  {Sarrj.  The  inscription  says  tliat  the 
Shei)lierd  King  rebuilt  Tanis  ;  Manetho  says  that  the  Shep- 
herds found  Avaris  an  old  tov/n  and  built  up  its  walls  ;  we 
have  the  testimony  of  Scripture  to  the  high  antiquity  of  Zoaa 
(the  Gi-eek  Tanis  and  the  Coptic  San) :  at  this  city  the  Pha- 
raoh of  the  Exodus  held  his  court  when  "God  wrought  his 
wonders  in  the  field  of  Zoan  ^^^^^  and  this  city,  not  Memphis, 
is  the  seat  of  the  dynasty  that  succeeded  the  great  Tlieban 
Empire  (the  21st),  as  well  as  of  the  2;id.  All  these  indica- 
tions point  to  the  elevation  of  Tanis  by  the  Shepherd  Kings 
to  a  rank  above  Memphis,  which  seems  never  to  have  recov- 
ered fi-om.  their  devastation.  Now  it  is  also  at  Tanis  that 
we  find  tlie  chief  monuments  of  tlie  Shepherd  Kings  ;  and 
those  monuments  are  as  thoroughly  Egyjitian  as  are  these 
of  the  Ptolemies  of  later  times.  Nay,  theii'  art  is  finej-,  their 
workmanship  more  delicate  and  more  perfect,  than  in  tlie 
contemporary  morument  of  Thebes;  and  they  are  in  perfect 
accordance  \yith  the  Egyptian  religion.  It  seems  from  the 
discoveries  made  at  Taiiis  that  the  Shepherd  Kings  set  up 
again  the  statues  of  former  ages,  belonging  to  the  temples 
overthrown  in  the  first  violence  of  their  invasion,  only  carv- 
ing their  own  names  upon  them  as  dedicators.  Their  monu- 
ments are  entirely  of  sculpture,  none  of  architecture :  all  yet 
found  are  in  the  museum  at  Cairo.  There  is  a  splendid  group 
in  granite,  representing  two  persons  in  Egyptian  costume,  but 
with  the  thick  beard  and  large  locks  of  hair  foreign  to  Egyp- 
tian use.     There  are  four  spinxes  in  diorite,  bearing  the  name 

<3  This  particular  example  throws  a  strong  light  on  the  general  chronological  ex« 
aggeration  of  the  Egyptian  traditiors.  •'^  See  chapter  vi. 

<s  Psnlni  Ixxviii.  43.  On  the  identity  of  Tanis  and  Avavis,  and  the  meaning  of  the 
latter  "name,  see  further  iu  f;hap.  vii.  §  2- 


ADOPTION  OF  EGYPTIAN  CUSTo:MS.  99 

of  Apepi'®  (the  Aphophis  of  Manetho) ;  but  with  the  lion's 
mane  in  place  of  the  regular  Egyptian  head-dress.  In  a 
word,  these  sculptures  represent  the  type  of  a  Semitic  race. 

§  20.  The  monuments  prove  how  completely  the  Shepherd 
Kings  became  true  Pharaohs.  As  is  usual  w^hen  a  wilder 
race  subdues  a  more  civilized  people,  without  exterminating 
thetn  wholly  or  in  part,  they  and  their  followers  were  assimi- 
lated to  the  conquered  nation.  Though  they  intruded  their 
god.  Set  or  Soutekh  (the  Egyptian  name  o^  Baal)^  into  the 
Egyptian  Pantheon,  and  built  his  temple  beside  the  temples 
of  the  old  gods,  they  gave  the  latter  the  supreme  place. 
They  and  their  followers  adopted  the  manners  of  their  new 
country,  mixed  with  some  Semitic  usages. 

Xow  this  is  precisely  tiie  state  in  which  the  narrative  of 
Genesis  depicts  Egypt  under  the  Pharaoh  whom  Joseph 
served.  The  King  and  his  people  are  "Egyptians,"  both  in 
name  and  customs,  and  yet  they  have  some  cliaracters  of  a 
foreign  race.  Such  are  their  cordial  reception  of  strang^ers, 
whom  the  Egyptians  hated  and  despised;  and  the  pure  des- 
potism of  Joseph's  Pharaoh,  whose  will  is  absolute,  and  who 
reduces  the  Egyptians  to  serfdom,  vxhereas  the  native  mon- 
archs  were  restrained  bylaw, and  set  a  high  value  on  the  at- 
tachment of  their  subjects.  A  Semitic  ruler  would  be  much 
more  likely  than  a  native  king  to  make  a  Hebrev/  slave  prime 
minister,  in  contempt  of  the  objections  v.hich  the  people 
dared  not  utter;  and  the  policy  of  Joseph  would  be  more 
easily  enforced  on  a  conquered  counti-y. 

And  here  the  contemporary  monuments  reveal  a  most 
striking  coincidence.  The  only  names  of  tlie  contemporary 
Theban  kings,  as  yet  made  out,  are  those  of  the  last  two  be- 
fore the  founder  o^'the  Eighteenth  Dynasty.  They  are  Tia- 
aken  and  Karnes  ;  and  the  last  bears  the  title  of  "nourisher 
of  the  world,"  written  in  the  very  same  form,  Tsaf-en-to^  as 
the  title  (in  Hebrew  Zaplinatli)  which  was  conferred  on 
Joseph  by  Pharaoh.*'  Is  this  a  mere  coincidence,  or  did  the 
Theban  king  adopt  the  title  in  rivalry  with  the  Memphian 
govermiient,  or  does  he  assume  the  merit  of  the  policy  which 
he  had  to  administer?  That  policy  would,  at  ail  events,  be 
sure  to  aggravate  the  hatred  of  the  subject  Thebans  ;  and 
the  oppression  of  Israel  may  liave  been,  in  part  at  least,  a  re- 
taliation, when  the  power  was  recovered  by  the  "King  who 
knew  not  Joseph."  All  these  things,  as  well  as  the  indica- 
tions of  time  and  place  already  pointed  out,  tend  to  confii-m 

46  The  T mill  papynis  has  the  name  of  A'.wttb,  Avhich  corI•ei^poucls  to  the  Anon  of 

TvTrinetho  (au  emendation  for  Bnon),  followed  by  a  name  begiunin?  Aj) whici- 

may  be  Manetho's  Apachnas.  *•"■  Genesis  xli,  45. 


100  THE  SHEPHERD  KINGS. 

the  express  statement  made  in  a  fragment  of  Manetho,  that 
Joseph  loas  brought  into  Egypt  under  the  tShepjherd  King 
Aphophis — the  Ap)epi^  whose  monuments  are  by  far  the 
most  numerous  of  this  dynasty/®  The  invitation  of  Semitic 
settlers  was  a  natural  act  of  policy  on  the  part  of  the  Shep- 
lierds,  to  strengthen  themselves  against  a  native  rising.  On 
this  point  there  is  now  a  general  consent  among  Egyptolo- 
gers ;  and  thus  we  find  what  has  generally  been  esteemed 
the  "Egyptian  darkness"  of  the  country's  early  history, 
emerging  into  the  light  and  life  of  Scripture;  and  in  its  turn 
helping  to  weave  the  fragmentary  allusions  of  Scripture  into 
the  web  of  general  history. 

§  21.  The  expulsion  of  the  Hyksos  is  related,  not  only  in 
the  passage  quoted  from  Manetho  by  Josephus,  but  in  con- 
temporary Egyptian  records.  An  invaluable  papyrus  in  the 
British  Museum  begins  with  a  description  of  the  vassalage 
of  the  Theban  Dynasty :  "  Now  it  came  to  pass  that  the  land 
of  Egypt  fell  into  the  hands  of  enemies;  and  there  was  no 
longer  any  king  {i.  e.  of  the  whole  country)  at  the  time  Avhen 
this  happened.  And  it  was  so,  that  the  king  Tiaaken  was 
only  a  luik  (vassal  prince)  of  Ilpper  Egypt.  The  enemies 
were  in  Heliopolis,  and  their  chief  Apepi  (Aphophis,  M.)  in 
Avaris.""  Here,  the  document  tells  us,  Apepi  received  the 
news  of  a  virtual  renunciation  of  subjection  by  the  Theban 
Tiaaken,  who  refused  to  worship  Soutekh,  the  god  to  whom 
Apepi  had  built  "an  everlasting  temple."  To  the  formal 
demand  now  made  by  Apepi,  Tiaaken  sent  a  contemptuous 
rejoinder,  and  both  kings  ])repared  for  war.  This  account 
shows  that  the  Hyksos,  residing  in  Lower  Egypt,  and  occu- 
])ied  with  the  military  cars  of  the  eastern  frontier,  had  allow- 
ed the  native  dynasty  to  consolidate  itself  in  the  Thebaid,  till 
it  had  strength  to  begin  a  religious  revolt. 

Manetho,  as  quoted  by  Josephus,  says  that  "  the  kings  of 
the  rest  ofEgypt"  joined  those  of  the  Thebaid  in  this  revolt; 
and  he  agrees  with  the  papyrus  in  representing  the  ensuing 

4«  Mr.  Stuart  Poole,  who,  even  before  the  most  important  tliscoveries  from  the 
monuments,  argued  convincingly  that  the  Pharaoh  of  Joseph  was  a  Shepherd  King, 
identifies  him  with  Asses,  the  last  of  the  first  series  of  six  kings  mentioned  in  Jose- 
phns's  extract  from  Manetho,  and  the  ARsa  of  the  monuments.  But  it  is  very  doubt- 
ful if  this  Asm  is  the  same  as  AnHCi.  In  Manetho's  List  of  the  15th  dynasty  the  sixth 
place  is  occupied  by  Aphohis,  of  course  the  Aphojihis  of  the  fragment. 

^9  It  will  be  observed  that  the  royal  title  is  here  withheld  from  the  chief  of  the 
Hyksos:  but  an  inscription,  comparing  a  new  invasion  in  the  time  of  Menephtha, 
son  of  Raineses  II.,  with  the  calamities  inflicted  by  the  Shepherds,  uses  some  re- 
markable expressions:— "Nothing  was  seen  the  like  of  this  even  in  the  time  of  the 
Kings  of  Lower  E'mipt,  when  this  land  of  EgijiJt  imfi  in  their  power,  and  the  calamity 
lasted,  at  the  time  when  the  Kings  of  Upj)cr  Egypt  had  not  the,  strength  to  repulse  the 
foreigners  .-"—expressions  which  countenance  tlie  view  that  the  war  was  as  much  one 
for  the  supremacy  of  Upper  Egypt,  as  for  the  liberation  of  the  whole  country. 


EXPULSIO^^  OF  THE  IIYKSOS.  101 

war  as  ]ong  and  bloody.  It  occupied  the  remainder  of  Tia- 
aken's  time,  the  short  reign  of  his  successor,  Kames,  and  the 
greater  part  of  that  of  Aalimes,  who  brought  it  to  an  end.'" 
The  soil  of  Ei^ypt  seems  to  have  been  disputed  foot  by  foot 
between  the  insurgent  patriots,  animated  with  religious  en- 
thusiasm, and  the  disciplined  hordes  of  the  Semitic  invaders, 
till  the  latter  were  shut  up  in  their  great  fortress  of  Avaris, 
We  have  already  quoted  the  account  of  Manetho,in  Josephus, 
how  they  withdrew  from  Egypt,  under  a  convention,  to  the 
number  of  240,000,  and  crossing  the  desert  into  Syria,  built 
Jeri:salem/' 

It  is  one  very  striking  result  of  recent  Egyptian  discoveries, 
that  we  are  able  to  quote,  if  not  exactly  the  dispatch  of  the 
admiral  who  commanded  Pharaoh's  fleet,  its  equivalent  in 
his  epitaph.  This  officer,  wlio  bore  the  same  name  as  tiie 
king,  Aahmes,  says : — "  When  I  was  born  in  the  fortress  of 
Ilitiiyia  [in  Upper  Egypt],  my  father  was  lieutenant  of  t!ie 
late  king  Tiaaken.  .  .  .  I  acted  as  lieutenant  in  turn  with 
him  on  board  the  vessel  named  the  Calf,  in  the  time  of  the 
late  King  Aahmes''  ....  I  went  to  the  fleet  of  the  noi-tli 
to  fight.  ^  It  was  my  duty  to  accompany  the  sovereign  when 
he  mounted  his  chariot.  They  were  besieging  the  fortress  of 
Tanis,''  and  I  fought  on  my  legs  before  His  Majesty.  This 
is  what  followed  on  board  the  vessel  named  the  Enthroniza- 
tlon  oflilemjy/us/"^  A  naval  battle  was  fought  on  the  Water 
of  Tanis  {Lake  Menzaleh).  .  .  .  The  praise  of  the  king  was 
bestowed  on  me,  and  I  received  a  collar  of  gold  for  my 
bravery.  .  .  The  (decisive)  combat  took  place  at  the 
southern  part  of  the  fortress.  .  .  .  They  took  the  fortress 
of  Tanis  ;  and  I  carried  off  a  manand  tvvo  vv^omen,  three  heads 
in  all,  whom  His  Majesty  granted  me  as  slaves.'"'  This  very 
moderate  booty,  while  it  shows  tlie  veracity  of  the  narrator, 
seems  to  indicate  the  very  partial  success  of  the  assault,  and 
so  far  confirms  the  account  of  Manetho,  that  the  fortress  was 
evacuated  under  a  capitulation. 

so  This  is  according  to  the  Egyptian  accnirnts ;  but  Manetho  {ap.  Joseph.)  places 
the  event  under  Misphragmnthosis  and  his  son  Thuthmosis  (as  crown  prince),  who 
seem  (from  a  comparison  of  the  lists  and  monuments)  to  correspond  to  Thothnies 
III.  and  IV. :  for  the  former  is  probably  for  Mi-])hra-Touthmosis  {Thotmes  beloved  of 
Phra).  There  may,  however,  be  a  confusion  between  the  names  of  Amosis  and 
Tethmosis. 

51  The  last  statement,  which  looks  like  a  willful  gloss  of  the  Jewish  historian,  may 
have  arisen  from  a  confusion  between  the  sacred  name  of  Jerusalem  {Kodesh,  i.e. 
hohj)  with  the  other  Kade.-ih,  or  sacred  nt>i,  of  the  Ilittites  on  the  Crontes,  which  is 
often  mentioned  in  the  wars  of  the  XVIIIth  and  XlXth  dynasties. 

52  The  ship  was  doubtless  so  named  in  honor  of  Apis. 

53  This  leaves  little  doubt  of  the  identity  of  Avaris  and  Tanis. 

s-*  Perhaps  in  honor  of  the  coronation  of  Aahmes  as  king  of  Lower  Etrypt. 
55  Prom  the  translation  of  M.  le  Viscomte  de  RougO,  in  Lenormanfs  "HistolreAn 
"jienne,"  vol.  i.  p.  231. 


102  THE  SHEPHERD  KINGS. 

It  Tiiiist  not,  however,  be  su])posed  that  the  whole  mass  of 
the  invaders  were  driven,  with  their  warriors,  from  the  soii 
of  Egypt.  Many  were  permitted  to  remain  as  cultivators 
of  the  lands  on  which  they  had  long  been  settled,  in  a  con- 
dition very  similar  to  that  of  the  Hebrews.  In  fact,  the 
more  the  condition  of  ancient  Egypt  unfolds  itself  to  our  re- 
searches, the  more  clearly  do  we  see  that  the  Delta  was  large- 
ly peopled  (at  all  events  in  the  east)  by  Semitic  races,  form- 
ing a  nationality  distinct  from  that  of  the  true  Egyptians, 
and  becoming  at  last,  under  the  tyrants  of  the  XlXth  dy- 
nasty, the  Poland  of  the  New  Monarchy.  The  descendants 
of  some  of  these  Shemites,  perhaps  of  the  Hyksos  themselves, 
are  supposed  to  have  been  discovered  by  M.  Mariettc  in  the 
ptrong-limbed  people,  with  long  faces  and  a  grave  expres- 
sion, who  live  at  the  present  day  on  the  borders  of  the  Lake 
Meiizaleh.'' 

§  22.  This  episode  of  Egyptian  history  has  some  very  in- 
teresting relations  to  other  countries.  "  The  account  given 
by  Apollodorus,"  that  ^gyptus,  the  son  of  Belus,  bi'other 
of  Agenoi-,  king  of  Phoenicia,  came  from  Arabia  and  conquer- 
ed Egypt,  unhistorical  as  it  is,  may  have  had  its  origin  in  the 
invasion  of  the  Hyksos,  who  are  called  both  Phcenicians  and 
Arabians,  and  wlio  settled  in  Palestine  on  their  expulsion 
from  Egy}.^.  The  connection  of  the  myth  of  Isis,  Osiris,  and 
Typhon,  with  Pha?nicia,  of  the  Tyrian  with  the  Egyptian  Her- 
cules,^^  and  generally  of  Phoenician  with  Egyptian  civiliza- 
tion, will  be  best  explained  by  the  supposition  that  the  nomad 
tribes  of  Palestine  were  masters  of  Egypt  for  several  genera- 
tions, and  subsequently  returned  to  the  same  country,  carry- 
ing with  them  the  knowledge  of  letters  and  the  arts,  which 
they  were  the  instruments  of  diffusing  over  Asia  Minor  and 
Greece.  Phoenicia  lias  evidently  been  the  connecting  link  he- 
ticeeji  these  countries  and  Einjpt^  which  directly  can  have 
exercised  only  a  very  slight  and  transient  influence  upon 
them."^'' 

3«  It  will  be  sufficient  merely  to  refer  to  the  ppecnlations  of  Dr.  Beke  on  the  Shep- 
herd Kin<rs,  and  on  the  dit^tinctidn  which  he  imas^ines  between  the  Semitic  Mizrahn 
of  the  Delta,  and  the  trne  Ciif^lhite  EcfiipHnnH.  (See  Beke's  "Ori<?ines  Biblicae,"  and 
the  "  Athenseum,"  June  12th,  19th,  and  26th,  ISGO.)  st  Apollod.  ii.  1,  §  3. 

58  Herod,  ii.  44.  6»  Kenrick,  "Ancient  Egypt,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  192;  193. 


Memnomium  durinj?  the  Iiiuudation. 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE    NEW    THEBAN    MOXAECHY. THE    EIGHTEENTH    DYNASTY 

<  1  Aaiimep,  or  Amasir,  founder  of  the  Thebau  Mouarchy.  The  XVIIIth,  XTXth,  aud 
XXth  Dynasties.  §  2.  The  city  of  Tiif.ises.  Classical  notices.  Its  gates  aud  war- 
chariots.  §  3.  Site  of  Thebes.  Its  extent.  Villages  ou  its  site.  Vestiges  of  the 
city  and  its  streets.  §  4.  Remains  of  its  principal  editices.  The  Necropolis  and 
tombs  of  the  Kings.  Karnak  aud  Luxor.  §  5.  Sources  of  the  prosperity  of 
Thebes.  Its  manufactures  aud  population.  The  religious  capital  of  Egypt  and 
Ethiopia.  §  6.  The  rise,  decliue,  aud  fall  of  Thebes.  §  7.  The  Eighteenth  D,'i- 
nastj.  Rapid  revival  of  Egj-pt.  Aahmes.  His  Ethiopian  queen,  aud  the  conse- 
quent dynastic  claims.  §  8.  His  Asiatic  wars.  Peoples  of  Western  Asia.  The 
Sluisoti  (Arabs).  Canaanites.  Kheta  (Hittites)  ou  the  Oroutes.  The  Rotennou 
and xYa/taraw  (Mesopotamia).  Armenia.  5  9.  A.MEN-uoTEPor  Amenopiiis  I.  His 
wars  in  Asia  aud  Ethiopia.  Policy  of  Egypt  to  subject  states.  The  Egyptian  cal- 
endar. Brick  arches.  §  10.  Thotu.mes  I.  reaches  the  Euphrates.  The  home 
brought  into  Egypt.  Temple  of  Karnak  begun.  §  ]1.  Tuotumes  II.  Ethiopia 
becomes  a  viceroyalty.  Tuotumes;  HI.  Regency  of  Hatasou.  Her  obelisks  at 
Karnak  and  other  works.  Conquest  of  Arabia  Felix.  Her  name  erased  from  her 
monuments.  §  12.  The  reign  of  TnoTUMEsIII.  the  climax  of  the  power  of  Egyp?. 
Extent  of  her  empire,  from  the  Euphrates  to  Abyssinia.  The  "Numerical  WaU 
of  Karnak."  Victory  over  the  Syrians  at  Megiddo.  Submission  of  Assyria.  §  13. 
Conquest  of  Coele-Syrin.  Foreign  princes  brought  up  in  Egypt.  Conquest  of 
Nineveh  aud  Babylon.  Armenia  reached.  §  14.  Maritime  power  of  Thothmes 
HI.  Conquests  in  the  Mediterranean.  §  15.  His  monuments  in  Ethiopia.  Ex- 
peditions into  Negro-laud.  §  16.  General  view  of  ;he  nations  aud  trii)utes  repre- 
sented on  his  monuments.  §  17.  Buildings  of  Thothmes  III.  Brick-making  by 
captives.  Thirty  variations  of  his  name.  §  IS.  Amex-hotep  II.  and  Tuotumes 
IV.  Conquests  aud  monuments  of  Amen-uotep  III.  Great  slave-huutiug  raids. 
Arrogance  of  his  titles.  §  10.  Identitication  of  hiin  with  the  Mevinnn  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans.  His  colossi  on  the  plain  of  Thebes.  "  The  vocal  Memuon." 
Solution  of  the  mystery.  ?  20.  Religious  revolution.  Amex-iiotep  IV.  aud  the 
"  Stranger  Kings."  Subsequent  Kings.  Amontouonk  and  Har-em-hebi  or  Ho- 
Eus.    Restoration  of  the  gods  of  Egypt.    End  of  the  Eighteenth  Dynasty. 

§  1.  The    conqueror   of  the   Ilyksos,  Aahmes,  Ahnies^  or 
Ames  (i.  e.,  tJie  Moon  :  Ames  or  Amosls  in  Manet^io)/  was  the 

1  He  is  sometimes  called  Aahmes  I.,  in  contradlctiuotion  to  Aahmes  II.,  the  Ama-na 
of  the  Greek  writers. 


104  THE  NEW  THEBAN  MONARCHY. 

founder  of  the  New  Theban  Monarchy,  v/hich  raised  Egypt 
to  the  climax  of  lier  power  under  tlie  XVIIItli  dynasty; 
maintained  her  empire  with  splendor,  but  not  without  many 
struggles,  under  the  XlXth ;  and  lost  it  after  some  flashes  of 
dying  glory  (as  kings  use  the  word)  under  the  XXth  ;  when 
the  supremacy  passed  finally  from  Thebes.  The  monarchy 
lasted,  according  to  Manetho,  neai'ly  600  years;  but  more 
probable  calculations  limit  its  duration  to  about  430  years, 
from  B.C.  1530  to  about  B.C.  1100. 

§  2.  The  seat  of  this  power  was  the  great  city  of  Upper 
Egypt,  which  the  Greeks  called  Thebes  (6/?/ku),  not  by  any 
perversion,  but  by  one  of  those  curious  coincidences  which 
are  often  found  in  names  that  have  no  connection.  It  repre- 
sents the  form  AP-T  or  T-AP,  which  is  the  usual  name  of  the 
city  in  the  hieroglyphic  inscriptions,^  But  the  resemblance 
of  name  led  to  a  confasion  of  the  legends  relating  to  the 
Egyptian  and  Boeotian  Thebes.  The  fame  of  the  former  city, 
and  of  the  war-chariots  of  its  kings,  was  well-known  to  PIo- 
mer,  Avho  speaks  of  "Egyptian  Thebes,  wliere  are  vast  treas- 
ures laid  up  in  the  houses ;  where  are  a  hundred  gates,  and 
from  each  two  hundred  men  go  forth  with  Jiorses  and  chai- 
iots;"  that  is,  10,000  chariots,  with  two  men  for  each.  The 
nifmbcrs  are  of  course  poetical,  but  the  epithet  of  Htcatom- 
Ijylos  endured.^ 

All  traces  of  the  city  wall  liad  already  disappeared  in  the 
time  of  Diodorus,  and  the  absence  of  any  vestige  of  a  wall 
goes  far  to  shov\'  tliat  there  never  was  one.*  As  Pliny  de- 
scribes Thebes  as  "  a  hanging  city,"  built  upon  arches,  so 
that  an  army  could  be  led  forth  from  beneath  it,  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  inhabitants,  it  has  been  suggested  that 
there  may  haA^e  been  near  the  river-line  arched  buildings  used 
as  barracks,  from  whose  gateways  10,000  war-chariots  may 
have  issued  forth. 

2  The  name  is  Ap  or.'1j;e  {head,  i.e.  capital),  witli  the  femiuine  article  T.  Tape  was 
pronouuced,  in  the  Meniphitc  dialect  of  Coptic,  Thaha,  whence  the  Greek  Thehce.,  and 
tlie  Latin  Thche,  a.:  Pliny  and  Juvenal  write  ir.  The  citj-  was  also  called  Za'm,  the 
name  of  its  worn ",  the  fourth  in  orde-/  proceeding,'  northwi:rd  from  the  cataracts:  thi8 
name  was  applied  in  later  times  to  ii  particular  locality  (ui  the  western  side  of  Thebes. 
It  had,  besides,  the  sacred  name  of  P-amen  or  Amun-ei  (the  abode  of  Amnn),  from  its 
patron  deity,  whom  the  Greeks  identified  with  their  Jove,  under  the  special  title  of 
Zeus  Ammon  (Jupiter  Ammon,  Lat.)  ;  and  hence  they  called  the  city  also  Diospolis 
the  Great,  in  contradistinction  to  DiosjmJis  the  Less  near  Abydos.  The  Hebrew  name 
of  No-Amon  (Jer.  xlvi.  25  ;  Nah.  iii.  S),  or  simply  Xo  (Ezek.  xxx.  14, 10),  has  a  similar 
origin,  though  the  force  of  the  Xo  is  disputed  :  it  is  commonly  interpreted  "  the  jjor- 
tion  of  Amun."    (See  "  Diet,  of  the  Bible,"  arts.  Xo-Amou  and  Thehrs.) 

3  Horn.  "II."  ix.  SS1-SS5.  The  explanation  of  Diodorus  (i.  4.5,  §  7)  that  the  "100 
gates"  refer  to  the  2irop'jla;a  of  the  temples  is  as  decidedly  unpoetical. 

*  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  holds  that  it  was  not  the  custom  of  the  Egyptians  to  wall  in 
their  cities.  See  his  account  of  their  fortifications  in  Eawlinson's  "  Herodo!;i:s,"  vol. 
Ji.  p.  25- 


SITE  AND   EXTENT  OF  THEBES.  joa 

§  S.  The  site  of  Thebes  seems  marked  by  nature  for  the 
capital  city  of  Upper  Egypt.  In  about  25°  40'  of  nortli  lati- 
tude, the  two  chains  of  hills  which  hem  in  the  valley  of  the 
Nile  sweep  away  on  both  sides,  and  return  again  on  the 
noith,  leaving  a  circular  plain  of  about  ten  miles  m  diameter, 
divided  almost  equally  by  the  river,  and  protected  by  a  nar- 
row entrance  against  a  force  ascending  the  Kile.  In  the 
days  of  its  magnihcence,  the  city,  with  its  necropolis,  seems 
to  have  covered  the  whole  plain  ;  but  our  earliest  accounts 
date  from  a  thousand  years  after  the  days  of  its  glory,  and 
tive  hundred  years  from  the  time  when  it  was  devastated  by 
Cambyses,^  Diodorus  gives  it  a  circuit  of  140  stadia  (14  ge- 
ograpliical  miles) ;  and  states  that  some  of  its  private  houses 
were  four  or  tive  stories  high.  But  these  houses,  which  were 
chiefly  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  river,  occupied  a  small  space 
as  compared  with  the  temples,  palaces,  and  tombs,  which 
still  remain  to  attest  its  grandeur  and  to  reveal  its  history. 
Strabo,  just  at  the  Christian  era,  writes  : — "Vestiges  of  its 
magnitude  still  exist,  wdiich  extend  80  stadia  (8  geographical 
miles)  in  length.'  .  .  ,  The  spot  is  at  present  occ^ipied  by 
villages." 

And  so  it  is  at  this  day :  the  site  is  marked  by  the  vil- 
lages of  K<;{rnak  and  Luxor  (or  El-  Uqsor)  on  the  east,  or 
Arabian  side,  and  Kurneh  and  Medinet-Ahou  on  the  west,  or 
Libyan  side,  of  the  Nile.  The  i-ivcr  averages  about  half  a 
mile  in  width  ;  but  at  the  inundation  it  overflows  the  plain, 
especially  on  the  western  side,  over  a  breadth  of  two  miles 
or  more  :  in  ancient  times  it  may  have  been  embanked,  pei-- 
haps  by  the  arched  constructions  mentioned  by  Pliny.  The 
alluvial  deposit  has,  in  about  32  centuries,  raised  the  surface 
to  the  height  of  seven  feet  round  the  bases  of  the  twin  colossi 
of  Amunoph  III.,  which  stand  several  hundred  yards  from 
the  bed  of  the  low  Nile.  The  four  vdlages  named  mark  the 
angles  of  a  quadrangle,  measuring  two  miles  from  north  to 
south,  and  four  from  east  to  west,  wliich  forms  the  site  of  the 
present  monumental  city,  and  probably  defines  that  of  the 
ancient  royal  and  sacred  quarters.  At  these  four  angles  are 
the  ruins  of  four  great  temples,'  each  of  which  seems  to  have 
been  connected  with  those  facing  it  on  two  sides  by  grand 
avenues  {dromoi)  lined  with  sphinxes  and  other  colossal  fig- 
ures.. Upon  the  w^estern  bank  there  Vv'as  an  almost  continu- 
ous line  of  temples  and  public  edifices  for  a  distance  of  two 

0  Herodotus  gives  no  particular  account  of  it ;  and  some  critics  even  question  hi<3 

statement  tliat  he  visited  the  city.     (Herod,  ii.  8,  9.) 
^  This  gives  a  circuit  much  greater  than  that  assigned  hy  Dindorns, 
•  The  student  should  bear  in  mind,  when  the  temples,  efc,  of  Karnak,  Lvxor,  Kur- 

n»h,  and  Medinet-Abou  are  referred  to,  that  thev  are  all  monuments  of  Thkbi  s  itself. 


106  THE  NEW  'JUIEBAN  MONAKCHY. 

miles,  from  Kimieh  to  MecUnet-Ahou ;  unci  Wilkinson  conjec- 
tures tliat  from  a  point  near  the  latter,  perhaps  in  a  line  of  the 
colossi,  tlie  "  Royal  Street"  ran  down  to  tlie  river,  which  was 
crossed  by  a  ferry  terminating  at  Luxor  on  the  eastern  side. 

§  4.  The  principal  edifices,  whicli  we  have  frequent  occa- 
sion to  mention  for  their  historical  testimony,  are  the  follow- 
ino- :  (1)  At  the  north-west  corner,  the  Menephtheion^  or  pal- 
ace-temple of  Seti  I.  of  the  19th  dynasty,  at  the  deserted  vil- 
lage of  Old  Kurneh :  (2)  Nearly  a  mile  to  the  south  is  the 
so-called  Memnonmm  (now  also  called  the  Rameseion)^  the 
palace-temple  of  Rameses  11.,  Miamun,**  the  son  of  Seti  L, 
with  its  marvellous  shattered  colossus  of  the  king  ;  and, 
ahout  a  tliird  of  a  mile  farther  south,  the  twin  colossi  above 
named,  one  of  which  is  the  famed  "  vocal  Memnon."  P'ar- 
ther  south,  at  Medlnet-Abou,  are  (3)  A  temple  built  by 
Thothmes  I.,  and  (4)  The  magnihcent  southern  liameseion, 
or  palace-temple  of  Rameses  HI.,  of  the  20th  dynasty,  with 
its  splendid  battle-scenes  from  that  king's  history.  (5)  On 
the  same  (west)  side  of  the  river  is  the  vast  Necropolis,  ex- 
cavated to  a  depth  of  several  hundred  feet  in  the  Libyan 
hills,  over  a  length  of  five  miles.  The  extent  of  the  tombs 
may  be  imagined  from  the  example  of  one  of  them,  which 
has  an  area  of  22,217  square  feet.  A  retired  valley  in  the 
mountains,  the  Blba)i-el-3Ielool\  "  Gates  of  the  Kings,"  con- 
tains the  sepulchres  of  the  kings.  These  tombs,  like  those 
of  Memphis,  preserve  treasures  of  the  knowledge  of  ancient 
Egypt,  whicli  explorers  have  only  begun  to  gather  up.  The 
wdiole  w^estern  quarter  bore  the  distinctive  name  of  Pathy- 
ris,^  or  the  abode  of  Atnr  {A±thor),  ihQ  goddess  who  was  be- 
lieved to  receive  the  sun  in  her  arms  as  he  sank  behind  the 
Libyan  hills.  It  w  as  divided  into  separate  quarters,  as  the 
Meninoneia,  and  the  lliynabunum,  where  tl.e  priests  of  Osi- 
ris were  interred. 

On  the  eastern  side,  the  monuments  oi  Karnak  and  Luxor 
are  far  too  numerous  to  mention.  The  site  of  Karnak  (prob- 
ably the  original  city  of  Amun),  at  the  north-east  angle  of 
the  quadrangle,  forms  a  city  of  temples.  Its  grandest  edi- 
fice is  a  temple,  covering  a  space  of  nearly  1800  feet  square, 
with  its  courts  and  propyl^a,  the  work  of  nearly  every  age 
of  Egypt  (except  that  of  the  old  Memphian  Monarchy),  from 
the  Twelfth  Dynasty  to  the  Ptolemies.  Here  are  the  oldest 
monuments  of  Thebes,  belonging  to  Sesortasen  I.'" 

^  One  derivation  of  the  Greek  names  Memnon  and  Memtionium  is  from  this  surname 
of  Rameses. 

9  The  Greek  form  of  the  word  is  Pathros  (comp.  Isa.  rl.  11 ;  Ezek.  xxix.  14,  xxx.  13- 
IR).     The  Pathros  of  Jeremiah  (xMv.  31)  may  be  another  city  of  Athor  in  the  Delta. 

'f  Excepting  the  few  frairments  of  u  bnil(iin<j;  on  the  W.  side,  where  Wilkinson  has 


KISE,  DECLINE,  AND  FALL  OF  THEBES.  107 

§  5.  The  power  and  prosperity  of  Thebes  arose  from  three 
som-ces— trade,  manufactures,  aiid  religior ,  Its  position  on 
the  Nile,  near  the  great  avenues  through  the  Arabian  hills 
to  the  lied  Sea,  and  to  the  interior  of  Libya  through  the 
Western  Desert — rendering  it  a  common  entrepot  for  the  In- 
dian trade,  on  the  one  side,  and  the  caravan  trade  with  the 
gold,  ivory,  and  aromatic  districts,  on  the  other— and  its 
comparative  vicinity  to  the  mines  which  intersect  the  lime- 
stone borders  of  the  Red  Sea,  combined  to  make  Thebes  the 
greatest  em.porium  in  Eastern  Africa,  until  the  foundation 
of  Alexandria  turned  the  stream  of  commerce  into  another 
channel. 

It  was  also  celebrated  for  its  linen  ma-infacture— aii  im- 
portant fabric  in  a- country  where  a  numerous  priesthood 
Avas  intei-dicted  from  the  use  of  woollen  garments/'  The 
glass,  pottery,  and  intaglios  of  Thebes  were  in  high  re])ute  ; 
and,  generally,  the  number  and  magnitude  of  it's  edifices, 
sacred  and  secular,  must  have  attracted  to  the  city  a  multi- 
tude of  artisans,  who  were  employed  in  consti'ucting,  deco- 
rating, or  repairing  them.  The  priests  alone  and  tlieir  at- 
tendants doubtless  constituted  an  enormous  population;  for, 
as  reg-arded  Egypt,  and  for  centuries  Ethiopia  also,  Thebes 
stood  in  the  relation  occupied  by  Rome  to  medieval  Chris- 
tendom— it  was  the  sacerdotal  capital  of  all  who  worship- 
ped Ammon,  from  Pelusium  to  Axume,  and  from  the  Oases 
of  Libya  to  the  Red  Sea. 

_  §  6.  We  have  seen  that  Thebes  disputed  the  palm  of  an- 
tiquity with  Memphis;  but  its  political  importance  dates 
from  the  Twelfth  Dynasty,  and  its  supremacy  from  the 
Eighteenth  to  the  Twentieth.  But  its  continued  importance 
under  the  succeeding  dynasties,  whether  sprung  from  the 
Delta  or  from  Ethiopia,  is  attested  by  their  pictures  and  in- 
scriptions on  its  walls.  The  first  great  blow  that  fell  upon 
it  from  a  foreign  conqueror  was  struck  by  the  Assyrian  As- 
shur-banipal,  and  repeated  more  severely  by  Nebuchadnez- 
zar ;'^  and  "'the  Persian  invader  completed  the  destruction 
that  the  P>abylonian  had  begun.  The  hammer  of  Cambyses 
levelled  the  proud  statue  of  Rameses,  and  his  torch  con- 
sumed the  temples  and  palaces  of  the  city  of  the  hundred 
gates.  Xo-Ammon,  the  shrine  of  the  Egyptian  Jupiter, 
'  that  was  situate  among  the  rivers,  and  whose  rampart  was 
the  sea,'  sank  from  its  metropolitan  splendor  to  the  position 
of  a  mere  provincial  town;  and,  notwithstanding  the  spas- 
discovered  the  name  of  Ameuemes  I.  The  non-appearance  of  earlier  name?,  and  the 
dilapidated  .state  of  the  oldest  part  of  the  bnildii  <:,  are  doubtless  due  to  the  ravages 
of  revolution  and  invasion,  and  especially  to  the  Hykso.s. 

^'  Plin.,  ix.  1,  s.  4.  12  See  below,  chap.  vii.  and  viii. 


108  THE  NEW  TIIEBAN  MONAKCJHY. 

niodic  eiforts  of  tlie  Ptolemies  to  revive  its  ancieiU  glory," 
became  at  last  only  tlie  desolate  and  ruined  sepulchre  of  the 
empire  it  had  once  imbodied.  It  lies  to-day  a  nest  of  Arab 
hovels  amid  crumbling  columns  and  drifting  sands.'"*  But 
on  those  crumbling  stones,  and  preserved  while  hidden  by 
those  drifting  sands,  are  the  pictorial  scenes  and  the  inscrip- 
tions which  enable  us  to  reproduce  the  history  of  the  Thebaia 
Monarchy  as  if  from  authentic  books. 

§  7.  With  the  Eighteenth  Dynasty  begins   a   continuous 
monumental  history'  of  Egypt,  which  reveals  the  confusion 
that  has  been  introduced  into  the  lists  of  Manetho.     For  ex- 
ample, liis  copyists  have  tacked  on  the  lirst  three  kings  of 
the'XIXth  dynasty  to  the  XVIIIth,  and  have  repeated  theni 
in  the  XlXth  dynasty.     The  succession  of  kings  determined 
from  the  monuments  is  as  follows:— (l)  Aahmes  or  Ames: 
(2)  Amex-iiotep  I.  :   (3)  Tiiotiimes  I.  :   (4)  Thotiimes  II.  and 
the  queen-regent  Hatasou  :  (5)  Tiiothmes  III. :   (6)  Amex- 
HOTEP  II. :    (7)   Thotiimes  l\. :    (8)   Amex-hotep  III. :    (9) 
Amex-iiotep  IV. :  (10)  Hae-em-iiebi,  the  Horus  of  Manetho. 
It  is  surprising  how  rapidly  Egypt  seems  to  have  recov- 
ered from  the  effects  of  the  Shepherd  invasion  ;  perhaps  we 
should  rather  say  that  their  conformity  to  Egyptian  manners 
fostered  the  revival.     Agriculture,  commerce,  art,  are  all  in 
full  vigor  at  the  beginning  of  the  new  era.     The  perfection 
of  the^jeweller's  art^is  sho'wn  in  the  ornaments  (now  in  the 
Cairo  Museum)  discovered  by  M.  Mariette  on  the  mummy  of 
QwQQwAah-hotcp,  the  widow  o^ Karnes  and  mother  o'i  Aahmes, 
The  care  of  the  new  king  in  restoring  the  temples  destroyed 
by  the  Ilyksos,  especially  at  Memphis  and  Thebes,  is  proved 
by  an  inscription,  of  his   22d  year,  in  the  quarries  of  Jebel 
Mokattem,  opposite  to  Cairo  ;  which  also  shows  that  Lower 
Egypt  was  then  under  his  sway.     Aahmes  quelled  a  revolt  in 
Nubia,  and  married  an  Ethiopian  princess,  JVofre-t-ari,  whoni 
the  monuments  represent  with  regular  Caucasian  features,  but 
a  black  skin.     Tiiis  marriage  appears  to  have  been  the  ground 
of  the  claims  raised  by  his  successors  to  the  throne  of  Ethiopia. 
§  8.  On  the  other  sude,  Aahmes,  going  to  attack  the  Hyksos 
in  their  new  abodes,  began  tliose  wars  in  Western  Asia,  whicl) 
his  descendants  carried  on  even  beyond  tlie  Euplirates.     The 
chief  populations  of  that  region,  with  whom  the  Egyptians 
thus  came  into  contact,  were  the  following:   (l)  The  Arab 
tribes  (called  Shasou  on  the  monuments),  in  the  deserts  on 
the  north-eastern  frontier,  including  the  Midianites  and  Edom- 

'a  It-^  trade  with  Arabia  ami  Ethiopia  was  at  this  time  diverted  to  Coptos  and  ApoV 
liiK^pnlis. 
"  Dr.  J.  P.  Thonipsou,  in  the  "  Diet,  of  the  Bible,"  vol.  iii.  p.  14T5. 


.WARS  JN  ASIA  AND  ETHIOPIA.  100 

ites  (or  Idumeaiis),  besides  tlie  Amalekites,  who  were  the 
chief  of  these  tribes.  (2)  Palestine  was  occupied,  as  at  the 
time  of  the  'conquest  under  Josliua,  by  the  numerous  tribes 
of  the  (Janacmites^  under  their  petty  kings,  who  often  ruled 
over  only  a  single  city — a  condition  which  made  conquest 
easy,  but  favored  insurrection.  The  great  maritime  plain 
along  the  Meditei'ranean,  afterwards  the  seat  of  the  Philis- 
tine confederacy,  was  early  taken  into  the  militaiy  occupa- 
tion of  Egypt,  as  the  highway  into  Asia.  (3)  North  of  Ca- 
naan, in  Coele-Syria  and  the  valley  of  the  Orontes,  \\  as  the 
great  nation  of  the  Kheta  or  Hittites,  the  wai-s  with  whom 
ibrni  so  conspicuous  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  XlXth  dy- 
nasty. (4)  Eastward  through  the  whole  of  Aram,  as  far  as 
and  beyond  the  Euphrates,  was  the  great  confederacy  of  the 
'liot-n-no^  or  Mot-en-nou,  or  Ruten^  whose  name  is  constantly 
reappearing  on  the  monuments.  Marked  by  no  well-defined 
teri'it(jiT  or  unity  of  race,  it  embraced  all  Mesopotamia,'^  and 
possessed  the  cities  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  where  the  Old 
Ohaldaean  monarchy  had  probably  lost  its  strength,  and  the 
Assyrian  empire  had  not  yet  risen.  Tiie  Semitic  Assyrlo- 
Chalda^ans,  then  under  petty  kings,  seem  to  have  foi-med  the 
kernel  of  the  confederacy,  whicli,  perhaps,  derived  its  name 
from  Jieseji,  one  of  the  oldest  and  greatest  cities  of  Assyria;'* 
but  it  included  also  all  the  Aramiean  tribes  on  both  sides  of 
the  Euphrates,  (o)  The  farthest  people  reached  by  the  Egyp 
tian  arms  W' ere  the  Japhetic  races  in  the  mountains  of  Anne- 
911(1 ;  for  the  conquests  of  Sesostris  beyond  the  Caucasus 
seem  tabe  wholly  fabulous. 

§  9.  The  war  in  Asia  was  pursued  by  Amen-hotep  I.  (i.  e. 
Serenity  of  Amnion)^  the  son  and  successor  of  Aahmes,  who 
is  otherwise  called  ^4m?^7io^j>/^,  or,  in  GvQok^  Aineyioi^his.^'^  He 
chastised  the  Bedouin  Shasou^'dnd  made  progress  in  the  re- 
duction of  Palestine.  In  dealing  with  the  petty  principali- 
ties of  Asia,  the  policy  of  the  Egyptian  kings  was  the  same 
that  was  aftei-wards  followed  by  the  Assyrians  and  Persians, 
as  v^xdl  as  by  the  Turks  to  this  day.  The  little  royalties  v;ere 
rendered  tributary  without  being  suppressed.  So  long  as 
his  sovereignty  was  acknowledged,  the  tribute  paid,  and  the 
military  contingents  furnished,  the  Pharaoh  viewed  the  quar- 
rels of  the  petty  princes  rather  as  a  security  for  the  main- 
tenance of  his  power.  The  wars  of  this  king  in  Ethio])ia  ai-e 
attested  by  a  passage  of  the  above-quoted  inscription  of  the 
mariner  Aahmes  : — "I  conducted  the  ship  of  King  i\men-ho- 

^^  The  name  Kahnrain  {two  rivers)  is  fouud  on  the  moniimenfo,  and  seems  identical 
with  the  Aram-iVnharaim  of  the  Bible.  '^  See  Genesis  x.  12 

17  Clieb;on,  whom  Manetho  places  second  iu  the  dynasty,  is  not  named  'jr.  the 
m(mninenlH. 


no  TKE  NEW  THEBAN  MONARCHY. 

tep,  vvlien  lie  made  an  expedition  against  Ethio]^ia  to  eniargre 
the  boundaries  of  Egypt.  The  king  took  the  nioniitain-chiet' 
])risoner  in  the  midst  of  his  warrioi-s." 

From  a  sepulcliral  box  and  a  mummy-case  bearing  this 
king's  name,  it  is  evident  that  tlie  Egyptians  had  ah-eady 
adopted  the  five  intercalary  days  to  complete  the  year  of 
365  days,  as  well  as  the  division  of  day  and  night  into  12 
hours  each.  His  name  is  also  found  on  arches  of  crude  brick 
at  Thebes.  But  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  all  these  in- 
ventions had  been  made  long  before  the  time  at  which  these 
proofs  occur. ^^     Amenophis  was  deified  after  his  death. 

§  10.  Thothmes  I.'^  has  left  the  proof  of  his  progress  in 
Ethiopia  by  an  inscription,  belonging  to  liis  second  year,  on 
the  rocks  opposite  to  the  Isle  of  To/jtbos,  recording  his  vic- 
tories over  the  JVi(/isi,  or  Ne(jroes.  But  his  great  exploits 
were  in  Asia,  Having  finished  the  conquest  of  the  Canaan- 
ites,  lie  gained  a  great  victory  over  the  llotennou^  nearDamas- 
cus,  and  pressed  on  to  the  Euphrates,  which  he  crossed  at 
Ccu'cheinish.'^^  Tablets  commemorating  his  passage  were  set 
up  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  as  well  as  of  the  Upper  Nile; 
and  the  same  mariner,  who  has  been  twice  cited,  records  his 
service  under  Thothmes  I.  when  he  captured  21  men,  a  horse^ 
and  a  chariot  in  the  land  of  N^aharain.  This  is  the  first  ap- 
peai-ance  of  the  horse  (under  its  Semitic  name  of  Sks)  in  the 
Egyptian  records ;  and  henceforth  we  find  the  Theban  kings 
using  war-chariots;  but  the  chariots  of  Joseph's  Pharaoli  af- 
ford a  proof  that  the  horse  and  the  war-chariot  had  already 
been  introduced  by  the  Hyksos.  Thothmes  I.  also  leads  the 
Avay  in  the  great  architectural  works  which  distingnish.ed 
this  and  the  following  dynasties.  He  seems  to  have  begun 
the  great  palace  of  Karnak,  in  the  central  court  of  which 
stood  two  obelisks  bearing  his  name.  One  of  these  records 
a  victory  over  the  nation  af  the  JVine  J^oios,  ^\lio  are  su|> 
posed  to  be  the  Libyans, 

§  11.  The  final  submission  of  Ethiopia  is  all  that  marks 
the  reign  of  Thothmes  II.  We  nov,'  first  find,  on  the  rocks 
of  Syene,  the  title  of"  Royal  Son  of  Cush,''  which  appears  to 
denote  a  viceroy  of  Ethiopia,  of  the  royal  blood. 

1^-  Wilkinson's  "  App.  to  HerocKbook  ii.,"  in  Ra\rIinson's  "Herod."  vol.  ii.  p.  3,55. 

^9  The  name  is  also  written  ThoutJnnei^  and  Thoutmcfi,  and,  by  Manetho,  TlioutinoHU. 
It  is  derived  from  Thoth  (the  Egyptian  Hermes),  the  god  of  letters  and  of  the  moon. 

20  This  city,  so  often  mentioned  on  the  Egyptian  monuments,  and  also  in  the  Bible, 
as  a  chief  key  to  the  line  of  the  Euphrates,  is  usually  identified  with  the  classical  Cir- 
cemim  {KarkMa)  at  the  junction  of  the  Chaboras  {Khabnr)  with  the  Euphrates;  but 
some  place  it,  on  the  authority  of  the  Assyrian  inscriptions,  much  higher  up  the  river, 
at  or  near  the  site  of  the  later  Maho(]  or  Hiempob's.  The  word  means  the  fort  of 
Chemosh,  the  Avell-knowu  deity  of  the  Moabites.  At  about  ii,o.  1000  it  was  iu  the  poa- 
session  of  the  Hittites. 


THOTHMES  III.— HATxVSOU.  11 1 

After  a  very  short  reign,  Tliothmes  II.  was  succeeded  by 
his  brother  Thothmes  III.,  who  was  still  a  child.  His  eldest 
sister,  Hatasou  (also  called  JVe)}it-Aine>i),  who  seems  to 
have  had  a  large  share  in  the  government  during  the  preced- 
ing reign,  now  assumed  the  full  style  and  functions  of  royal- 
ty for  seventeen  years.  She  has  left  a  monument  of  hei*  splen- 
dor in  the  two  great  obelisks  in  the  central  court  of  the  pal- 
ace of  Karnak,  one  of  which  is*  still  erect.  It  is  of  rose-color- 
ed granite,  90  feet  high,  and  carved  with  figures  and  hiero- 
glyphics of  such  fine  and  free  workmanship  that,  as  Rosellini 
says,  "  every  figure  seems  rather  to  have  been  impressed 
with  a  seal  than  graven  with  a  chisel."  From  the  inscription 
on  the  base  we  learn  that  the  obelisk  was  a  monument  to 
her  father,  Thothmes  I.,  that  seven  months  were  occupied  in 
cutting  it  out  fi'om  tlie  rocks  at  Syene  and  transporting  it 
to  Thebes,  and  that  the  ^vjramidiofi  on  its  summit  was  made 
of  gold  taken  from  enemies. 

On  the  walls  of  the  temple  of  Deir-el-Baharl,  at  Thebes, 
Hatasou  has  recorded,  in  splendid  reliefs,  her  conquest  of 
Fount ^  or  Arabia  Felix.  Her  name  has  been  cut  out  of  many 
of  her  monuments,  probably  to  brand  her  royal  style  as  an 
usurpation.  Her  power  seems  to  have  lasted  till  her  death, 
even  after  the  young  king  attained  his  majority,  for  her  name 
is  found  on  an  inscription  at  Wady  MagJtarah  in  the  six- 
teenth year  of  tlie  reign  of  Thothmes  HI.,  whose  first  mili- 
tary expedition  was  made  in  his  twenty-second  year. 

§  12.  It  is  the  reign  of  Thothmes  HI.,  not  that  of  Rameses 
II.,  that  forms  tlie  true  climax  of  the  power  of  Egypt,  who 
now  boasted  that  "she  fixed  her  frontiers  where  she  would." 
She  now  attained  a  real  Empire,  embracing  on  the  south 
Abj^ssinia,  Soudan,  and  Nubia;  on  the  west  a  part  of  Libya; 
on  the  east  the  peninsula  of  Sinai,  and  Yemien  ;  and  on  the 
north  Syria,  Mesopotamia,  and  Irak-Araby  to  the  mount- 
ains of  Armenia  and  Kurdistan  ;  and  h«r  internal  organiza- 
tion was  never  more  complete.  On  the  greatest  of  his  arch- 
itectural works,  the  Temple  of  Karnak,  Thothmes  has  left  the 
record  of  his  chief  exploits  in  a  magnificent  bas-relief,  which 
is  known,  from  its  statistics  of  booty  and  of  prisoners,  as  the 
*'  Numerical  Wall  of  Karnak,"  or  the  "Annals  of  Thothmes 

In  the  twenty-second  year  of  the  king's  reign,  probably 
soon  after  the  death  of  Hatasou,  the  Rotennou  had  refused  to 
pay  tribute  and  had  stirred  up  an  insurrection  in  Canaan. 
Gaza,  one  of  the  few  strong  places  left,  was  chosen  by 
Thothmes  as  his  base  of  operations.     Here,  in  the  following 

'1  The  moderation  of  many  of  these  uumbeis  gives  a  strong  presumption  of  veracity. 


112  THE  NEW  THEBAN  MONAKCIIY. 

spring,  he  learned  that  the  confederated  Syrians  and  Canaan- 
ites,  under  the  King  of  Kadesh  (on  the  Orontes),  had  posted 
themselves  in  the  valley  of  Megiddo.  Rejecting  more  cau- 
tious counsels,  he  marched  strniglit  against  tiiem,  and  gained 
a  decisive  victory  on  the  tiehl  of  battle  where  Necho,  long 
afterwards,  slew  iTosiah.  No  less  than  2132  horses  and  914 
war-chariots  wen^  the  i)i-ize  of  the  victory,  though  the  enemy 
lost  only  83  killed  and  340  prisoners.  Perhaps  the  neigh- 
boring mountains  saved  the  fugitives.  Megiddo,  where  the 
hostile  chiefs  had  taken  refuge,  was  soon  reduced  by  famine, 
and  Thothmes  marched  in  triumph  to  tlie  Euphi'ates. 

Returning  the  next  year,  he  crossed  the  river  at  Carche- 
mish,  where  he  built  a  fortress,  and  the  Rotennou  submitted 
without  a  battle.  Among  the  kings  who  paid  tribute  were 
those  of  Resen  and  of  Asshur,  or  Elassar  {KalaJt-tihergat). 
It  should  here  be  remembered  that,  according  to  the  custom 
of  those  days,  chiefs  "  often  agreed  to  make  this  acknowledg- 
ment of  their  defeat  without  yielding  up  their  country  to  the 
victorious  enemy  as  a  conquered  province ;  and,  in  some 
cases,  a  country  may  liave  been  called  conquered  (by  the 
Egyptians,  Assyrians,  or  others),  when  in  fiict  a  victory  had 
only  been  gained  over  its  army;  perhaps  even  when  that 
army  w  as  beyond  its  own  ffontier."^'^ 

§  13.  Four  years  of  peace  were  followed  in  the  2Pth  year 
of  the  king's  reign,  by  the  conquest  of  Ccele-Syria,  whose 
people  are  seen  bringing  their  tribute  of  wine,  wheat,  cattle, 
honey,  and  iron.  Aradus,  which  was  taken  in  this  campaign, 
had  to  be  retaken  in  the  Ibllowing  year,  when  also  Kadesh, 
on  the  Orontes,  fell  for  the  first  time  before  the  arms  of 
Egypt.^^^  The  Assyrian  princes  beyond  the  Euphrates  now 
renewed  their  submission,  giving  their  sons  and  brothers  as 
hostages  to  be  brought  up  in  Egypt,  and  agreeing  that,  in 
case  of  death,  their  successor  sliould  be  appointed  by  Pha- 
raoh, doubtless  from  the  E'jyptianizeci  ])rinces.  This  cam- 
paign in  his  30th  year  is  called  his  sixth  exjjedition. 

In  his  31st  year  Thothmes  repaired  in  person  to  Mesopo- 
tamia to  receive  tribute  ;  and  in  his  33d  he  appeai-s  to  have 
completed  the  conquest  of  the  country,  for  the  inscription 
says  that  ''  he  stojjped  rt  Nineveh  (JVinieK),  where  he  set 
up"  his  stela  in  Naharain,  having  enlarged  the  fi'ontiers  of 
Egypt."  Singar  and  Babylon  also  are  represented  as  be- 
longing to  his  empire;  and,  in  Syria  beyond  the  Jordan, 
Ileshbon  and  Rabbath-Ammon  appear  ilrst  as  tributaries. 
Carrying  on  his  conquests  to  their  farther  t  limits,  he  received 

23  Wilkinson's  "  App.  to  Herorl.  ii.,"  in  R.iwliiisoii's  "  nerotl."  ii.  p.  S5T. 
23  T^'o  niiiis  of  Shi.-!  i:^'-«  <v'xipt  ;i  liltli-  ai)ove  Emesa, 


MARITIME  POWER  OE  THOTHMES  III.  ll.-] 

tribute  from  the  Remenen.,  vvlio  are  supposed  to  be  the  peo- 
ple of  Armenia,  "  where,"  says  a  hieroglyphic  inscription, 
"  heaven  rests  upon  its  four  pillars." 

§  14.  Meanwhile  the  maritime  power  of  Thothmes  III. 
gave  a  promise  of  supremacy  in  the  Mediterranean,  wliicii 
Egypt  was  not  however  destined  to  acquire.  As  in  later 
ages,  her  fleet  M\as  manned  by  the  Phoenicians,  who  seem  to 
have  submitted  to  Thothmes  on  favorable  terms,  and  (ex- 
cept some  cities,  as  Aradus)  remained  for  ages  the  faithful 
allies  of  Egypt.  A  monumental  stela,  discovered  at  Thebes 
by  M.  Mariette,  and  translated  by  M.  de  Kouge,  describes, 
in  a  Biblical  style  of  poetry,  the  conquest  of  Cyprus,  Crete, 
and  the  southern  isles  of  the  ^Egean,  the  neighboring  shores 
of  Asia  Minor  and  of  Greece,  and  perhaps  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  Italy.  It  has  even  been  conjectured,  from  the 
mention  of  the  Asi  among  tlic  northern  nations  who  j^aid 
tribute  to  the  fleet  of  Thothmes,  that  his  maritime  expedi- 
tions reached  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  where  the  Col- 
chians  Avere  believed  by  Herodotus  to  have  been  a  colony 
founded  by  the  Egyptians  to  work  the  mines.  Monuments 
of  the  power  of  Thothmes  along  the  northern  shore  of  Africa 
have  been  found  at  Zershell^  in  Algeria,  the  Cjesarea  Julia 
of  the  Mauretanian  kings. 

§  15.  Ethiopia  was  still  peaceably  subject  to  the  Egyp- 
tian viceroy,  "  the  royal  son  of  Cush,"  Avho  is  seen  in  the 
grotto  o^  Ibrlnt,  in  Lower  Xubia,  bringing  to  Thothmes  the 
tribute  of  gold,  silver,  and  grain.  At  Amada  he  dedicated 
a  tem]>le  to  the  sun,  which  was  completed  by  Amen-hotep  II. 
and  Thothmes  lY.  ;  and  at  Semneh^  as  alread}^  mentioned, 
he  restored  tliat  of  the  deifled  Sesortasen.  Besides  other 
monuments  between  the  first  and  second  cataracts,  records 
of  his  power  are  found  at  Kuwneh^  opposite  to  Semneh, 
which  seems  still  to  have  been  the  frontier  fortress,  and  at 
the  isle  of  Sa't^  higher  up  the  river.  Frequent  expeditions- 
were  made  into  the  negro  country;  and  a  bas-relief  at  Kar- 
nak  shows  no  less  than  115  conquered  African  tribes,  each 
represented,  as  is  usual,  by  a  single  figure  with  the  name  of 
his  tribe. 

§  16.  The  following  general  view  of  the  nations  and  trib- 
utes represented  on  the  monuments  of  Thothmes  III.,  is 
given  by  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  : — "  The  successes  obtained 
by  Thothmes  over  the  Poimt  (a  nation  of  Arabia),  the  Kufa 
(supposed  to  be  the  people  of  Cyprus),  the  Hot-n-no,  and  the 
southern  Ethiopians,  ai*e  commemorated  on  the  monuments 
of  Thebes.  .  .  .  The  ele])hant  and  bear,  horses,  rare  vv'oods, 
bitumen,  and  the  rich  gold  an.d  silver  vases  brought  by  the 


114  THE  NEW  TIIEBAN  MOXAKCHY. 

JiOt-h-no ;  the  ebony,  ivory,  and  precious  metals,  by  those 
o\'  Fount ;  the  gold  and  silver  vases  of  the  Kufa;  and  the 
cameleopards,  apes,  ostrich-feathers,  ebony,  ivory,  and  gohl 
(in  dust,  ingots,  and  rings),  from  Ethiopia,  sliow  the  distance 
from  wliich^they  were  brought,  as  Avell  as  the  richness  of  tlie 
tribute.  The  tiglit  dresses,  the  long  gloves,  the  red  hair  and 
blue  eyes  of  the  Ilot-)i-no^  also  proclaim  them  to  be  of  a  cold- 
er climate  than  Syria,  though  the  jars  of  bitumen  appear  to 
place  them  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Euplirates  or  ilie  Ti- 
gris. The  beauty  ot^their  silver,  gold  and  porcelaiji  vases, 
at  all  events,  point  them  out  as  a  people  far  advanced  in  lux- 
ury and  taste.""* 

§  1  7.  The  monuments  of  this  king,  which  are  found  through 
the  whole  valley  of  the  Nile,  from  the  Delta  to  above  the  Sec- 
ond Cataract,  exliibit  almost  the  perfection  of  Egyptian  art. 
The  most  important  of  them,  besides  those  already  mention- 
ed, are  at  Memphis,  Ileliopolis,  Coptos,  Ombos,  and  Thebes. 
The  extent  of  his  buildings  at  the  capital  is  proved  by  the 
inclosures  of  crude  brick  that  surrounded  them.  "There  are, 
indeed,  more  bricks  bearing  his  name  than  that  of  any  other 
king ;  and  it  is  on  the  tomb  where  the  tribute  before  men- 
tioned is  recorded  that  the  curious  process  of  brick-making 
is  represented,  which  tallies  so  exactly  with  that  described  in 
Exodus.  In  these  pictures  we  see  the  reprisals  of  Egypt  on 
their  Sheraite  oppressors  of  the  time  of  the  Ilyksos.  Thou- 
sands of  Semitic  prisoners  are  represented  on  the  temple- 
w^alls  in  the  act  of  carrying  water  to  knead  tlie  mortar,  forin- 
mg  bricks  in  wooden  "^frames,  spreading  them  out  to  dry  in 
the  sun,  carrying  them  to  the  buildings  in  course  of  erection, 
and  the  like;  atl  this  being  done  under  the  eye  of  Egyptian 
officials,  lounging  about  armed  with  weighty  sticks,  while 
different  inscriptions  inform  us  of  the  nature  of  the  special 
work  done  by  these  '  prisoners  whom  the  king  has  taken, 
that  they  mig-ht  build  temples  to  his  gods.""'  The  British 
Museum'  contains  the  head  and  arm  of  his  huge  colossal 
statue  in  red  granite  at  Karnak.  His  ovals  also  appear  lar 
more  commonly  on  the  smaller  scaraboei  than  those  of  any 
other  Pharaoh,  and  he  is  remarkable  for  the  great  variety 
in  tlie  mode  of  writing  his  name,  of  which  we  have  more  them 
thirty  variations.'''"'  ^Manetho  assigns  him  (under  the  name 
of  Misphragmuthosis)  only  20  years;  but  his  47th  year  is 
found  on  the  monuments.  The  difference  may  be  account- 
ed for  in  part  by  the  time  of  his  sister's  regency. 

24  /vppendix  to  Herod,  bonk  ii.,  iii  Rawlinson's  "  HeiOclotiip,"  vol.  ii.  p.  n5T-S. 

25  Bnigsch,  "  Aus  dem  Orieut,"  quoted  in  the  "  Satifl-day  Review,"  Dec. '.',  1SG5. 
88  Sir  G.  Wilkinson,  I.  c.  p.  359. 


CONQUIvSTS  OF   AMEX-HOTEP  III.  115 

§  18.  During  the  short  reigns  of  Amen-hotep  IT.  (who  is 
omitted  by  Manetho)  and  Thotiimes  IV.,  the  condition  and 
boundaries  of  tlie  empire  remained  much  the  same.  The 
former  repressed  an  insurrection  of  Mesopotamia,  and  se<it 
the  dead  bodies  of  seven  kings  to  be  liung,  six  under  the 
walls  of  Thebes  and  the  seventli  at  Xnpata,  the  capital  of 
Ethiopia,"  that  the  blacks  might  see  that  the  king's  victories 
went  on  forever,  in  all  lands  and  all  peoples  of  the  world, 
since  he  at  once  held  possession  of  the  nations  of  the  south, 
and  chastised  the  nations  of  the  north. "^'  Thothmes  IY„  is 
represented  in  his  Vth  year  as  conquering  tlie  negroes  and 
receiving  tribute  from  Assyria.  Manetho  assigns  him  nine 
years.     His  name  is  found  on  the  Great  Sphinx."' 

His  son,  Amen-hotep  HI.,  rivalled  the  fame  of  Thothmes 
III.  as  a  conqueror  and  a  builder;  and,  adds  Manetho,"  lie  is 
thought  to  be  Memnon  and  the  Speaking  Statue."  The  list 
assigns  him  31  years,  but  his  36th  is  found  on  the  monu- 
ments. On  the  columns  of  his  beautiful  temple  at  Soleb^  in 
Nubia,  he  records  the  names  of  the  nations  conquered  by 
him  in  Asia  and  in  Africa;  the  former  including  the  Poiiitt^ 
Carche77iis/i,  the  fort  ol  Atesh  {Kadesh  .^),  Nahardln  {i.  e.  Mes- 
opotamia), and  many  others.  His  arms  were  carried  above 
Napata  {Jeb el  JJerkel),  the  capital  of  Etliiopia,  and  an  inscrip- 
tion on  one  of  tlie  large  scarabit;!.,  which  he  frequently  used 
as  records,  boasts  that  his  empire  extended  fi-om  Mesopo- 
tamia to  Killee  or  Karo^  in  Abyssinia. ^°  He  appears  to  have 
carried  on  those  great  slave-liunting  raids  into  the  Negro- 
land,  which  have  disgraced  the  rulers  of  Egj'pt  down  to  re- 
cent times,  for  on  an  inscription  at  Semneh  we  read  of  740 
and  1052  "living  head"  of  negroes,  many  of  them  children, 
as  among  his  captives. 

His  building;?  in  Egy])t  are  at  Syene,  Elephantine,  Silsiiis, 
Ilithyia,the  Sei-apeum  at  Memphis,  and  especially  at  Thebes, 
where  he  added  to  tJie  temple  of  Karnak  and  erected  a  chief 
part  of  that  of  Luxor.  The  dedication  of  this  temple  is 
worth  quoting,  as  an  example  of  the  style  and  titles  arro- 
gated to  themselves  by  the  Egyptian  kings  : — "  He  is  Horns, 
the  potent  bull,  who  governs  by  the  sword  and  destroys  all 
the  Barbarians;  be  is  the  King  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt, 
the  absolute  master,  the  son  of  the  Sun  ;  he  smites  the  chiefs 
cf  all  countries;  he  marches  on  and  gathers  victory,  like 
Horus,  son  of  Isis,  like  the  Sun  in  the  heaven  ;  he  overthi'ows 
their  fortresses  ;  he  obtains  for  Egypt  the  tribute  of  all  na- 

'^■^  From  an  inscription  at.  the  temple  of  Amada  in  Nnl)ia.  '■*  See  p.  t>C. 

^^  This  place  is  t^npposed  to  be  the  same  as  Coloii,  about  100  mile^;  E.  or  E.N.E.  of 


110  THE  NEW  THEBAN  MOXAKCIIY. 

tions  by  his  valor,  he,  tlie  loi'd  of  the  two  worlds,  the  son  of 
the  Sun." 

§  19.  It  was  in  this  last  character  that  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans identified  Amenophis  III.  with  MEMNOX,'"_son  of  Au- 
rora, Avhoni  Homer  represents  as  coming  from  Ethiopia  to  the 
aid  of  Troy.  His  colossal  statue  on  the  plain  of  Thebes  was 
heard,  at  sunrise,  to  emit  sounds,  which  Avere  taken  to  be  his 
morning  salutation  to  his  father.  This  celebrated  statue, 
hence  called  the  Vocal  3Iem?ion,h  one  of  two  seated  colossi, 
of  breccia,  47  feet  high,  or  53  feet  with  their  bases,  which 
Amenophis  set  u]>  in  front  of  a  temple  which  lie  erected  in 
the  western  quarter  of  Thebes.  It  was  broken  in  half  (some 
said  by  Cambyses,  others  by  an  earthquake  under  Tiberius) 
and  repaired  with  sevei-al  layers  of  sandstone  in  the  time  of 
Septimius  Severus.  On  its  back  is  the  name  of  Amen-hote].' 
III.,  with  the  title  "Phra  (the  Sun),  the  Lord  of  Truth  ;"  and 
on  its  legs  are  numerous  attestations  in  Greek  and  Latin,  by 
visitors  m  the  time  of  the  Roman  empire,  Avho  heard  it  emit  a 
sound  like  a  harp-string,  or,  as  Strabo  says,  like  a  slight  hloji\l^ 

The  last  statement  tends  to  confirm  the  explanation  of  Sir 
Gardner  Wilkinson,  who  found  in  the  lap  of  the  colossus 
(where,  he  suggests,  a  priest  or  servant  may  have  been  con- 
cealed) a  stone  which,  on  being  struck  with  a  hammer,  emit- 
ted a  metallic  sour.d,  such  that  the  peasants,  whom  he  had 
placed  to  listen  belov^*,  said, "  You  are  striking  brass."  An- 
other modern  traveller  says,  "Not  at  sunrise,  but  in  the 
glaring  noon,  the  statue  emitted  a  sharp  clear  sound,  like  the 
ringing  of  a  disk  of  brass  under  a  sudden  concussion.  This 
was  produced  by  a  ragged  urchin,  who,  for  a  few  piastres, 
clambered  up  the  knees  of  the  '  vocal  Memnon,'  and  there, 
effectually  concealing  himself  from  observation,  struck  with 
a  hanmier  a  sonorous  stone  in  the  lap  of  the  statue."^^ 

3"  How  easily  these  fancied  vesemhlances  of  names  led  to  confusion,  we  have  seen 
in  the  jirobaljle  derivation  of  the  Mcvtnonmm  at  Thebes  from  the  surname  of  Eame- 
ses  11.  Miamnn.  There  is  no  connection  between  the  Mctimoninvi  and  the  vocal 
Memnon.  Pausanias  (i.  42,  5  3)  preserves  the  true  name  of  the  statue  slichtly  altered  : 
— "  The  Thebans  say  this  is  not  a  statue  of  Memnon,  but  of  Phavicno2>h,  a  native  of 
the  country. 

^1  Strabo  xvii.  46.  It. is  worth  while  to  notice  the  great  geographer's  caution  in 
describing  even  a  marvel  witnessed  by  himself:  "Vv^hen  I  was  at  those  places,  Avith 
^Ihis  Gallus,  and  numerous  friends  and  soldiers  about  him,  I  heard  a  noise  at  the 
first  hour  of  the  day,  but  whether  proceeding  from  the  base,  or  from  the  colossus,  oi 
produced  on  purpose  by  some  of  those  standing  aronnd  the  base,  I  can  not  con 
iideutly  assert. 

32  Dr.  J.  P.  Thompson,  in  the  "  Diet,  of  the  TBible,"  art.  Tukiser,  vol.  iii.  p.  14T2.  Le 
tronue,  however,  explained  the  sounds  as  produced  by  a  crepitation  of  the  stone  under 
the  heat  of  the  sun,  when  impregnated  with  the  morning  dew.  It  is  urged  that  all 
the  attestations  of  the  sounds  belong  to  the  time  during  Avhich  the  upper  part  of  the 
statue  lay  upon  the  ground,  and  the  broken  surface  of  the  seated  part  exposed  ith 
veins  to  the  action  of  the  dew.  We  have  little  doubt  that  Wilkinson's  solution  is 
r.;^ht. 


CLOSE  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTU    DYNASTY.  117 

§  20.  The  death  of  Amen-hotep  IIL  wns  followed  by  aii  at- 
tempted religious  revolution,  of  wliich  the  records  are -ob- 
scure. Both  the  Lists  of  3Iaiietho  and  the  monuments  give 
the  name  of  several  occupants  of  the  throne,  some  of  whom 
are  designated  "  Stranger  Kings."  The  chief  of  these,  Amex- 
HOTEP  lY.,  claims  to  be  the  son  of  Amen-hotep  III.,  but  his 
features  are  essentially  un-Egyptian.''  It  is  supposed  to  have 
been  under  the  influence  of  his  mother  Taia^  Avhose  portraits 
show  her  to  have  been  a  foreigner,  that  he  discarded  the  old 
gods  of  Egypt  for  the  direct  worship  of  the  Sun,  under  the 
Syrian  name  oi  Aten ;  changed  his  own  name  to  Choii-en- 
Aten  ibrilUancy  of  the  solar  disk) ;  and  set  up  a  new^  capital, 
in  the  ruins  of  which,  at  2'el-Amarna.^  lie  is  seen  presiding 
over  the  new  cult. 

Amon^  his  obscure  successors,  the  monuments  furnish  the 
names  o^  Aniontouonkh  and  Ilar-em-hehi^  sons  of  Amenophis 
III.  To  the  latter  of  these,  under  the  name  of  Hoeus,  TUane- 
tho  assigns  36  to  38  years;''  but  the  only  date  upon  the 
monuments  is  that  of  his  2d  year,  when  an  inscription  and 
relief  at  Silsilis  represent  his  triumphant  return  from  a  cam- 
paign in  Ethiopia.  The  features  of  Horus  are  remarkable 
for  their  likeness  to  Amenophis  III.  There  are  traces  of  a 
violent  reaction  against  the  religious  innovations  of  Ameno- 
phis IV.,  whose  buildings  have  been  overthrown,  and  his 
capital  at  Tel-Amarna  systematically  devastated  ;  and  tlie 
names  of  the  "Stranger  Kings"  are  eflaced  from  their  monu- 
ments. Amidst  these  troubles  the  Eigliteenth  Dynasty  came 
to  an  end,  having  lasted  about  200  years,  from  the  middle  of 
the  16th  to  the  middle  of  the  14th  century  b.c. 

33  Wilkiusou  regards  the  features  of  Amunoph  III.  himself  as  uu-Egyptiau,  aud  ob- 
serves that  his  tomb  at  Thebes  is  placed  apart  from  those  of  the  other'Pharaohs,  aud 
in  company  with  that  of  one  of  the  "  Stranirer  Kings." 

3*  Sir  Gardner  Wilivinson  supposes  the  36  to  3S  years  to  have  covered  the  whole 
period  of  the  Stranger  Kings.  M.  Mariette  found  on  an  Apis-stela  the  name  of  a 
Sticcessor  of  Horus,  Re^i-toti  or  Resitot,  who  would  be  the  Railws  of  Manetlio. 


-mm 


Pavilion  of  Barneses  m, 


CHAPTER  VI. 


^sfdt  »)/a-jo.i-'»> 


THE     NEW    TIIEBAN     MOXARCHY     {contlUUecl) . THE     NINK- 

TEENTH  AND  TWENTIETH   DYNASTIES. 

'i  1,  Character  of  the  Nineteenth  Diinasty,  Rameses  I.  §  2.  Seti.  I.  His  position  in 
the  dynasty.  Perhaps  descended  from  the  H  \  ksos.  His  son  shares  the  kingdom. 
§  3.  Buildings  of  Seti  I.  Hall  of  Coluvci.-i  a*  'Larnak.  §  4.  The  reliefs  on  its  walla 
—a  Sethcid  of  his  conquests.  Absence  of  mai  itime  exploits.  The  Red  Sea  Canal. 
§5.  Ramebes  II.Meriamun.  His  tictitiocs  glory.  Legend  of  Sesostris — contrast- 
ed with  the  facts.  His  campaigns  defensive.  His  character ;  a  cruel  despot.  §  6. 
His  first  wars.  Epic  of  the  scribe  Pentaour :  a  Ramcseid.  War  in  Syria  against  a 
great  confederacy.  Siege  operations.  §  7.  A  i^ersonal  exploit  of  Ramoscs,  re- 
lated by  the  poet.  §  8.  Renewal  of  the  Avar.  Treaty  with  the  Hittite  King.  Sub- 
mission of  Mesopotamia.  Peace  for  the  rest  of  his  reign.  §  9.  Character  of  his 
Administration.  His  immense  harem.  Cruel  sentences.  §10.  Oppression  of  the 
subject  races  of  the  Delta  ;  especially  of  the  Hebrews.  Ramrsics  II.  jjrorerf  to  he 
their  oppressor.  The  Hebreivs  na-med  as  the  builders  of  the  city  Rameses.  §  11. 
V/retched  condition  of  the  native  peasantry.  Razzias  to  kidnap  negroes.  De- 
portation of  whole  tribes.  §  12.  Bnildings  of  Rameses  II.  His  colossal  statues 
§  13.  Egypt's  power  begins  to  decline.  Invasion  from  Libya  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean. §  14.  Mekenphtha  or  Me^ethtiia,  the  Pharoah  of  the  Exodus.  Prog- 
ress and  defeat  of  the  Libyan  inv;;ders.  The  Exohub,  and  its  disastrons  con- 
sequences to  Egypt.  §  15.  New  invasion  from  the  East.  Distorted  account  of 
Manetho.  Flight  of  Menephtha.  §  10.  Intrusive  dynasty  at  Chev.  Sexi  II.,  son 
of  Menephtha,  restored.  Conquest  of  Canaan  by  the  Israelites.  The  military 
route  to  Asia  preserved.  §  17.  The  Twentieth  Bynasty  founded  by  Seti  HI.  Ra- 
meses III.  restores  the  empire.  His  exploits  depicted  at  Medinet-Ahon.  §  18.  His 
great  campaign  in  Syria.  Naval  victory  at  the  "Tower  of  Rameses."  Wealth  of 
Rameses  III.  His  tomb.  §  10.  Series  of  Kings  named  Rameses.  Rameses  VHL 
Decline  of  Egypt.  Power  of  the  Priests  of  Ammon.  Relations  of  Rameses  XII. 
with  Mesopotamia.  §  20.  Rise  of  Assyria.  Usurpation  of  the  priests  of  the  line 
of  Her-Hor.     Their  relation  to  the  XXIst  Dynasty. 

§  1.  The  Nineteenth  iJi/nasti/  is  often  regarded,  in  the 
light  of  the  splendid  records  ofK.imeses  II.,  as  having  reach- 
ed a  climax  ahove  its  predecessor.  But  the  true  difference 
has  been  Avell  pnt  hy  3,1.  L<:norjnant :  "  Egypt,  so  threaten- 
ing under  the  Eighteenth  Dynasty,  becomes  now  almost  al' 


NINI-yrEENlil   I>Yi\A'oTY— SETI  L  119 

ways  threatened."  Riiat.ises,  or  Rameses  I.,  llie  founder  of 
the  dynasty,  was  eitlier  tlie  grandson  ofllorus  by  the  female 
line,  or,  according  to  tliose  who  believe  Amenophis  III.  to 
ha've  been  of  foreign  race,  the  pedigree  of  Raraeses  is  to  be 
traced  from  Amenophis  I.  and  his  queen  Ames-nofri-are.  At 
all  events,  he  represented  the  legitimate  line  of  the  Theban 
kirjgSo  His  position  as  the  head  of  a  new  dynasty  is  marked 
by  his  tomb  at  Thebes  being  the  first  that  was  made  in  the 
valley  oi Biban-el-Molook,  His  reign  was  short,  and  his  mon- 
umerts  are  few.  His  only  recorded  expedition  was  against 
the  KJieta  (Hittites)  of  the  Orontes,  who  seem  to  have  taken 
advantage  of  the  recent  troubles  in  Egypt  to  acquire  the 
power  which  now  makes  them  conspicuous. 

§  2.  The  glories  of  the  XlXth  dynasty  begin  with  Seti  I., 
surnamed  Merenpldlia  or  MenepJitha  {dear  to  PhtJia),  whose 
exploits,  liowever,  are  often  confounded  with  those  of  his  son 
Rameses  II.  For  this  there  seems  to  have  been  a  reason. 
M.  Mariette  has  discovered  inscriptions  in  Avhich  Rameses 
says  that  he  was  king  before  his  birth,  and  that  his  father 
Seti  only  govei-ned  lor  him.  The  probable  explanation  is., 
that  Seti,  though  called  the  son,  was  really  the  son-in-law  of 
Rameses  I.,  whose  rights  were  transmitted  direct  to  Rameses 
n.  as  soon  as  he  was  born,  or  rather  conceived  ;  and  that  the 
latter  was  associated  witli  his  father  in  the  kingdom.  This 
will  account  foi"  the  ascription  Ijy  Manetho  of  51  or  55  yeara 
to  Sethos,  and  61  or  68  to  Rameses  II.  It  even  appears  that 
Seti  was  not  of  pure  Egyptian  race,  but  had  a  share  of  Hyk- 
60S  blood.  Foreign  features  have  been  traced  in  his  portrait 
and  his  son's  ;  and,  what  is  most  remai'kable,  an  inscription, 
discovered  at  Tanis  by  31.  Mariette,  exhibits  Rameses  II.  as 
restoring  the  worship  of  the  god  Soutekh  in  the  ancient  ca]>> 
tal  of  the  Shepherds,  and  calling  the  founder  of  their  dynasty, 
^et-aa-pehti  Noicbtl^  his  ancestor.  In  that  name,  too,  the  re- 
semblance to  Seti  is  worth  noting. 

§  3.  Seti  and  his  son  were  the  most  magnificent  builders 
among  the  Egyptian  kings ;  and  the  latter  finished  many 
works  begun  by  the  former.  Among  the  monuments  of 
Seti  are  the  grand  temple  of  Osiris  at  Abydos,  recently 
bronght  to  light,  the  palace  of  Kurneh  at  Thebes,  and  his 
tomb,  which,  by  its  sculptures  and  colored  decorations,  and 
its  alabaster  sarcophagus,  excels  all  the  other  sepulchres  of 
the  Theban  kings  ;  but  all  these  are  surpassed  in  majesty  by 
the  hypostyle  hall,  or  "  Hall  of  Columm-i,"  in  the  palace  of 
Karnak,  tlie  triumph  of  Egyptian  architecture.^     This  grand 

^  The  reader  may  be  aided  in  perceiving  the  design,  but  mnst  not  imagine  that  he  at 
all  sees  the  effect,  of  this  editice  from  the  miuiutiue  reproduction  in  the  Crystal  Palace 


120  THE  NEW    THEBAN  MONAKCHY. 

hall  is  a  forest  of  sculptured  columns:  in  the  central  avenue 
are  twelve,  measuring  each  GG  feet  in  height  by  12  in  diame- 
ter, which  formerly  supported  the  most  elevated  portion  of 
the  roof,  answering  to  the  clerestory  in  Gothic  architecture; 
on  either  side  of  these  are  seven  rows,  each  column  nearly 
42  feet  high  by  nine  in  diameter,  making  a  total  of  134  pil= 
lars  in  an  area  measuring  170  feet  by  330.  Most  of  the  pil- 
lars are  yet  standing  in  their  original  site,  though  in  many 
places  the  roof  has  fallen  in.  A  moonlight  view  of  this  hall  is 
the  most  weird  and  impressive  scene  to  be  witnessed  among  all 
the  ruins  of  antiquity — the  Coliseum  of  Rome  not  excepted. 

§  4.  The  walls  of  this  vast  hall  are  covered  with  the  ex- 
ploits of  its  founder,  in  the  most  powerfully-executed  reliefs, 
accompanied  by  inscriptions,  the  whole  forming  what  has 
been  Avell  called  "an  epic  of  war,  a  real  Setheid."  In  one 
picture,  the  king  attacks  the  /S/iasoii  of  the  Arabian  Desert ; 
in  another,  the  Assyrians  are  partly  cut  in  pieces,  and  partly 
oringing  tribute.  In  Armenia, the  Remenen  are  felling  trees 
to  open  the  conqueror  a  passage  through  their  forests ;  in 
Syria,  great  victories  are  gained  over  the  Kheta.  Another 
picture  shows  Seti's  triumphant  return  to  Egypt  with  hosts 
of  captives.  Among  the  vanquished  nations  are  the  /S/iasou, 
the  Pount,  the  Jiotennou,  Nahardln^  ^btgar^  and  about  forty 
more,  including  the  Cushites  and  other  Africans.  In  short, 
the  empire  of  Egyj)t  in  Asia  and  Africa  recovered  the  extent 
won  for  it  by  Thothmes  III.  On  the  side  of  Ethiopia  there 
seem  to  have  been  only  slave-hunting  expeditions.  The 
Libj^ans  were  kept  down,  and  the  fleet  commanded  the  Red 
Sea ;  but  the  total  absence  of  maritime  exploits  in  the  Med- 
iterranean has  been  accounted  for  by  the  mastery  of  the  seas 
acquired  by  the  Pelasgo-Tyrrhenians.  More  peaceful  works 
Avere  the  sinking  of  an  artesian  well  to  aid  in  working  the 
gold-mines  of  tlie  south ;  and,  if  we  may  trust  Brugsch's  in- 
terpretation of  a  picture,  Seti  began  the  canal  uniting  the 
Nile  to  the  Red  Sea,  which  appears  to  have  been  completed 
by  his  successor,  whose  monuments  are  found  along  its  course. 
Ko  ihonument  has  been  discovered  later  than  Seti's  30th  year. 

§  5.  R AMESES  II.,  surnamed  Meriamun  or  Miamun  (pe- 
loved  of  Amwi),^  has  long  been  invested  with  a  fictitious 
glory  by  the  splendor  of  the  works  executed  during  his  long 
reign,  and  covered  with  poetical  records  of  his  exploits,  and, 
above  all,  through  their  exaggeration  by  the  Greeks  in  the  le- 
gend of  Sesostris^ — a  legend  which  bears  the  same  relation 

2  Ramese.s  III.  bore  the  same  title,  but  oialy  as  a  ]}rce7tomen,  not  a  part  of  his  name. 

3  One  of  the  many  attempts  to  connect  the  name  ,'^esoKt7'is  with  the  known  kings  of 
Egypt  derives  it  from  a  title  actually  borne  by  Rameses  II.,  Scstestoii  or  Sesoti -{-  Ba 
(the  Sun). 


KAMESES  II.— LEGEND  OF  8ESO:STKIS.  121 

to  his  real  deeds  that  the  Lays  of  Charlemagne  bear  to  the 
history  of  Charles  the  Great.  Even  the  real  facts  w.hich  it 
embodies  are  combined,  as  we  have  already  seen,  from  the 
exploits  of  different  kings  and  dynasties. 

His  education  and  training  to  martial  exercises,  with  the 
youths  born  on  the  same  day,  reads  like  a  chapter  of  the 
CyrojXBcUa ;  but  we  have  evidence  of  the  care  with  which 
Egyptian  princes  were  trained  in  the  extant  lessons  pre- 
pared for  his  son,  Merenphtha,  by  a  royal  scribe,  as  well  as 
in  the  case  of  Moses.  His  first  conquests  were  in  Ethiopia 
and  the  Arabian  Gulf,  where  he  maintained  a  fleet  of  400 
ships  of  war,  the  first  that  the  Egyptians  had  seen  !  Mean- 
while he  led  his  conquering-  army  through  Syria,  Mesopo- 
tamia, Assyria,  Media,  Persia,  Bactria,  and  India,  even  be- 
yond the  Ganges  !  Thence,  turning  northward,  he  subdued 
the  Scythian  tribes  as  far  as  the  Tanais,  placed  a  colony  in 
Colchis,  and  traversed  Asia  Minor,  where  he  set  up  stelm  as 
monuments  of  his  victories,  carved  with  male  or  female  em- 
blems according  as  he  had  been  met  with  courage  or  cow- 
ardice. Crossing  the  Bosporus,  he  was  at  length  stopped  by 
famine  and  by  the  rugged  land  and  inhospitable  climate  of 
Thrace ;  and  so  he  led  back  his  army  to  Egypt,  after  nine 
years'  absence,  laden  with  booty,  and  dragging  after  him 
hosts  of  captives.* 

On  the  very  face  of  this  legend  we  see  that  it  was  framed 
so  as  to  include  all  the  countries  known  to  its  inventors. 
The  evidence  of  his  own  monuments  confines  the  victories 
of  Rameses  almost  entirely  to  the  nortltern  part  of  Syria. 
Though  a  great  warrior,  he  was  not  a  conqueror.  His  cam- 
paigns were  essentially  defensi}:e  ;  and  it  was  only  by  pro- 
digious efforts  that  he  maintained  the  limits  of  the  empire. 
For  the  rest,  he  was  a  cruel,  headstrong  despot.  We  may 
venture  to  call  him  the  Louis  XIV.  of  the  Egy^^tiaia  monar- 
chy ;  and  "  after  him  came  the  deluge." 

§  6.  Rameses  IL  first  appears  in  the  later  wai^s  of  his  fa- 
ther, with  whom,  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  probably  asso- 
ciated in  the  throne.  But  his  regnal  years  are  counted  from 
the  death  of  Seti  I.,  when  his  age  was  about  28.  His  acces- 
sion was  attended  by  a  revolt  of  southern  Ethiopia,  which 
was  only  subdued  by  the  viceroys  after  long  wars,^  in  which 
Rameses  took  part  in  person,  in  his  second  or  third  year. 

*  Compare  the  remarkable  passasje  in  which  Tacitus  ("Ann."  ii.  60)  relates  the  inter- 
pretation which  the  i)riests  gave  to  Germanicus  of  the  inscriptions  at  Thebes  relating  to 
the  exploits  of  Riia.mrk:s  the  extent  of  li  is  empire,  and  his  tributes.  Tacitus  does  not  call 
the  king  Sesostris,  h«'.  he  speaks  of  Sesosis  in  his  account  of  the  Phoenix  ("Ann."  vi.  '2S). 

•*  These  wars  are  depicted  on  the  walls  of  the  rock-hewu  templeii  of  Abou-simM 
xnd  Beit-Watly. 

6 


122  THE  NEW  THEBAN  MONARCHY. 

But  the  great  scene  of  liis  own  exploits  was  in  Syria  ;  and 
we  liave  the  record  of  them  not  only  on  the  walls  of  the  Ka- 
meseuni,  but  in  a  remarkable  epic  poem  by  the  scribe  Pen- 
taout\  wliich  has  been  justly  called  the  Mamest'kl 

It  was  in  his  fifth  year  that  he  was  called  to  meet  a  great 
uprising  of  the  Kheta^  who  seem  to  have  seized  the  opi)or- 
tunity  of  the  troubles  in  Ethiopia  to  attack  Palesthie,  and  to 
threaten  Egypt  itself,  at  the  head  of  a  great  confederacy  of 
Western  Asia.  Among  the  twelve  nations  leagued  togeth 
er,  besides  the  Kheta,  the  Aramaeans,  the  Rotennou,  the 
Phoenicians  of  Aradus,  and  the  Canaanites,  some  interpreters 
have  found  the  principal  peoples  of  Asia  Minor,  and  Troy 
itself!  The  chief  theatre  of  the  war  was  tlie  valley  of  the 
Orontes,  where  was  a  stronghold  of  the  Kheta,  protected  by 
the  river  and  a  double  ditcli,  bridged  with  planks.  The 
sculptures  exiubit  the  whole  system  of  attack  and  defense  : 
here  are  the  scaling-ladder  and  the  testudo,  with  its  wicker 
roof  covering  the  terehra,  or  boring-pike  ;  thei-e  the  pioneers 
attack  the  gates  witli  axes,  wliile  the  archers  clear  the  wall 
of  its  defenXlers.  "  Nor  have  tlie  sculptures  failed  to  show 
the  strength  of  the  enemy  in  the  attack  made  upon  them  by 
Rameses,  or  the  skill  witli  which  they  drew  up  tlieir  army  to 
oppose  him  ;  and  the  tale  of  their  defeat  is  graphically  told 
by  the  death  of  their  chief,  drowned  as  he  endeavored  to  pass 
the  river,  and  by  the  dispersion  of  their  numerous  chariots."^ 

§  7.  To  these  general  scenes  of  the  war  the  epic  of  Pen- 
taour  adds  a  personal  exploit  of  Pameses,  told  in  a  true 
Hom.eric  spirit,  even  to  the  vow  which  the  king  makes  in  the 
moment  of  extremest  danger.  By  the  fault  of  his  generals 
and  scouts,  Rameses  had  Vallen  into  an  ambush,  where,  dis- 
daining to  fly,  and  deserted  by  his  followers,  he  rushes  witli 
his  charioteer  alone  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy,  and  cuts 
his  way  through  their  2500  chariots  of  w\ai'.  The  passage  is 
too  long  to  quote,  but  the  following  version  of  a  few  lines 
may  serve  to  give  some  rough  idea  of  it: 

•Nor  foot  nor  horse  conld  make  a  stand:   agaiiiHt  the  warlike  foe, 
Who  on  Orontes'  farther  bank :   held  Kadesh'  citadel. 
Then  forth  in  glorious  health  and  strength:   came  Rameses  the  King: 
Like  Month  the  god  he  roused  himself:   and  donned  his  dress  of  war: 
Clad  in  resplendent  arms  he  shone :   like  Baal  in  his  might. 
Right  on  he  urged  his  chariot  wheels:   amidst  the  Hittite  foes: 

e  Sir  G.  Wilkinson,  in  Rawlinson's  "  Herodotns,"  vol.  ii.  p.  3C9.  The  wars  of  Rame- 
ses II.  in  Syria  were  doubtless  the  occasion  of  his  carving  the  three  tablets  which 
bear  his  name  in  the  living  rock  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lycns  {Xahr-d-Kelb),  north  of 
Beijront.  According  to  Lepsiiis  the  three  refer  to  diiTerent  campaigns:  one  in  his 
fourth  year,  the  other  in  his  second  or  tenth.  These  are  doubtless  the  stcire  men- 
tioned by  Herodotus,  though  he  mistook  their  character.  Besides  them  are  six  oth- 
ers of  Assyrian  kings. 


OPPRESSIVE  GOVERNMENT.  1S!3 

All  by  himself  alone  was  he:   none  other  by  him  stood. 

Tlie  charivjts  compassed  him  abont:   by  hundreds  twenty-five; 

The  swiftest  of  tiie  Hittites  flung  themselves  across  his  path. 

And  round  him  surged  the  unnumbered  hosts :    that  followed  them  to  war. 

Each  chariot  held  three  warriors :   but  with  him  there  was  none, 

Captain,  nor  general  of  the  cars:   nor  of  the  archer  band." 

The  scene  ends  with  an  Homeric  leproof  to  his  warriors 
and  praise  of  his  horses,  who  alone  have  saved  him,  in  i-e- 
ward  whereof  they  are  to  be  served  each  day  with  grain  in 
his  palace,  before  the  god  Ka.  After  the  final  victory,  we 
have  his  return  to  Egypt,  and  his  welcome  by  Amnn : 
"Health  to  thee,  Rameses,  our  cherished  son.  We  grant 
thee  terms  of  years  innumerable.  Sit  forever  on  the  throne 
of  thy  father  Amun,  and  let  the  barbarians  be  crushed  be- 
neath thy  sandals." 

§  8.  Notwithstanding  all  this  glorification,  the  war  was  re- 
newed two  years  later,  and  lasted  fourteen  years.  At  one 
time  Palestine  is  nearly  lost,  and  Rameses  has  to  retake  As- 
calon  to  save  the  military  road ;  at  another  he  advances  to 
the  very  north  of  Syria.  At  length,  in  his  21st  year,  he 
makes  peace  with  the  Hittite  king,  on  terms  of  remarkable 
equality,  and  in  language  which  raises  a  smile  from  its  like- 
ness to  the  phraseology  of  modern  treaties — perpetual  amity 
— surrender  of  deserters — equality  of  commercial  privileges 
— and  so  forth.  These  terms  set  in  a  clear  light  the  contrast 
between  Rameses  and  the  conqueror  Sesostris  !  An  inter- 
esting article  is  the  provision  for  the  restoration  of  the  wor- 
ship of  Soutekh  at  Tanis  ;  while  the  Hittite  king,  Khetasai\ 
engages  on  his  part  to  pay  like  honor  to  the  gods  of  Egypt. 
This  peace  was  followed  by  the  submission  of  Mesopotamia  ; 
the  limits  of  the  empire  of  Thothmes  IH.  Avere  once  more  re- 
covered ;  and  the  rest  of  the  reign  of  Rameses  11.  was  tran- 
quil. In  a  stela  set  up  at  Abou-simbel,  in  his  3oth  year,  he 
represents  the  god  Phtha-Sokari  as  granting  to  him  that  the 
whole  world  should  obey  him  like  the  Kheta. 

§9.  Of  his  internal  administation,  the  more  the  monu- 
ments reveal,  the  more  do  we  see  that  the  epithet  "  Great " 
is,  as  usual  in  history,  but  the  tribute  rendered  by  the  weak 
judgment  of  men  to  arrogant  despotism  and  barbaric  pomp. 
He  showed  it  in  his  enormous  harem:  170  children  were 
born  to  him  during  the  67th  year  of  his  reign;  and  one  of 
his  wives  was  his  own  daughter,  Bent  Anat.  A  papyrus  at 
Turin,  containing  the  notes  of  a  criminal  process,  sliows  the 
cruelty  with  which  he  punished  a  conspiracy  of  the  harem. 
The  sentences  pronounced  being  too  mild  to  please  him,  he 
commuted  them  all  into  death,  and  beheaded  the  judges 
themselves. 


124  THE  NEW  THEBAN  MONAKCHY. 

§  10.  The  splendor  of  his  court,  and  the  magnificence  of  the 
buildings  with  which  he  covered  all  Egypt,  were  purchased 
by  that  cruel  oppression,  not  only  of  the  Hebrews,  but  of  the 
subject  populations  of  the  Delta,  of  which  we  have  the  true 
picture  in  the  Book  of  Exodus. 

It  appears  now — as  we  shall  presently  see — placed  beyond 
a  doubt  that  the  great  individual  oppressor  of  the  Israelites 
was  Rameses  II. ;  and  it  is  generally  agreed  by  the  best 
modern  authorities  that  the  persecuting  dynasty — "  the  new 
king  that  arose  over  Egypt,"  and  "  that  knew  not  Joseph" — 
was  the  XlXth,  rather  than  the  XVIIIth.^  Secure  in  their 
conquests  abroad,  the  Thothraeses  and  Amunophs  seem  to 
have  cherished  the  Sheraites  of  the  Delta  as  useful  subjects ; 
though  they  doubtless  exacted  from  them  the  full  tribute  of 
their  fertile  lands ;  for  the  extreme  harshness  of  the  field- 
labor  was  a  feature  of  the  subsequent  oppression.® 

During  this  period  the  children  of  Israel  multiplied  so  as 
to  excite  the  jealous  fears  of  the  Egyptians,  lest,  seizing  the 
occasion  of  the  great  Hittite  war,  they  might  join  the  enemy 
of  kindred  race,  and,  while  adding  to  the  dangers  of  Egypt, 
deprive  her  of  a  useful  peasantry.^  They  were  therefore  or- 
ganized into  gangs, under  task-masters,  as  we  see  in  the  vivid 
pictures  of  the  monuments,^"  to  work  upon  public  edifices,  and 
especially  in  building  two  treasure-cities,  one  of  which  was 
called  by  the  name  of  their  oppressor.  "  But  the  more  they 
afilicted  them,  the  more  they  multiplied  and  grew ;"  and  so 
grew  the  jealousy  of  the  Egyptians." 

The  oppression  was  now  redoubled.  "And  tlie  Egyptians 
made  the  children  of  Israel  to  serve  with  rigor.  And  they 
made  their  lives  bitter  with  hard  bondage^  in  mortar  and 
in  bricl\  and  in  all  manner  of  service  iii  the  field. "^^^^  These 
means  still  failing,  the  diabolical  expedient  of  infiinticide  was 
attempted,  which  stamps  the  character  of  the  tyrant,  and 
which  prepared  its  retribution  in  the  training  up  at  his  own 
court  of  the  deliverer,'^  who  at  length  led  out  Israel,  while 

■^  Perhaps  sufflcieut  notice  has  not  been  taken  of  the  distinction  between  the  cfcncr- 
alitij  of  the  language  in  Exodus  i.  9, 11,  12, 14  ("he,"  and  "his  people,"  "they,"  "  tiie 
Egyptians"),  and  the  mdividnalitij  of  the  "Pharaoh"  for  Avhom  "they  built  Pithom 
and  Rameses"  (v.  11) ;  of  the  infanticide  "King  of  Egypt"  (ver.  15,  17, 18),  and  again 
of  "  Pharaoh"  (ver.  19,  22).  ^  Exodus  i.  14. 

»  Exodus  i.  7-11.  We  see  a  striking  confirmation  of  this  in  the  treaty  of  Rameses 
with  the  Hittite  King  (§  8,  above),  which  provides  that—"  If  the  subjects  of  King 
Kameses  should  come  to  the  King  of  the  Hittites,  the  King  of  the  Ilittites  is  not  to 
receive  them,  but  to  force  them  to  return  to  Rameses,  the  King  of  Egypt " — as  if  he 
knew  that  the  one  desire  of  the  Semitic  population  was  to  escape  from  Egypt  and 
join  their  brethren  at  home  in  their  wars  against  the  Pharaohs,  or  rather  now  to  re- 
new those  wars. 

10  See  above,  chap.  v.  §  17.  "  Exodus  i.  12,  ^'  Exodus  i.  14. 

'=*  Dr.  Brugsch  holds  that  Moses  was  born  about  the  tith  year  of  Rameses  IL  He 
considers  the  name  to  be  Egyptian,  from  vias  or  masu  (child). 


OPPRESSIOX  OF  THE  HEBREWS.  12r 

Efrjpt  was  plagued  in  her  turn  and  her  first-born  were 
sliiin.^^ 

Critics  wlio  distrust  tlie  "  unerring  instinct,"  by  wliich  any 
reader  of  the  Bible  would  identify  Kanieses  II.  (or  at  least 
some  great  Barneses)  with  the  "  Pharaoh  "  for  whom  "  the 
children  of  Israel  built  treasure-cities,  Pithom  and  Raam- 
ses^l^^^  have  wasted  much  ingenuity  in  explaining  away  the 
coincidence  of  the  names ;  but  the  question  is  now  set  at  rest 
by  the  distinct  testimony  of  Egyptian  literature.  Papyri 
of  the  time  of  Kameses  II.  give  a  glowing  description  of  the 
chain  of  fortified  cities  which  the  hieroglyphics  tell  us  that 
Per-da  for  Pherd-o^^  erected  from  Pelusium  to  Heliopolis,  and 
of  w^hich  the  principal  two  bore  the  names  of  Rhamses  and 
Pachtum;  both  situated  in  the  present  Wady-Tumeilat^  near 
the  sweet-water  canal  that  joined  the  Nile  with  the  Ked 
Sea,  along  the  course  of  which  we  still  find  monuuients  bear- 
ing the  name  of  Rameses  11.  One  of  these  documents  de- 
scribes the  reception  of  the  king  at  the  city  of  Kameses,  in 
the  tenth  year  of  his  reign.'"  But  this  is  not  all.  The  very 
name  of  the  Hebrews  is  offieialhj  recorded  by  their  persecu- 
tors as  the  huUders  of  the  city.  In  a  papyrus  preserved  in 
the  Museum  of  Leyden,  the  scribe  Kautsir  reports  to  his  su- 
perior, the  scribe  Baken-phtha,  that  in  compliance  with  his 
instructions  he  has  "  distributed  the  rations  among  the  ^o\- 
diers,  and  likeioise  among  the  Hebrews  (Aheriou  or  Apwu) 
who  carry  the  stones  to  the  great  city  of  King  Rameses  Mia- 
MUN,  the  lover  of  truth,  and  who  are  under  the  orders  of  the 
captain  of  the  police-soldiers,  Amenenian.  I  distribute  the 
food  among  them  monthly,  according  to  the  excellent  instruc- 
tions which  my  lord  has  given  me."  Similar  distinct  indica- 
tions of  the  people  and  their  state  of  serfdom  are  found  in 
another  Leyden  papyrus,  and  also  in  the  long  rock-inscrip- 
tion oi  Harnamdt.^^ 

§  11.  Nor  was  the  condition  of  the  native  peasantry  much 
better.  Among  the  precious  relics  of  Egyptian  literature  is 
a  papyrus  containing  a  correspondence  between  Ameneman, 
the  chief  librarian  of  Rameses  IL,  and  his  pupil,  the  poet  Pen- 

1*  The  view  that  the  oppression  included  the  foreign  populations  of  the  Delta  gen- 
erally will  help  to  account  for  the  "  mixed  multitude,"  or,  literally,  "  great  mixture," 
that  went  up  out  of  Egypt  with  the  Israelites,  and  proved  so  troublesome  in  the  wil- 
derness (Exod.  xii.  3S;  Numbers  xi.  4). 

Js  Exod.  i.  11.  Let  the  reader  remember  that  Rhamses  is  the  Egyptian  form  :  we 
have  only  adopted  the  more  common  Greek  form  Rameses  for  the  sake  of  accentual 
euphony. 

*®  This  title,  which  is  usually  derived  from  {Ph)ra  {the  Srin),  Is  explained  by 
Brugsch  as  meaning  hifih  house.    It  is  at  all  events  an  equivalent  of  "  king.'' 

1^  This  was  11  years  i^efore  the  end  of  his  long  war  with  the  Hittites ;  whence  wa 
may  infer  the  object  of  these  fortresses. 

'*•  Brugsch  ;  "  Aus  dem  Orient,"  as  quoted  above. 


12G  THE  NEW  THE  RAN  MONARCHY. 

taour.  "Have  you  ever  fiG:iired  to  yourself,"  says  one  of 
these  letters, "  wliat  is  the  life  of  the  peasant  who  tills  the 
land  ?  Even  before  he  has  reaped,  the  insects  destroy  a  por- 
tion of  his  crop  ;  there  are  multitudes  of  rats  in  the  fields; 
then  come  the  flights  of  locusts,  the  beasts  that  ravage  his 
harvest,  the  sparrows  that  settle  in  flocks  upon  his  sheaves. 
If  he  is  slow  to  get  in  what  he  has  reaped,  thieves  come  and 
take  it  from  him  :  so  his  horse  dies  with  fatigue  in  dragging 
the  cart.  The  tax-gatherer  arrives  at  the  store-house  of  the 
district,  having  with  him  officers  armed  with  sticks,  and  ne- 
groes armed  with  palm-branches.  All  cry,  '  Give  us  your 
corn,'  and  he  has  no  means  of  repelling  their  extortions. 
Then  the  Wretch  is  seized,  bound,  and  carried  off"  to  forced 
labor  at  the  canals  :  his  wife  is  bound:  his  children  are  strip- 
ped of  their  all.  During  all  this  time  his  neighbors  are  each 
at  his  own  work,  unable  to  help,  and  fearing  for  his  own 
turn."  The  Egyptian  peasant  under  "  the  great  "  Rameses 
was  no  better  off  than  the  fellah  under  the  Mameluke  or 
Turk. 

The  mania  of  Rameses  for  building  could  not  find  an 
adequate  supply  of  labor  in  Egypt,  even  in  the  myriads  of 
captives  that  worked  under  the  stick,  bedewing  every  brick 
and  stone  with  sweat  and  blood.  So  the  system  of  slave- 
hunting  was  carried  on  to  a  vaster  extent  than  ever ;  and 
nearly  every  year  we  find  records  of  razzias  into  Soudan, 
bringing  back  thousands  of  negroes.  Rameses  II.  appears 
also  to  have  been  the  first  king  of  Egypt  who  practised  the 
system,  afterwards  so  common  with  the  Assyrian  and  Baby- 
lonian conquerors,  of  deporting  whole  tribes  from  one  part 
of  his  dominions  to  another,  settling  negroes  in  Asia  and 
Asiatics  in  Nubia. 

§  12.  The  works  of  Rameses  in  architecture  and  sculpture 
are  found  along  the  course  of  the  Nile,  from  Tanis  in  the  Delta 
to  Napata,the  capital  of  Ethiopia.  There  is  scarcely  a  ruin 
or  a  colossal  fragment  that  does  not  bear  his  mark;  but, 
with  characteristic  arrogance,  he  often  erased  the  names  of 
his  predecessors  to  substitute  his  own.  Among  his  greatest 
buildings  are  the  wonderful  rock-hewn  temples  of  Abou-sim- 
bel  in  Nubia ;  at  Thebes  the  Bameseimi'"  (or  Me)mi07iiu7n)  at 
Kurneh,  on  the  walls  of  which  are  the  sculptured  records  of  his 
reign  ;  and  a  large  portion  of  the  temple-palaces  of  Karnak 
and  Luxor  ;  a  small  temple  at  Abydos ;  besides  several  works 
in  the  Fyurn^  and  at  Memphis,  where  he  beautified  the  tem- 
ple of  Phtha,  and  at  Tanis,  which  Avas  a  favorite  residence  of 
his  family. 

»»  This  is  the  edifice  which  Diodorus  describes  as  the  tomb  of  Osymandyas, 


MENErHTHA.  127 

But  the  most  characteristic  of  all  his  works  are  his  colos- 
sal statues,  for  the  most  part  portraits  of  hiuiself  Such  are- 
the  four  seated  colossi,  the  largest  of  all  in  Egypt  except  the 
Sphinx,  carved  in  the  rock  as  the  frontispiece  to  the  great 
temple  of  Abou-simbel,  Xext  in  size  was  the  colossus,  of 
which  the  fallen  fragments  still  mark  the  site  of  the  temple 
of  Phtha  at  Memphis.'"  Tlie  most  beautiful  was  the  statue, 
about  60  feet  high,  which  adorned  the  great  court  of  the 
Rameseum,  and  the  bust  of  which  was  brought  to  England 
by  Belzoni.  Every  visitor  to  the  Britisli  Museum  may  ad- 
niire  the  features,  so  finely  chiselled,  though  of  so  huge  a  size, 
marked  by  an  expression  of  dignity,  with  a  quiet  smile  about 
the  lips  characteristic  of  the  sxdf-satisfied  despot.  As  a  por- 
trait, it  carries  its  own  evidence,  and  strikingly  resembles  a 
small  wooden  statue  of  Rameses  in  the  same  room. 

§  13.  In  these  works,  the  art  of  Egypt  reached  its  climax, 
and  began  to  show  the  first  symptoms  of  decline.  And  so 
was  it  also  with  her  power.  The  weakness  produced  by  six- 
ty years  of  despotism  showed  itself  in  the  old  age  of  Rame- 
ses II.  The  command  of  the  Mediterranean  hr.d  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  Pelasgo-Tyrrhenians,  Avho  were  allied  with 
a  race  of  Japhetic  settlers  on  the  north  coast  of  Africa,  who 
had  displaced  the  Hamite  race  of  Phut.  These  were^  the 
Lebu  or  Eebu  (Libyans)  and  3Iashuash  (Maxyes)  of  the 
Egyptian  monuments,  which  also  designate  the  confederates 
as^Tamahou  {men  of  the  north)  and  Tahennoii  (men  of  the 
onists).  With  them  were  also  joined  the  people  of  Crete, 
Sicily,  and  Sardinia.  Having  begun  to  threaten  the  coasts 
of  Egypt  as  early  as  the  time  of  Seti  I.,  their  assaults  had 
been  repulsed  by  Rameses  II.,  whose  armies  Avere  recruited 
by  prisoners  taken  from  them  ;  but  in  his  last  years  they  re- 
newed their  attacks,  and  effected  settlements  in  the  west  of 
the  Delta.  Under  his  successor  we  have  the  most  vivid  ac- 
counts of  their  ravages,  as  surpassing  any  thing  that  Egypt 
had  suffered  even  in  the  time  of  the  Shepherd  Kings. 

§  14.  This  state  of  things,  at  the^  accession  of  Merexphtha 
or  Mexephtha,^'  the  13th  son  of  Rameses  II.,  together  with 
his  conflict  with  Moses,  will  account  for  the  fact  that  nearly 
all  his  monuments  are  found  at  Memphis;  a  fact  which  tends 
to  identify  him  with  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus.     At  first, 

20  Its  vast  proportious  may  be  estimated  from  the  ^fuit,  in  the  British  Museum, 
which  measures  32  inches  in  length  from  the  wrist  to  the  knuckle  of  the  middle  lin- 
ger, and  301  inches  in  breadth.  A  cast  of  the  head  is  also  in  the  British  Museum :  it 
is  less  effective  as  a  portrait  than  that  from  the  Ramesenm. 

21  He  is  also  called  Seti  Menephtha  II.  in  contradistinction  to  his  grandfather. 
Other  readings  of  his  name  are  Menphtha  and  Phthmnen.  In  Manetho's  list  he  is 
Ammenephthes,  a  f(n-m  which  passes  into  AmenopJntiin  an  extract  quoted  fiom  Maue- 
the  by  Jusephus,  tlius  making  a  confusion  with  the  Avien-hoteiJS  of  Dyu.  XVIII. 


128  THE  NEW  THEBAN  MONARCHY. 

indecrl,  the  prooM-ess  of  the  invaders,  who  took  Heliopolis 
and  Memphis,  and  advanced  as  far  as  a  town  called  Faar'i^ 
in  Middle  Eo^ypt,  drove  him  for  refuge  to  the  Thebaid. 
Tiience  lie  dispatched  an  army  under  the  generals  of  his  fa- 
ther, which  defeated  the  Libyans  and  their  allies  at  Paari. 
An  inscription  records  the  losses  of  the  several  contingents. 
The  mass  of  the  invaders  was  driven  out  of  Egypt ;  but 
lands  were  assigned  to  some  bodies  of  them  in  the  Delta. 

The  result  of  this  campaign  w^ould  naturally  lead  Meneph- 
tha  to  take  up  his  residence  in  Lower  Egypt,  chiefly  at 
Memphis,  but  sometimes  also  at  Tanis,  wdiich,  from  its  prox- 
imity to  the  land  of  Goshen,  is  the  probable  scene  of  his  con- 
test with  Moses,  when  "  Jehovah  did  wondrous  things  in 
the  field  of  Zoan."^''  It  is,  however,  a  mistake  to  suppose 
that  Pharaoh  himself  perished  in  the  lied  Sea  :  the  Scripture 
narrative  declares  only  the  destruction  of  his  army.  Me- 
nephtha  survived  the  Exodus,  the  date  of  which  is  probably 
early  in  his  reign,  for  many  years,  and  was  buried  in  his  roy- 
al tomb,  which  is  one  of  the  most  magnificent  at  Thebes. 
His  reign,  to  wdiich  Manetho  assigns  20  or  (in  Euseb.)  40 
years,  is  known  from  the  monuments  to  have  lasted  at  least 
30  years.  But  the  state  of  Egypt  in  his  later  years,  and 
after  his  death,  confirms  one  striking  expression  in  the  Scrip- 
ture :  "  Knowest  thou  not  yet  that  Egypt  is  destroyed  ?" 
The  part  of  the  land  left  vacant  by  the  Israelites  appears  to 
have  been  occupied  by  a  new  invasion  from  the  side  of  Pal- 
estine, the  details  of  which,  as  quoted  from  Manetho  by  Jo- 
sephus,  are  again  obscured  (like  the  story  of  the  Shepherd 
Kings)  by  an  attempt  (this  time  on  the  part  of  his  antago- 
nist Philo)  to  connect  it  with  the  Exodus. 

§  15.  The  story  is,  that  King  Menophis,  or  Amenophis  (but 
Menephtha,  the  "son  of  Rameses,  is  evidently  meant),  re- 
solved to  propitiate  the  gods  by  purging  the  land  of  all 
lepers  and  unclean  persons,  whom  he  banished  to  the  east- 
ern hills ;  but  he  afterwards  gave  them  the  city  of  Avaris, 
from  w^hich  the  Shepherds  had  been  expelled.  They  num- 
bered 80,000;  and,  from  the  leprous  priests  among  them, 
they  chose  as  their  leader  an  apostate  priest  of  Heliopolis, 
whose  name  of  Osarseph  was  changed  to  Moses,  He  gave 
them  new  laws,  bidding  them  to  disregard  the  gods  and  sac- 
rifice the  sacred  animals,  and  forbidding  all  intercoui'LJ  with 
the  Egyptians.  He  fortified  Avaris,  and  called  in  the  aid  of 
the  expelled  Shepherds^  who  had  settled  at  Jerusalem,  and  wdio 

22  Psalm  Ixxviii.  12,  43.  All  the  circumstances  of  the  narrative,  and  especially  the 
point  of  departure  of  the  Israelites,  make  it  certain  that  the  scene  was  in  Lower 
E^ypt  For  the  story  of  the  contest  itself,  and  of  the  Exodus,  the  reader  is  referred 
to  the  "  Student's  O.T.  History,"  chap.  xi. 


THE  JEWISH  EXODUSl  129 

advanced  to  Avaris  with  an  army  of  200,000  men.  The  kinj^ 
of. Egypt  marched  against  them  with  300,000  men,  but  re- 
turned to  Memphis  through  fear  of  an  ancient  prophecy. 
He  then  fled  to  Ethiopia,  whence  he  returned  after  an  ab- 
sence of  13  years,  drove  the  rebels  out  of  Egypt,  and  pur- 
sued them  to  the  confines  of  Syria. 

The  key  to  the  story  seems  to  lie  in  the  confusion,  already 
mentioned,  between  Jerusalem  {Kodesh^  or  Kadusha^  the 
Holy)  and  the  holy  city  of  the  Hittites,  Kadesh  on  the 
O routes.  The  truth  seems  to  be  that,  the  calamities  attend- 
ing the  Exodus  having  left  Lower  Egypt  in  a  state  of  con- 
fusion and  of  partial  revolt,  the  KJieta  seized  the  opportuni- 
ty for  an  invasion,  before  which  Menephtha  fled  to  Thebes, 
sending  his  infant  son,  8eti,  for  safety,  to  Ethiopia. 

§  16.  The  monuments  do  not  mention  the  invasion,  any 
more  than  the  Exodus;  nor  is  it  the  custom  of  any  nation  to 
make  monumental  record  of  its  disastrous  defeats.  But  we 
learn  from  them  that,  on  the  death  of  Menephtha,  and  while 
his  young  son  was  still  in  Ethiopia,  a  prince  of  the  royal 
family,  named  Amexmxeses  (Ammenemnes,  M.),  assumed 
the  crown  at  Chev  (Aphroditopolis)  in  the  Fyiim^  and  soon 
recovered  most  of  Egypt  from  the  invaders.  His  son,  who 
assumed  the  name  of  Merexphtha  Siphtha,"  sought  to  le- 
gitimate his  power  by  marriage  with  the  princess  Taosiri, 
daughter  of  the  late  king  Merenphtha ;  and  her  rights 
were  formally  acknowledged  ;  so  that,  on  the  monuments,  she 
takes  precedence  of  her  husband.  The  prince  Seti  was  at 
first  content  with  the  rank  of  viceroy  of  Ethiopia  {Royal 
Son  of  Cush)  ;  but,  as  soon  as  he  found  himself  strong  enough, 
he  marched  down  the  Nile,  took  Thebes  and  Memphis,  and 
regained  the  throne  as  Seti  H.  The  kings  of  Chev  were 
now  regarded  as  usurpers,  and  their  names  erased  from  the 
monuments  ;  but  Amenmneses  and  Taosiri  have  a  place  in 
the  lists  of  ^lanetho,  the  latter  under  the  disguise  of  a  king 
Thuoris,  whom  the  Greek  copyists  identify  with  the  Poly- 
bus  of  Homer,  at  the  epoch  of  the  fall  of  Troy. 

Amidst  these  internal  ti'oubles,  Egypt  was  manifestly  in 
no  state  to  interfere  with  Israel's  conquest  of  Canaan,  though 
a  land  which  she  regarded  as  her  territory.  On  the  contrary, 
some  of  the  tribes  that  once  obeyed  her  rose  up,  in  their  turn, 
to  oppress  Israel,  in  the  time  of  the  judges.  But  Egypt  had 
not  lost  her  hold  on  Syria  and  Mesopotamia,  so  long  as  she 
commanded  the  route  along  the  maritime  plain  of  Palestine; 
and  this  was  the  very  portion  of  the  Promised  Land  that 
Joshua  was  not  strong  enough  to  attack.     The  Xineteentb 

23  Also  written  Phthamen-se-Phtha. 


130  THE  NEW  THEBAN  MONARCHY. 

Dynasty  ends  with  Seti  II.,  liaving  lasted,  according  to  Mane- 
tbo,  1 74  years. 

§  17.  Of  the  Twentieth  Dynasty  the  List  of  Manetho  only 
says  that  it  consisted  of  twelve  Diospolitan  (/.  e.  Theban) 
kings,  who  reigned  135  years,  or,  in  the  Armenian  version  of 
Eusebius,  172.  Their  names,  now  recovered  from  the  monu- 
ments, show  that  they  claimed  descent  from  the  great  Ra- 
meses  of  the  XlXth  Dynasty,  and  adopted  his  name  as  an  ap- 
pellation of  royalty,  like  that  of  Coisar.  The  first  of  the  line, 
Nekht-Set  (whom  some  call  Seti  III.),  is  followed  by  a  se^ries 
of  kings,  who  are  all  called  llameses,  as  far  as  Rameses  XIL, 
and  perhaps  even  farther.  The  line  was  ended  by  a  sacerdo- 
tal usurpation. 

The  one  great  king  of  this  dynasty  Avas  Rameses  III., 
wliose  exploits  threw  a  dying  lustre  over  the  last  years  in 
which  Egypt  had  an  empire  \  but  his  campaigns,  like  those 
of  the  great  Roman  emperors,  were  essentially  defensive. 
Their  nremorial  is  preserved  in  some  of  the  most  splendid  of 
the  Egy])tian  bas-reliefs,  in  the  palace-temple  of  Med i net- 
Abou,  called  the  southern  Rameseum. 

Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  describes  this  edifice  as  "  one  of 
the  most  interesting  monuments  in  Thebes,  the  battle-scenes 
most  spirited,  and  the  history  of  his  campaigns  most  impor- 
tant, and  if  the  style  of  the  ^sculptures  is  not  quite  equsil  to 
those  of  Sethi  I.  and  his  son,  their  designs  are  full  of  spirit; 
.  .  .  .  but  the  change  he  made  in  the  mode  of  sculpturing  the 
figures  and  hieroglyphics  seems  to  have  been  the  prelude  to 
the  decadence  of  art."" 

Having  been  Viceroy  of  Lower  Egypt  at  Heliopolis  under 
his  father,  Rameses  was  still  young  when  he  came  to  the 
throne.  In  his  fiftli  year,  Egypt  was  attacked  on  the  north- 
western side  by  the  Libyans,  in  league  with  the  Tokari  or 
Zakkaro^  apparently  a  maritime  people,  but  of  doubtful  lo- 
cality. Their  repulse  is  the  subject  of  three  great  pictures 
at  Medinet-Abou  ;  but  the  hieroglyphic  text  is  obscure. 

§  18.  A  long  and  more  intelligible  inscription  relates  the 
most  important  of  the  king's  campaigns,  in  which  he  recov- 
ered the  dominions  of  ThoUimes  IIL  and  Seti  I.  in  Western 
Asia.  The  maritime  peoples  of  the  Mediterranean,  who  had 
been  repulsed  from  the  western  side  of  the  Delta,  seem  to 
have  chosen  a  new  point  of  assault  on  the  coast  of  Syria,  and 
to  have  allied  themselves  to  the  Kheta.  The  leaders  of  the 
maritime  invasion  were  the  Zakkaro  and  the  Khairetana  or 
Shairetana,  who  are  supposed  to  be  the  same  as  the  Chera- 
ihim  or  Cretans^  a  race  allied  to  the  Philistines. 

^*  In  Rawlinsou's  "  Herotl.,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  372-3, 


TWENTIETH  DYNASTY.— RAMESES  III.  131 

Rameses  anticipated  tlieir  attack  by  assailing  them  in  de- 
tail, and  tlie  ensuing-  war  occupies  several  large  ])ictures. 
In  the  first,  his  departure  from  Thebes  is  accompanied  by  a 
grandiloquent  description  :  "The  king  starts  for  the  country 
of  TsaJd  (Coele-Syria),  like  an  image  of  the  god  Month,  to 
trample  under  foot  tlje  nations  that  have  violated  his  fron- 
tiers.  His  soldiers  are  like  bulls  charging  flocks  of  sheep, 
his  horses  like  hawks  in  a  flock  of  small  birds." 

In  the  second  scene,  Rameses  marches  through  several 
friendly  countries,  and  in  one  place  he  traverses  a  mountain- 
ous and  woody  country,  abounding  in  lions,  probably  a  spur 
or  advanced  range  of  Lebanon.  In  Coele-Syria  he  finds  the 
Kheta  and  their  allies  in  force  ;  among  tlie  latter  are  the 
Phoenicians  of  Aradus,  the  people  of  Carchemish  and  the 
Kalti ;  but  the  Mesopotamians  seem  to  have  kept  to  their 
loyalty.  He  takes  by  escalade  several  fortified  towns,  some 
of  them  surrounded  by  water,  and  defended  by  double  walls  ; 
and  finally  defeats  tlie  enemy  in  a  great  battle  in  the  valley 
of  the  Orontes.  "I  have  blotted  out,"  he  says,  "these  na- 
tions and  their  country,  as  if  they  had  never  been." 

He  now  turns  to  meet  the  maritime  invaders,  who  had  al- 
ready disembarked,  and  are  seen  advancing  along  the  coast 
in  the  guise  of  a  migrating  nation,  their  women  and  children 
carried  in  wagons  drawn  by  oxen.  They  are  comjoosed  of 
the  Shairetana  and  the  Lebu  (or  Jiebu),  the  3Ias/iuas/i  or 
Maxyes  of  Libya.  Their  utter  defeat  is  followed  by  a  calcu- 
lation of  the  slain,  represented  by  several  heaps  of  hands, 
12,500  in  all,  while  the  prisoners  are  drawn  np  in  two  lines, 
each  of  1000  men.  On  the  scene  of  liis  victory,  the  king 
erected  a  fort  called  "the  Tower  of  Kameses;"  and  here, 
joined  by  his  fleet,  which  "  appeared  upon  the  waters  like 
a  strong  wall,"  he  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  next  body  of 
the  foes  by  sea.  These  consisted  principally  of  the  Zakkaro, 
with  whom  were  joined  Libyans,  Sicilians,  Sardinians,  Tyr- 
rhenians, and  (if  we  may  trust  the  interpreters)  Greeks  from 
the  Peloponnesus,  called  no  longer  Achseans  (as  in  the  time 
of  Menephtha),.  but  Danai.  The  sea-fight  off*  the  tower  of 
Rameses  forms  one  of  the  grandest  bas-reliefs  on  the  Egyp- 
tian monuments.  The  ships  of  Rameses,  ornamented  with  a 
lion's  head  upon  each  prow,  have  shut  in  the  enemy's  fleet 
between  themselves  and  the  lofty  shore,  whence  the  soldiers, 
commanded  by  the  king  himself,  hurl  showers  of  missiles." 
In  a  long  inscription  Rameses  vaunts  the  prow^ess  of  his  sol- 

25  The  naval  battls  which  is  thuo  depicted  before  our  eyes  must  be  dated  between 
500  and  COO  years  earlier  thau  the  sea-fight  between  the  Corinthians  and  Corcyi-aeautf, 
which  the  Greek  historians  considered  as  the  first  on  record. 


132  THE  NEW  THEBAN  MONARCHY. 

diers  ;  and  especially  his  own:  as  for  his  enemies, "  they  will 
reap  no  more  harvests  in  this  world  ;  the  time  of  their  soul 
is  counted  in  eternity." 

But  the  war  was  followed  by  an  arrangement  disastrous 
for  the  power  of  Egypt.  The  prisoners  taken  in  the  first 
victory,  chiefly  of  Philistine  race,  w^ere  settled  in  the  mari- 
time plain  of  Palestine,  where  this  new  population  aided  the 
rise  of  the  confederacy  which  soon  gained  power  as  th<'  Egyp- 
tians lost  theirs.  The  bas-reliefs  of  Medinet-Abou  represent 
other  campaigns  of  Kameses  in  Asia  and  Africa,  and  an  in- 
scription records  the  tribute  brought  to  him  by  the  people 
of  the  south  and  other  regions :  vessels  of  gold  and  silver, 
bags  of  gold-dust,  objects  made  of  various  metals,  lapis-lazuli, 
and  all  sorts  of  precious  stones.  The  deposit  of  all  this 
wealth  in  his  treasury  at  Thebes  reminds  us  of  the  curious 
story  of  Herodotus  about  the  treasury  of  Rhampsinitus  and 
the  cleverest  of  all  thieves.*^  The  vast  subterranean  tomb 
of  Kameses  IIL  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  Biban-el-Molook 
at  Thebes. 

§  19.  Kameses  IV.  seems  to  have  succeeded  to  the  full 
power  of  his  father,  and  to  have  died  without  leaving  a  son. 
Then  follow  at  least  three  younger  sons  of  Kameses  III.,  all 
bearing  the  same  name,  not  without  indications  of  rivalry  and 
of  partitions  of  the  kingdom. 

Kameses  VIIL,  whose  descent  is  traced  by  a  difiierent  line 
from  Amunoph  I.,  appears  to  have  restored  the  unity  of 
Egypt,  and  to  have  maintained  lier  foreign  empire.  He 
made  some  additions  to  the  great  temple  at  Karnak,  and  we 
have  historical  papyri  of  Ins  reign.  His  face,  conspicuous  for 
the  high  bridge  of  the  nose,  furnishes  one  of  the  most  de- 
cisive proofs  that  the  eftigies  of  the  Egyptian  kings  are  real 
portraits. 

He  is  followed  by  a  succession  of  other  Kameses  (some 
say  six  or  even  more),  of  whom  we  know  little  more  than  of 
tlie  long  evanescent  line  of  kings  shown  in  vision  to  Mac- 
beth ;  and  with  them  the  empire  of  Egypt  recedes  to  a  van- 
ishing-point. She  succumbed  to  the  inherent  weakness  of 
all  despotisms^  and  even  her  foreign  conquests  hastened  her 
decay.  Asia  revenged  herself  by  hiroads  upon  that  exch»- 
sive  nationality  which  was  Egypt's  strength.  Semitic  words 
had  appeared  in  her  language,  foreign  gods  in  her  inaccessi- 
ble sanctuaries.  And  now  the  sacerdotal  power  attempted 
to  restore  itself  on  the  ruins  of  the  royal  authority  that 
had  held  it  in  check.  Strong  in  their  corporate  character 
and  their  hereditary  functions,  the  high-priests  of  Ammon, 

2«  Uci-Gd.  ii.  121. 


PRIEST-KINGS.  133 


after  assuming  all  the  civil  and  military  offices  of  the  king- 
dom, ended  by  usurping  the  crown.  But  the  process  was 
long  and  gradual.  As  late  as  the  time  of  Rameses  XII.  we 
tind  Mesopotamia  still  tributary  to  Egypt,  as  is  seen  by  a  cu- 
rious tale  recorded  on  a  stela  found  at  Thebes,  some  incidents 
of  which  have  a  resemblance  to  points  of  Scripturehistory. 

While  passing  through  Mesopotamia,  to  collect  his  tribute, 
the  king  was  captivated  by  the  beauty  of  a  chief's  daughter, 
and  married  her.  Some  time  afterwards,  in  the  fifteenth  year 
of  Rameses,  the  chieftain  came  to  Thebes,  to  ask  the  services 
of  one  of  the  king's  physicians  for  his  younger  daughter,  who 
was  possessed  by  an  evil  spirit.  This  spirit  proved  stronger 
than  the  phvsician ;  and  eleven  years  later  the  father  made 
another  journey  to  Thebes,  to  seek  more  eifectual  aid  from 
the  gods  of  Eo-ypt.  The  king  granted  him  the  use  of  the 
ark  of  the  god'Chons,  which ^c^ached  Mesopotamia  after  a 
journey  of  eighteen  months ;  and  the  desired  cure  was  at 
once  wrouo-ht.  But  the  Mesopotamian  prince  was  unwilling 
to  part  wifli  so  potent  a  talisman,  till,  after  three  years  and 
three  quarters,  a  dream,  in  which  he  saw  the  god  fly  back  to 
Egypt,  in  the  form  of  a  golden  hawk,  showed  that  he  could 
not  retain  him  against  his  will.  So  the  ark  was  sent  back  to 
Egypt,  in  the  thirty-third  year  of  the  reign  of  Rameses.  _  The 
whole  tenor  of  the'story  shows  how  loosely  the  authority  of 
Rameses  sat  upon  his  Mesopotamian  vassal. 

§  20.  In  fact,  we  have  now  reached  the  period  Avhen  the 
Assyrian  monarchy  of  Nineveh,  established  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fourteenth  century  B.C.,  was  consolidating  itself 
behind  the  Euphrates,  thougl/not  yet  strong  enough  to  pass 
that  boundary ;  Avhile,  nearer  home,  the  Philistines  had  bar- 
red the  great  military  road  to  Asia,  and  for  a  time  obtained 
the  mastery  which  Egypt  had  once  held  in  Canaan.  It  Avas 
at  this  epoch,  when  Egypt  was  thrown  back  within  her  natu- 
ral limits,  that  the  high-priest  of  Amnion,  at  Thebes,  Her-Hor, 
''the  supreme  Ilorus,"  assumed  the  croAvn  of  the  Pharaohs. 
To  establish  his  power  at  home,  it  seems  that  the  new  ruler 
gave  up  all  claim  to  dominion  in  Asia,  as  the  price  of  an  al- 
liance with  the  power  now^  ruling  at  Nineveh,  Hence,  prob- 
ably, the  Assyrian  names  which  we  find  in  his  family  and  the 
following  dynasty.  After  his  death,  the  old  line  of  Thebes 
appears  to  have  reoained  power  for  a  time  ;  and  Piankh  (or 
Pionkh),  the  son  of^Her-Hor,  bears  only  the  title  of  high- 
priest.  But  the  royal  title  revives  with  his  son,  Pixetsem 
I.  (or  Plsham),  and  'is  continued  through  several  generations 


of  priest-kings,  who  also  appear  as  the  heads  of  the  milita 
class,  by   the    title   of  "  Commander    of  the    Soldiers "   ( 


ary 
or 


134 


THE  NEW  TIIEBAN  MONARCHY. 


"Archers  ").  The  power  of  the  new  Hne  was  legitimated  by  a 
marriage  with  the  princess  lal-em-Chev^a  descendant  of  tlie 
competitors  of  Seti  II.,  and  the  house  and  name  of  theRame- 
ses  finally  disappears. 

It  has  been  doubted  whether  these  priest-kings  formed  the 
Twenty-first  {Tanite)  Di/nasty  of  3Ianetho,or  whether  the  lat- 
ter was  one  of  the  old  rival  houses  of  Lower  Egypt,  which 
seized  the  opportunity  of  the  troubles  attending  the  fall  of  the 
Theban  line  to  establish  itself  at  Tanis.  In  favor  of  the  former 
hypothesis  is  the  resemblance  of  the  names  of  Htr-Hor, 
Fiankh.,  and  Plnetsem^  to  Osochoi\  Pshiaches,  and  Psouennes^ 
who  stand  in  Manetho's  list  as  the  last  three  of  the  seven  kings 
of  the  tw^enty-first  dynasty.  Perhaps  we  may  reconcile  the 
two  views  by  supposing  that  the  priest-kings  obtained  a  place 
in  the  Tanite  dynasty  by  marriage  ;  and  this  adoption  of  the 
claims  of  a  monarchy  in  Lower  Egypt,  together  with  theif 
Assyrian  alliance,  would  confirm  their  power  against  the 
legitimate  Theban  line. 


An  Egyptian  Archer  carrying  spare  Arrows. 


Allies  of  the  Egyptians. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

NEW  KINGDOMS  IN  THE    DELTA  AND  THE    ETHIOPIAN  DYNASTY 
DYNASTIES  XXI. -XXV. — B.C.   1100   (aBOUT)-664. 

§  1.  Tivenfii-firftt  Dijiutsty.  Transfer  of  the  capital  from  Thebes  to  Tanis.  Converg- 
ence of  Egyptian,  Assyrian,  and  Jewish  history.  Alliance  of  a  Tanite  king  with 
Solomon.  Commerce  between  Egypt  and  Judaea.  §  2.  Origin  of  Tan-is  or  Zoan, 
the  Avaris  of  the  Shepherds.  Connection  of  Zoan  and  Hebron.  §  3.  Site  of  Tanis, 
the  "field  of  Zoan."  Its  value  as  a  fortress.  §  4.  Tanis  as  a  residence  of  the 
Theban  kings.  The  capital  of  the  XXIst  and  XXIIId  dynasties.  Decline.  §  5. 
The  ruins  and  plain  of  San.  Researches  of  M.  IMariette.  §  6.  The  Twentij-second 
{Bubastite)  Di/nasti/.  Military  adventurers  of  Assyrian  origin.  §  7.  Bnbast7S,the 
sacred  city  of  Pasbt.  Temple  and  festival  of  Bubastis.  §  8.  Its  ruins  at  Tel-Bas- 
ta.  §  9.  Shesuomk  I.,  the  Shisuak  of  Scripture.  Protects  Jeroboam.  Conquers 
Rehoboam  and  makes  Judah  tributary.  Name  of  Jadah  on  his  monuments.  Nar- 
row limits  of  his  conquests.  Osokohon  I.  Question  involved  in  the  defeat  of  Ze- 
rah,  the  Ethiopian,  by  Asa,  King  of  Judah.  Kingdom  of  Napata.  Priests  of  the 
Bubastite  house.  §10,  Twenty-third  (Tanite)  Dunasty.  Rival  Kings  of  Lower  and 
Middle  Egypt.  Invasion  of  the  Ethiopian  Piankh.  Tnephachthus,  of  Sais.  His 
curse  on  Menes.  §  11.  Bokenranf  or  Bocohoris,  sole  king  of  the  Twenty-fourth 
(Saltf)  Dynasty.  Greek  traditions  of  his  character.  He  is  conquered  and  burnt 
alive  by  Sabaco,  the  Ethiopian.  §  12.  The  Twenty-fifth  {Ethiopian)  Dynasty.  Ac- 
count of  Ethiopia.  MeroC-.  Napata.  Its  wealth.  Ruins  of  Jebel-Berkel.  §  13. 
Ethiopia  under  the  Etrvptian  rule.  Kingdom  of  Napata.  Affinity  of  the  two 
states.  Limited  effect  of  the  Ethiopian  conquest.  §  14.  The  kings  of  the  XXVth 
dynasty.  Sabaco  L  aids  Hoshea,  King  of  Israel.  Capture  of  Samaria  by  Sargon. 
Conquest  of  Syria  claimed  by  Sabaco.  Assyrian  account ;  Sargon's  victory  at 
Raphia ;  defeat  and  flight  of  Sabaco.  §  15.  Sabaco  II.  Sargon's  mention  of  a 
"Pharaoh."  War  of  Ashdod.  The  "King  of  Ethiopia"  makes  peace  with  Sar- 
gon. §  16.  Sennacherib's  Jewish  campaign.  His  victory  at  Altaku.  State  of 
Egypt  at  this  time.  Destruction  of  Sennacherib's  army.  Egyptian  version  of  the 
miracle:  The  priest-king  Skthos  of  Herodotus.  §  17.  Tak-uaka  or  Tiriiakau, 
His  conquests  compared  with  those  of  Sesostkis.    Long  and  fluctuating  conflict 


13G  NEW  KINGDOMS  IN  THE  DELTA. 

with  Assyria.  New  light  from  the  Assyrian  annals.  §  ]S.  His  son  Rotmkn  driven 
out  by  Asshur-bani-piil.  Disastrous  invasion  of  Egypt.  Sack  of  Thebes.  §  19. 
Prophecies  of  Isaiah  and  Nahum.  §  20.  New  invasion  and  retirement  of  the 
Ethiopian  Amen-meri-Nout.  Retirement  both  of  the  Assyrians  and  the  Ethiopi- 
ans. 

§  1.  The  transfer  of  the  sceptre,  under  the  Twenty-first 
Dynasty^  from  Thebes  to  Taxis,  the  new  capital  of  Lower 
Egypt,  forms  an  epoch  of  great  importance.  The  separate 
currents  of  the  Egyptian,  Assyrian,  and  Jewish  annals  now^ 
converge  into  the  stream  of  universal  history;  and  we  at 
length  obtain  a  basis  of  chronology. 

During  the  decline  of  Egypt,  and  before  Assyrian  conquests 
were  carried  west  of  the  Euphrates,  the  newly-founded  king- 
dom of  Israel  had  fought  out  its  hai-d  conflict  with  the  Phi- 
listines;  and  David,  having  subdued  his  enemies  on  every 
side,  left  to  his  son,  Solomon  (the  "  peaceful"),  a  real  empire, 
the  greatest  at  this  time  in  Western  Asia,  occupying  the  re- 
gion promised  to  Abraham, 

"From  the  bordering  flood 
Of  old  Euphrates  to  the  stream  that  parts 
Egypt  from  Syrian  ground." 

Tiie  buiUling  of  Solomon's  temple,  on  the  hill  of  Jerusalem, 
recovered  by  David  from  the  Jebusites,  marks  a  fixed  epoch 
in  chronology — the  millennium  before  the  birth  of  Christ.' 
Now,  in  the  early  part  of  his  reign,  Solomon  made  affinity 
with  Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  and  married  his  daughter,%ind 
since  we  shall  presently  find,  by  the  double  testimony  of 
Scripture  and  the  monuments,  Shishak,  the  first  King  of  the 
22d  dynasty,  harboring  the  enemies  of  Solomon  and  invading 
Judah  under  lielioboam^it  follows,  ahiiost  to  demonstration, 
that  the  ally  of  Solomon  was  one  of  the  last  kings  of  the  21st 
dynasty.  The  presentation  by  Pharaoh  to  his  daughter  of 
the  site  of  Gezcu\  between  Jaffa  and  Jerusalem,  which  he 
had  taken  from  the  Canaanites  and  destroyed,  and  which 
Solomon  rebuilt  and  fortified,"*  seems  to  indicate,  first,  that 
tlie  kings  of  Egypt  had  recovered  their  liold  upon  the  route 
to  Asia  by  tlie  maritime  plain,  and,  secondly,  that  this  Last 
remnant  of  their  sovereignty  over  Palestine  audits  neighbor- 
hood Avas  now  surrendered  as  the  price  of  Solomon's  alliance. 

Tiie  protection  involved  in  that  sovereignty  had  been  ex- 

'  The  Epoch  of  the  Destruction  of  the  Temple  by  Nebuchadnezzar  is  fixed  so  accu- 
rately, by  a  concurrence  of  prooft;  from  sacred  and  secular  history,  that  the  limits  of 
doubt  lie  within  two  years,  between  n.o.  5SS  and  5Sti;  and  the  Babylonian  Canon  de- 
cides for  the  latter  date.  Reckoning  backward  by  the  Jewish  annals,  we  have  a 
margin  of  only  fifteen  years  of  doul)t  hi  the  period  fi»m  the  building  of  the  Temple 
to  its  destruction.  The  highest  date  for  the  former  is  u.c  1027  :  the  received  dates 
are  m.c.  1005  for  its  completion,  n.o,  1012  lor  its  coiumenecment,  and  n.o.  1015  for  tha 
accession  of  Solomon. 

"^  1  Kings  iii.  1 ;  vii.  8  ;  ix.  24.  a  1  Kings  ix.  15-11. 


ORIGIN  OF  TAXIS.  137 

ercised  during  the  reign  of  David,  in  the  case  of  Hadad,  an 
Edoniite  prince,  who  had  been  carried  as  an  infant  to  Egypt, 
after  escaping  from  the  massacre  of  Joab,  and  had  received 
in  marriage  the  sister  of  Talipenes,  the  queen  of  Pliaraoh." 
The  total  silence  of  Scripture  about  the  history  and  state  of 
Egypt  from  the  Exodus  to  the  time  of  Solomon  proves  at 
least  the  absence  of  active  hostility  ;  and  Solomon  carried  on 
a  steady  commerce  with  Egypt  in  linen  yarn,  and  in  hoi-ses 
and  chariots  :  the  latter  he  not  only  imported  for  his  own 
use,  but  sold  them  to  the  kings  of  the  Hittites  and  of  Syria. 
The  price  of  a  chariot,  as  it  came  from  Egypt,  was  600  silver- 
shekels,  and  of  each  horse  150  shekels."  We  may  well  pause 
to  notice  the  change  from  the  time  when  the  Theban  kings 
fought  against  the  chariots  of  the  Hittites  and  their  Syrian 
allies,  to  that  when  these  nations  were  supplied  witli  chariots 
from  Egypt  througli  the  medium  of  a  great  commercial  em- 
pire founded  by  a  people  once  her  slaves.  The  old  maritime 
power  of  Egypt,  botli  in  the  Tdediterranean  and  the  Red  Sea, 
whicli  had  lor.g  declined  or  ceased,  was  now  superseded  by 
the  commerce  carried  on  by  the  fleets  of  Solomon,  in  con- 
junction with  those  of  Tyre,  from  the  ports  of  Joppa  on  the 
one  side,  and  of  Elath  and  Ezion-Gebcr  on  the  other. 

§  2.  The  revival  of  a  monarchy  of  Lower  Egypt  at  Tanis, 
rather  than  at  Memphis,  may  be  easily  accounted  for  by  the 
importance  Avhich  the  former  city  had  acquired  under  the 
Shepherds  and  the  kings  of  the  XVlIIth  and  XlXth  Dynas- 
ties. Taxis  is  the  Greek  form  of  the  Semitic  name  Zoax  (in 
modern  Arabic  San),  which  signifies  H2)k(ce  of  removal,  donhi- 
less  as  being  the  point  of  departure  for  caravans  on  the  east- 
ern frontier.  This  sense  is  confirmed  by  the  Egy[)tian  name 
HA-AWAR  or  PA-AWAli  (hoim  of  goimj  forth  or  depart- 
?//'<?),  the  AvARis  iOla^ic)  of  Manetho's'story  of  the  Shepherd 
Kings.  The  Scripture  has  assigned  its  date  with  a  precision 
such  as  few  of  the  oldest  cities  of  the  world  can  claim  :  "  He- 
bron was  built  seven  years  before  Zoan  in  Egypt.""  This 
statement  shows  a  knowledge  of  the  origin  of  both  cities, 
which  was  most  probably  derived  from  the  residence  of  Abi-a- 
ham  at  Hebron  (then  Kirjath-Arha,\\vi  City  ofArba,a  name 
curiously  like  Atcar) ;  and  the  two  cities  would  hardly  have 
been  thus  compared  had  there  not  been  some  connection  in 

*  1  Kings  xi.  14-22.  As  the  name  of  Tahpencr.  has  not  been  fonnd  on  the  monu- 
ments, we  can  not  identify  this  Pharaoh.  The  rehictance  with  which  Pharaoh  allow- 
ed Hadad  to  return  to  Edom  may  have  been  a  tribute  to  the  obligations  of  the  alli- 
ance with  Solomon  ;  but  it  is  not  clear  Avhether  this  Pharaoh  was  the  last  of  the 
Tanites,  or  Shishak,  the  first  of  the  22d  dynasty,  who  protected  Jeroboam  as^ainst 
Solomon.     See  further  in  the  "  Diet,  of  the  Bible,*'  «.  v.  Ta/qjenes. 

5  1  Kings  X.  28,  29.  At  the  value  of  3s.  for  the  shekel,  each  chariot  would  cost  £00, 
and  each  horse  £22  10s.  6  Numbers  xiii.  22. 


138  NEW  KINCxDOMS  IN  THE  DELTA. 

their  origin.  Now  Ilebi-oii  was  under  the  rule  of  the  Anakim; 
wlio  were  of  the  old  warlike  Palestinian  race  that  long  domi- 
nated over  the  southern  Canaanites.  The  Shepherds  who 
built  Avaris  were  apparently  of  the  Phoenician  stock,  which 
was  referred  to  the  same  race.  Hebron  was  already  built  in 
Abraham's  time,  and  the  Shepherd  invasion  may  be  dated 
about  the  same  period.  Hence,  whether  or  not,  as  Manetho 
states,  some  older  village  or  city  was  succeeded  by  Avaris, 
its  building  and  fortification  by  the  Sheplierd  Kings  forms 
the  true  beginning  of  the  history  of  the  city  of  Tanis. 

§  3.  Its  site  was  admirably  chosen  for  their  great  for- 
tress,' Like  the  other  piincipal  cities  of  this  tract — Pehi- 
sium,  Bubastis,  and  Heliopolis — it  lay  on  the  east  bank  ot 
the  river,  towards  Syria.  Its  ruins  are  situate  in  31°  N.  lat- 
itude and  31°  5'  E.  longitude,  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  ca- 
nal which  was  formerly  theTanitic  branch  of  the  Nile.  An- 
ciently a  rich  plain  extended  due  east  as  far  as  Pelusium, 
about  30  miles  distant,  gradually  nari'owing  towards  the 
east,  so  that  in  a  direction  S.E.  from  Tanis  it  was  not  more 
tlian  half  this  breadth.  The  whole  of  this  plain  was  known 
as  the  fields  OY  plains^  the  marshes  or  p^isUire-lancls  {Bucolla). 
Anciently,  it  was  rich  marsh-land,  watered  by  four  of  the 
seven  branches  of  the  Nile,  and  swept  by  the  cool  breezes  of 
the  Mediterranean  ;  but,  through  the  subsidence  of  the  coast, 
it  is  now  almost  covered  by  the  great  lake  Menzedeh. 

The  city,  lying  outside  of  the  main  line  of  defense  along 
the  Nile,  afforded  a  protection  to  the  cultivated  lands  to  the 
east,  and  an  obstacle  to  an  invader;  while  to  retreat  from  it 
was  always  possible,  as  long  as  the  Egyptians  held  the  river. 
But  Tanis  was  too  far  inland  to  be  properly  the  frontier 
fortress.  It  was  near  enough  to  be  the  place  of  departure 
for  caravans — perhaps  it  was  tlie  last  town  in  the  Shepherd- 
period — but  not  near  enough  to  command  the  entrance  of 
Egypt.  Pelusium  lay  upon  the  great  load  to  Palestine — it 
has  been,  until  lately,  placed  too  far  north — and  the  plain  was 
here  narrow  from  north  to  south,  so  that  no  invader  could 
safely  pass  the  fortress ;  but  it  soon  became  broader,  and, 
by  turning  in  a  south-westerly  direction,  an  advancing  ene- 
my would  leave  Tanis  far  to  the  northward,  and  a  bold  gen- 
eral would  detach  a  force  to,  keep  its  garrison  in  check,  and 

'  Mr.  Poole,  whose  accouut  of  Tanis  we  mainly  follow  ("Diet,  of  the  Bible,"  art. 
Zoan),  points  out  the  caution  with  which  Manetho's  statement  of  the  policy  of  the 
Shepherds  must  be  received  :  "Throughout,  we  trace  the  influence  of  the  pride  that 
made  the  Egyptians  hate,  and  affect  to  despise,  the  Shepherds  above  all  their  con- 
querors, except  the  Persians.  The  motive  of  Salatis  (in  building  Avaris)  is  not  to 
overawe  Egypt,  bnt  to  keep  out  the  Assyrians :  not  to  terrify  the  natives,  but  these 
foreigners,  who,  if  other  history  be  correct,  did  not  then  form  an  important  state." 


TANIS  A  RESIDENCE  OF  THE  THEBAN  KINGS.         139 

march  upon  Heliopolis  and  Memphis.  An  enormous  stand- 
ing militia,  settled  in  the  BiicoUa^  as  the  Egyptian  militia 
afterwards  was  in  the  neighboring  tracts  of  the  Delta,  and 
with  its  head-quarters  at  Tanis,  would  overawe  Egypt,  and 
secure  a  retreat  in  case  of  disaster,  besides  maintaining^  hold 
of  some  of  the  most  productive  land  in  the  country;  and 
mainly  for  the  two  former  objects  we  believe  Avaris  to  have 
been  fortified. 

§  4.  After  the  expulsion  of  the  Shepherds,  Tanis  would 
naturally  continue  of  importance  to  the  kings  oftlie  XVIIIth 
and  XlXth  dynasties,  both  for  tlieir  maritime  operations  in 
the  Mediterranean  and  for  their  expeditions  into  Asia.  "Al- 
though Thebes  continued  to  be  the  place  in  which  the  splen- 
dor of  the  monarchy  was  chiefly  displayed,  and  where  the 
sovereigns  held  their  court  during  intervals  of  peace,  they 
must  have  needed  a  residence  in  that  part  of  Lower  Egypt 
which  was  nearest  to  the  scene  of  theii-  most  important  op- 
erations. That  it  should  be  at  the  same  time  not  very  dis- 
tant from  the  sea  was   also  necessary And,  as  the 

eastern  branches  of  the  Nile  one  after  another  became  silted 
up,  it  is  probable  that  even  in  this  age  the  Pelusiac  mouth 
may  have  been  too  shallow  to  admit  ships  of  war."^ 

We  have  seen  that  Tanis  received  the  special  care  of  Ra- 
meses  II.,  and  that  "  the  field  of  Zoan  "  was  the  scene  of  his 
son's  contest  with  God's  prophet.^  It  is  well  worthy  of  re- 
mark that  the  season  of  the  plagues  and  Exodus  (the  begin- 
ning of  harvest,  at  the  vernal  equinox)  was  the  very  time  of 
the  year  at  which  the  Shepherd  Kings  were  wont  to  visit 
their  armies  at  Avaris.  The  custom  may  have  been  kept 
up  ;  and  thus  Menephtha  would  have  had  his  frontier  militia 
ready  for  the  pursuit  of  the  Israelites.  The  position  of  Tanis 
would  be  alike  valuable  in  the  naval  and  Asiatic  wars  of  Kam- 
eses  III.,  and  for  the  commerce  carried  on  with  Solomon  by  tlie 
XXIst  dynasty,  which  at  length  made  it  the  capital  of  Egypt. 

That  dignity  was  transferred  to  Bubastis  under  the  XXIId 
dynasty,  whose  abolition  of  the  worship  of  Set  or  Soutekh 
must  have  given  a  great  blow  to  Tanis  ;  and  it  may  have 
been  a  religious  war  that  re-established  the  latter  as  the  cap- 
ital of  the  XXIIId  dynasty.  In  this  position  it  apjjears  in 
the  contemporary  Hebrew  prophecies.  "  The  princes  of 
Zoan,  the  wise  counsellors  of  Pharaoh,"  are  named  by  Isaiah 
before  "  the  princes  of  JYoph  "  (Memphis).'"     At  a  later  time 

^  Keurick,  "  Ancient  Egypt,"  vol.  ti.  p.  341. 

s  Psalm  Ixxviii.  12,  43 :  where  the  word  field  may  mean  terntori;,  name,  or  even 
kinqclnm. 

1°  Isaiah,  x\x.  11,  13 ;  comp.  xxx.  4,  where  Mr.  Poole  takes  Hanes  for  Tahpanhet; 
(Daphune)  not  IleracleapolJs. 


UO  NEW  KINGDOMS  IN  THE  DELTA. 

Ezekiel  predicts  the  destruction  of  Zoaii  by  fire  as  a  conse- 
quence of  the  invasion  of  Egypt  by  Nebuchadnezzar;''  but 
long  before   this   blow  the   capital  had  been  transferi-ed  to 
Sals  under  the  XXIVth  dynasty.     In  the  time   of  Strabo 
Tar.is  was  still  a  large  town,  the  capital  of  a  nome  ;'^  in  the 
age  of  Titus  it  was  a  small  place. '^ 
^  §  5.  The  site  of  this   ancient  capital  is  described  by  Sir 
Gardner  Wilkinson  as  "  remarkable  for  the  height  and  ex- 
tent of  its  mounds,  wliich  are  upward  of  a  mile  from  N.  to 
S.,  and  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  E.  to  W.     The 
area  in  which  the  sacred  inclosure   of  the  temple  stood  is 
about   1500   feet  by  1250,  surrounded  by  mounds  of  fallen 
houses.     The  temple  was  adorned  by  Rameses  II.  with  nu- 
merous obelisks  and  most  of  it  sculptures.     It  is  very  ruin- 
ous, but  its  remains  prove  its  former  grandeur.     The  number 
of  its  obelisks,  ten  or  twelve,  all  now  fallen,  is  unequalled, 
and  the  labor  of  transporting  them  from  Syene  shows  the 
lavish  magnificence  of  the  Egyptian  kings.     The  oldest  name 
found  here  is  that  of  Sesertesen  III.  of  the  Xllth  dynasty; 
the  latest  that  of  Tirhakah.     The  plain  of  Sda  is  very  exten- 
sive, but  thinly  inhabited  :  no  village  exists  in  the  immedi- 
ate vicinity  of  the  ancient  Tanis  ;  and,  when  looking  from  the 
mounds  of  this  once  splendid  city  towards  the  distant  palms 
of  indistinct   villages,   we    perceive   the    desolation    spread 
around  it.     '  The  field  of  Zoan '  is  now  a  barren  \yaste :  a 
canal  passes  through  it  witliout  being  able  to  fertilize  the 
soil ;  '  fire  '  has  been  '  set  in  Zoan  ;'  and  one  of  the  principal 
capitals  or  royal  abodes  of  the  Pharaohs  is  now  the  habita- 
tion of  fishermen,  the  resort  of  wild  beasts,  and  infested  with 
reptiles  and  malignant  fevers."     Its  desolation  and  unhealthi- 
ness  caused  it  to  be  neglected  by  explorers,  till  the  task  was 
undertaken  by  IM.  IMariette,  whose  researches  have  already 
thrown  immense  light  on  the  history  of  the  Shepherd  Kings. 
§  6.  Tlie  same  indefatigable  explorer  has  recovered,  from 
the  Apis-steUe  and  the  Serapeum  at  Memphis,  the  true  order 
of  the  nine  kings  whom  Manetho  assigns  to  the  Ticenty-sec- 
ond  Dynasty,  of  Bubastis.     With  one  exception  {Her-sha- 
seh),  they  all  bear  the  distinctly  Assyrian  names  of  Sheshonk, 
Osorchon   (the  same  as   Sargon),,  and  Tlklat  or  Tiglath  or 
Takeloth  {Tkjulti  in  pure  Assyrian).''     They  were  a  milita- 
ry dynasty,  sprung  (like  the  Mamelukes)  from  the  king's 
body-guard  ;  and  the  history  of  their  accession  is  now  known 
from  the  monuments.     x\  certain  ofiicer  named  Sargon,  who 
was  posted  at  Bubastis,  being  already  allied  by  marriage  to 

11  Ezek.  XXX.  14.  12  strabo,  xvii.  p.  S02.  »»  Jopeph."  Bell.  JikI."  iv.  11. 

14  This  is  said  to  be  identical  with  the  old  Assyrian  name  of  the  river  Tij^ris. 


BUBASTIS.  Ul 

the  royal  sacerdotal  line  of  Her-Hor,  appears  to  liave  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  the  last  king  of  the  XXIst  dynasty. 
Their  son,  Sheshonk,  having  been  adopted  by  his  grandfather, 
became  at  first  regent,  and  afterwards  king. 

§  7.  Bubastis  {or  Bubastus),  the  seat  of  the  new  dynasty, 
was  the  sacred  city  of  the  goddess  by  whose  name  simply  it 
is  usually  denoted  in  the  hieroglyphics,  BA-HEST  or  BAST.'' 
This  goddess  was  the  same  as  Pasht^  the  goddess  of  fire.  The 
cat  was  sacred  to  her,  and  she  is  represented  by  a  lion-head- 
ed figure:  cats  were  buried  at  Bubastis.  The  Greeks  iden- 
tified her  with  Artemis,'^  whence  her  rock-hewn  temple  near 
Beni-hassan  was  called  Speos  Artemidos  (the  Cave  of  Arte- 
mis) ;  and  her  oracle  at  Bubastis  was  very  popular  with  the 
Greek  visitors  to  Egypt.  Though  the  city  was  so  ancient 
that  Manetho  mentions  it  as  the  scene  of  a  most  destructive 
earthquake  in  tlie  time  of  Boethus,  or  Bochus,  the  first  king 
of  the  Second  Dynasty,  it  does  not  appear  in  history  till  tlie 
accession  of  the  Twenty-second  Dynasty,  whose  foreign  or- 
igin and  policy  accounts  for  their  choice  of  it  as  their  capital. 

Bubastis  was  situate  about  half-way  up  the  Pelusiac  or 
Bubastite  branch  of  the  Nile,  on  the  route  of  an  invader 
marching  from  the  East  against  Heliopolis  and  Memphis,  and 
a  little  below  the  mouth  of  the  Red  Sea  canal.'"  The  city 
seems  to  have  reached  the  height  of  its  prosperity  shortly 
before  the  Persian  Invasion  ;  and  Herodotus  takes  pains  to 
describe  it.'^  It  was  raised,  he  says,  more  than  any  other 
city  above  the  inundation  by  the  embankments  constructed, 
first  by  tliose  who  dug  the  canals  in  the  time  of  Sesostris, 
and  afterwards  by  the  criminals  whom  the  Ethiopian  Sabaco 
condemned  to  this  sort  of  labor.  Of  the  temple  of"  Bubas- 
tis "  as  he  calls  the  goddess,  he  says,  "  Other  temples  may  be 
grander,  and  may  have  cost  more  in  the  building,  but  there 
is  none  so  pleasant  to  the  eye  as  this  of  Bubastis.  .  .  .  Ex- 
cepting the  entrance,  the  whole  forms  an  island.  Two  arti- 
ficial channels  from  the  Nile,  one  on  either  side  of  the  tem- 
ple, encompass  the  building,  leaving  only  a  narrow  i)assage 
by  which  it  is  approached.  These  channels  are  each  a  hun- 
dred feet  wide,  and  are  thickly  shaded  with  trees.  The  gate- 
way is  sixty  feet  in  height,  and  is  ornamented  with  figures  cut 
upon  the   stone,  six  cub-its  high  and  well  worthy  of  notice. 

15  Also  with  the  prefix  HA-BAHEST,  which  appears  to  have  been  the  sacred  form. 
It  seems  to  have  been  by  pretixiug  the  mascnliiie  definite  article  that  the  name  be- 
came PA-BAHEST  the  (city)  of  Pasht,  whence  the  Hebrew  Pi-bescth  (Ezek.  xxx.  IT  : 
Bov/3aaTo^  LXX.),  the  Coptic  Pi-Bast,  Poubast,  PoxmHi,  Bouasti,  and  the  Greek  and 
Latin  Bubastis  {Bov/S.kt-h,  Herod,),  or  Bnbastiis  (Bo.'./Jao-Tor,  Strabo,  Diod.,  Plin,,  Ptol.). 
There  is  a  similar  variety  in  the  name  of  HA-HESAR,  the  Coptic  Bousiri  and  Pousiri, 
and  the  Greek  and  Latin  Uxjcaipc:.  Bnsiris. 

i«  Herod,  ii.  137.  i"  Herod,  ii.  158.  "  Herod,  ii.  137, 138. 


142  NEW  KINGDOMS  IN  THE  DELTA. 

The  temple  stands  in  the  middle  of  the  city,  and  is  visible  on 
all  sides  as  one  walks  round  it ;  for,  as  the  city  has  been  rais- 
ed up  by  embankment,  while  the  temple  has  been  left  un- 
touched in  its  original  condition,  you  look  down  upon  it 
wheresoever  you  are.  A  low  wall  runs  round  the  inclosure, 
having  figures  engraved  upon  it,  and  inside  there  is  a  grove 
of  beautiful  tall  trees  growing  round  the  shrine  which  con- 
tains the  image  of  the  goddess.  The  inclosure  is  a  furlong 
in  length  and  the  same  in  breadth.  The  entrance  to  it  is  by 
a  road  paved  with  stone  for  a  distance  of  about  three  fur- 
longs, which  passes  straight  through  the  market-place,  with 
an  easterly  direction,  and  is  400  feet  in  width.  Trees  of  an 
extraordin"^ary  height  grow  on  each  side  the  road,  which  con- 
ducts from  the  temple  of  Bubastis  to  that  of  Hermes." 

In  another  passage''  he  describes  the  festival  of  Bubastis 
as  the  best  attended  of  all  the  yearly  local  feasts  of  Egypt ; 
the  proceedings  being  as  follows :  "  Men  and  women  come 
sailing  all  togetlier,  vast  numbers  in  each  boat,  many  of  the 
women  with 'castanets,  wliich  they  strike,  while  some  of  the 
men  pipe  during  the  whole  time  of  the  voyage  ;  the  remain- 
der of  the  voyagers,  male  and  female,  sing  the  while,  and 
make  a  clapping  with  their  hands.  When  they  arrive  op- 
posite any  of  the  towns  upon  the  banks  of  the  stream,  they 
approach  the  shore,  and,  while  some  of  the  women  continue 
to  play  and  sing,  others  call  aloud  to  the  females  of  the  place 
and  load  them  with  abuse,  while  a  certain  number  dance,  rind 
some  standing  up  uncover  themselves.  After  proceeding  in 
this  way  all  along  the  river-course,  they  reach  Bubastis,  where 
they  celebrate  the  feast  Avith  abundant  sacrifices.  More 
grape-wine^"  is  consumed  at  this  festival  than  in  all  the  rest 
of  the  year  besides.  Tlie  number  of  those  who  attend,  count- 
ing only  the  men  and  women,  and  omitting  the  children, 
amounts  accordin<j:  to  the  native  reports  to  700,000." 

§  8.  The  great^ mounds  of  Td-Basta  (the  hill  of  Pasht) 
confirm  the  "description  of  Herodotus:  "The  height  of  the 
mound,  the  site  of  the  temple  in  a  low  space  beneath  the 
houses,  from  which  you  look  down  upon  it,  are  the  very  pe- 
culiarities any  one  would  remark  on  visiting  the  remains  at 
Tel-Basta.  The  street  which  Herodotus  mentions  as  lead- 
ing to  the  temple  of  Mercury  is  quite  apparent,  and  his 
length  of  three  stadia  falls  short  of  its  real  length,  which  is 
2250  feeto  On  the  way  is  the  square  he  speaks  of;  900  feet 
from  the  temple  of  Pasht,  and  apparently  200  feet  broad, 
though  now  much  reduced  in  size  by  the  (alien  materials  uf 

'9  Ht>roc1.  ii.  5'.),  CO. 

-^*  In  contiadistiiiction  to  harU'y-imie,  which  was  Jargcly  made  ii.'  Egypt. 


SIIESHONK  I.  143 

the  houses  that  surrounded  it.  Some  fallen  blocks  mark  the 
position  of  the  temple  of  Mercury  ;  but  the  remains  of  that 
of  Pasht  are  rather  more  extensive,  and  show  that  it  meas- 
ured about  500  feet  in  length.  We  may  readily  credit  the 
assertion  of  Herodotus  respecting  its  beauty,  since  the  whole 
was  of  the  iinest  red  granite,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  sa- 
cred inclosure  about  600  feet  square  (agreeing  with  the  sta- 
dium of  Herodotus),  beyond  which  was  a  larger  circuit, 
measuring  940  feet  by  1200,  containing  the  minor  one  and 
the  canal  he  mentions,  and  once  planted,  like  the  other,  with 
a  grove  of  trees.  In  this  perliaps  Avas  the  usual  lake  belong- 
ing to  the  temple.  Among  the  sculptures  are  the  names  of 
a  goddess  (who  may  be  either  Pasht  or  Buto),  and  of  Re- 
meses  H.,  of  Osorkon  I.,  and  of  Amyrtaus  (?)  ;  and  as  the 
two  first  kings  reigned  long  before  the  visit  of  Hei-odotus, 
we  know  that  the  temple  was  the  one  he  ^aw.  The  columns 
of  the  vestibule  had  capitals  representing  the  buds  of  water- 
plants,  but  near  the  old  branch  of  the  river  (the  modern  ca- 
nal of  3Iotz)  h  another  column  with  apalm-tree  capital,  said 
to  have  been  taken  from  this  temple,  which  has  the  names 
of  Remeses  H.  and  Osorkon  I.  Amidst  the  houses  on  the 
north-west  side  are  the  thick  walls  of  a  fort,  which  protect- 
ed the  temple  below  ;  and  to  tiie  east  of  the  town  is  a  large 
open  space,  inclosed  by  a  wall  now  converted  into  mounds."*^ 
The  two  royal  names  found  upon  these  remains  aftbixl  an- 
other proof  of  the  care  of  Rameses  II.  for  the  cities  of  Lower 
Egypt,  and  also  connect  the  temple  of  Bubastis  with  the 
Twenty-second  Dynasty. 

§  9.  We  now  meet  with  one  of  the  most  important  syn- 
chronisms between  sacred  and  secular  history.  Siiesiioxk  I., 
the  first  Pharaoh  who  is  rnentioned  in  Scripture  by  hisj^ersonal 
name^  is  also  the  first  on  ir/iose  momnnents  tee  read  the  name 
of  the  Jeicish  kingdom.  A  new  military  dynasty  of  Asiatic 
origin  would  naturally  revive  the  claim  of  Egypt  to  suzerain- 
ty over  Palestine  ;  and  opportunities  were  offered  by  the  de- 
clining ])ower  of  Solomon  and  the  Aveakness  of  his  headstrong 
son.  First,  we  find  Pharaoh  permitting  the  return  of  the 
Edomite  prince,  Hadad,  to  reclaim  his  birthright."  Next, 
Jeroboam,  flying  for  his  life  from  Solomon,  is  received  by 
the  king  of  Egypt,  whose  name  Siiisiiak  («•'.  e.  Sheshonk)  is 
now  expressly  mentioned  ;"  and  he  starts  from  Egypt  at  the 
invitation  of  the  ten  tribes."  That  he  returned  as  a  vassal 
of  Egypt,  is  a  fact  implied  in  his  being  allowed  to  depart, 

=1  Sir  G.  Wilkinson's  Note  to  Herod,  ii.  l."S,  Rawlinsou. 

22  1  Kinss  xi.  14-22.  23  \  Kini^s  xi.  40. 

2*1  Kings  x4i.  2,  3:  2  Chron.  x.  2,  3.  Hence  it  appears  that  Jeroboam's  rebellion 
iuvolved  the  guilt  so  constantly  denounced  by  the  prophets  as  "  looking  back  to 


144  NEW  KINGDOMS  IN  THE  DELTA. 

and  confirmed  by  his  setting  up  the  worship  of  the  Egyptian 
gods  at  the  two  ends  of  his  kingdom."  This  by  no  means 
iuvolved  hostilities  between  Egypt  and  Judah,  except,  per- 
haps, in  the  case  of  the  latter  attacking  Israel — an  attempt 
contemplated  by  the  headstrong  Rehoboam,  but  forbidden 
by  a  prophet.^® 

'it  was  not  till  Rehoboam  proved  his  resolution  to  reject 
the  friendship  as  well  as  the  suzerainty  of  Egypt  by  fortify- 
ing and  garrisoning  tlie  cities  of  southern  Judah,  and  even 
ofthe  maritime  plain,^'  that  Shishak  marched  against  him,  in 
the  lifth  year  of  his  reign,''  with  1200  war-chariots,  60,000 
cavalry,  and  an  immense  body  of  infiintry,  composed  of  Liby- 
ans {Luhim)^  Sukkiim^  and  Ethiopians.'^"  After  reducing 
the  new  ly  fortified  places,  Shishak  advanced  to  Jerusalem, 
where,  under  the  direction  of  the  prophet,  Rehoboam  and 
the  princes  of  Judali  made  unreserved  submissipbn  ;^''  and 
Shishak,  entering  the  city,  carried  off  the  treasures  of  the 
temple,  and  the  golden  shields  dedicated  by  Solomon.  It 
is  quite  in  accordance  wdtli  the  policy  of  Egypt  towards 
her  vassals  that  Rehoboam,  having  made  this  submission, 
"strengthened  himself  in  Jerusalem,  and  reigned,"  "while 
"in  Judah  things  went  well;"  and  that  Pharaoh  abstained 
from  interference  during  his  unceasing  war  with  Jeroboam.^' 
Such  is  the  history  in  the  Jewish  records :  now^  let  us  turn  to 
the  Egyptian. 

In  a  great  bas-relief  on  the  outer  wall  of  the  hypostyle  liall 
of  Karnak,  a  Pharaoh,  with  his  name  appended — Amunmai 
(or  llkunwm)  ^heshonk'''' — depicted,  as  usual,  of  gigantic  size, 
stands  before  the  god  Amun-re,  who  with  one  hand  holds  out 
to  him  a  scimiter,  and  with  the  other  leads  up,  by  cords 
passed  round  their  necks,  five  rows  of  bound  figures,  em- 
blematic of  conquered  cities :  for  each  figure  is  covered  (ex- 
cept the  head)  by  an  embattled  shield,  inscribed  with  its  name. 
There  are  thirteen   shields  hi  each  row,  making  65;  and  on 

the  same  wall  a  goddess  holds,  in  like  manner,  four  €ords, 

Egypt,"  "going  down  for  aid  to  Egypt,"  and  so  forth ;  and  thus  the  schismatic  king- 
dom  of  Israel  was  tainted  from  its  origin  with  vassalage  to  Egypt. 

25  1  Kings  xii.  2S,  29 ;  2  Chron.  xi.  15.  ^6  |  Kings  xii.  21-24 ;  2  Chrou.  xi.  \-A. 

27  2  Chron.  xi  5-12.        ^s  j  Kings  xiv.  25,  2G;  u.c.  ofl  of  the  received  <^hronology. 

2»  2  Chron.  xii.  2  8eq.  The  Sukkihn  seem  to  have  been  the  Troglodytie  {cave- 
chopllers)  on  the  W.  shore  of  the  Red  Sea,  where  there  was  a  town  called  Sitche,  prob- 
ably the  modern  Si'.akin  (Plin.  '♦  H.  N."  vi.  34).  They  were  skillful  slingers,  and  very 
useful  as  light  troops  (Heliod.  "^th."  viii.  10).  Kenrick,  "  Aucieut  Egypt,"  vol.  ii. 
p.  34S,  Hote. 

3«  The  words  in  2  Chron.  xii.  S  clearly  imply  a  state  oT  vassalage— "  Nevertheless 
then  shall  be  his  servfmts;  that  they  may  knoAV  (tlie  difference  between)  my  service 
and  the  service  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  countries.'" 

3>  1  Kings  xiv.  30 ;  xv.  G. 

32  Here  we  see  Sheshouk  using  tfee  surname  of  liauioses  II.,  "  beloved  of  Ammou," 
but  only  as  <a  praeuomeu. 


OSORCHON  I,  145 

with  1 7  shields  attached  to  eacli ;  in  all  1 1 3  shields.  The  first 
of  the  rows  is  distinguished  by  the  lotus,  the  symbol  of  the 
south  ;  the  second  by  the  j^apl/rf^s,  the  symbol  of  the  north. 
Several  of  the  shields  refer  to  Ethiopia  and  Libya,  countries 
of  which  Shishak  was  mastoi-,  since  their  people  marched  with 
him  against  Rehoboam.  Among  the  rest  are  a  large  num- 
ber of  cities  of  Judah,  well-known  from  Scripture ;  confirm- 
ing the  statement  that  Shishak  "took  the  fenced  cities  which 
pertained  to  Judah.'"^  The  most  important  figure  bears  the 
inscription  "Jeiiouada-Malek,"  with  the  usuaf  character  for 
land.  The  identification  is  equally  clear,  whether  we  read 
the  phrase,  with  some,  '^  the  Land  of  tlie  King  of  Judah,^^  o\\ 
with  others,  ^^  Judah  the  royal  [city)  of  the  landP 

There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  Sheshonk's  expedition 
extended  beyond  Judah.  The  Assyrian  kingdom  was  now 
fully  established;  and  the  smaller  but  powerful  Syrian  king- 
dom had  lately  been  established  by  Kezon  at  Damascus^^ 
In  spite  of  the  parade  he  has  made  of  his  conquests  "in  the 
long  list  of  places,  amounting  to  more  than  thirty  times  the 
number  of  those  previously  recorded  by  the  great  Egyp- 
tian conquerors,  they  have  not,"  as  Wilkinson  observes,  "  the 
same  importance,  from  the  mention  of  large  distiicts,  as  the 
oldest  lists;  and  none  of  these  conquests,  on  which  the  older 
Pharaohs  justly  prided  themselves,  arc  here  mentioned.  AYe 
look  in  vain  for  Carcheniish,  Naharayn,  or  the  llot-n-noP^^ 
Manetho  assigns  21  years  to  Sesonchis;  and  a  stele  of  his 
21st  year  records  his  excavations  in  the  quarries  at  Silsilis  for 
buildings  at  Thebes.  Bunsen  suggests  ];is  identification  with 
the  Asychis  {Sasychis  m  Dlodorus),  whom  Herodotus  cele- 
brates as  a  wise  legislator,  as  well  as  conqueror — the  author 
of  the  lav/  by  which  a  debto;*  could  pledge  his  father's  body 
and  his  family  sepulchre,  as  a  secui-ity  certain  to  be  re- 
deemed. 

The  obscure  reign  of  Osorchox  I.  {SargQn  in  Assyrian), 
eon  of  Sheshonk  I.,  whose  11th  year  is  found  on  the*^monu- 
ments,^^  involves  one  point  of  much  interest.  From  the  Sec- 
ond Book  of  Chronicles  we  find  that,  for  the  s|)ace  of  a  gen- 
eration after  the  conquest  by  Shishak,  tlie  kingdom  of  Judah 
waxed  stronger  and  stronger,  and  inflicted  severe  defeats  on 
Israel,  under  Rehoboam,  Abijah,  and  especially  under  Asa, 
who  restored  the  fortresses  of  Judah,  and  maintained  an 
army  (according  to  the  received  text)  of  580,000  men — all 
Avithout  any  interference  from  Egypt.     But  now  "  there  came 

33  2  Chroii.  xii.  4.  -  34  i  Kings  xi.  23-25. 

"5  Append,  to  Heiofl.,  Book  IT.,  iu  Eawlinson,  vol.  ii.  p.  ?~~. 

36  Manetho  j^ises  liini  tifieen  years.    The  name,  Osorthon,  is  repeated  in  the  Twenty- 
third  dynasty  in  the  more  correct  form,  ORnrchon. 


14G  NEW  KINGDOMS  IN  THE  DELTA. 

out  against  them  Zerah  {Zerach)  the  Cushite  (or  Ethiopian)^ 
with  a  host  of  a  million,  and  300  chariots;"  and  over  him 
Asa  gained  a  most  complete  victory  in  the  valley  of  Zapathah 
at  31areshah,  near  the  later  Eleutheropolis."  This  was  in,  ov 
immediately  before,  the  15th  year  of  Asa  (b.c.  941,  received 
chronology),'*  exactly  30  years  after  the  invasion  of  Shishak, 
and  consequently,  by  an  easy  calculation  from  the  years  as- 
signed to  Shishak  and  Osorchon,  about  the  end  of  the  reign 
of  the  latter. 

Considering  the  absence  of  any  sign  of  an  invasion  of 
Egypt  from  Ethiopia  at  this  time,  and  the  fact  that  Zerah's 
anny  was  composed,  like  that  of  Shishak,  of  "  Ethiopians  and 
Lubim,""*  whence  he  himself  also  might  be  called  an  Ethio- 
pian, especially  at  the  late  period  when  the  Chronicles  were 
written — on  these  grounds,  and  a  sufficient  likeness  in  the 
names,  Ewald  and  l,ome  Egy])tologers  identify  Zerach  with 
Osorchon  I.  Others  believe  that  there  was  at  this  time  a 
real  invasion  of  Egypt  by  Azerch-Amoi^  ruler  of  the  Ethio- 
pian kingdom  of  Xapata,  whose  overthrow  by  Asa  involved 
also  the  loss  of  Egypt  and  his  retreat  into  his  own  country."" 
The  question  requires  further  light.  Thus  much,  however, 
seems  clear,  that  while  the  Tanite  and  Bubastite  dynasties 
established  their  power  over  Egypt,  the  priests  of  the  line  of 
Her-Hor  retired  to  Ethiopia,  and  founded  the  purely  sacer- 
dotal kingdom  of  Xapata,  with  an  oracle  of  Amnion  in  rival- 
ry with  that  of  Thebes.  While,  however,  they  claimed  to 
have  transferred  the  legitimate  rights  of  the  priesthood  to 
their  new  capital,  we  find  its  functions  exercised  by  members 
of  the  royal  house  of  Bubastis,  named  Sheshonk  and  Osor- 
chon, and  bearing  the  old  title  of  "captain  of  the  archers" 
besides  that  of  "priest." 

§  10.  The  sacerdotal  monarchy  of  Xapata  would,  of  course, 
watch  every  opportunity  for  recovering  Egypt ;  and  recent 
discoveries 'have  shown  that  they  had  a  party  in  Thebes. 
The  later  years  of  the  22d  dynasty,  and  the  time  of  the 
Tirenty-tJiird  {Tanite)  Dynasty,  which  succeeded  it,  appear  to 
have  been  a  time  of  constant  trouble  and  internal  division. 

3"  2  Chrnn.  xiv.  9-13.     The  mnnbers  of  the  received  text  aie  not  to  be  trusted. 

38  2  Chron.  xv.  10,  tixes  the  date,  as  the  couvocatiou  was  the  immediate  result  of 
the  vi story  over  Zerah. 

39  2  Chrou.  xvi.  8.  On  the  other  hand,  these  nations  would  of  course  appear  in  the 
army  of  au  Ethiopian  kiu^  who  had  conquered  Egypt.  The  important  place  occu- 
pied by  the  Libyans  in  ihe  militia  of  Egypt  is  in  itself  an  interesting  fact,  and  dis- 
poses of  the  theory  that  Zerah  was  an  eastern  Cushite,  and  any  other  than  an  invader 
from  Egyjit,  as  is  shown  also  by  his  retreat  by  way  of  Gerar.  In  ftict,  there  was  at 
this  time  no  great  eastern  Cushite  monarchy, 

*"  "The  Ethiopians  were  overthrown,  that  they  covld  not  recover  thcviselves ;"  2 
Chron.  xiv.  13. 


TWENTY-FOUKTfl  DYNASTY.  147 

"The  princes  of  Zoan  (Tanis)  have  become  fools,  the  princes 
of  No2)h  (Memphis)  are  deceived,"  says  Isaiah,  in  his  proph- 
ecy of  the  destruction  coming  upon  Egypt — thereby  testify- 
ing to  the  existence  of  rival  dynasties ;  and  three  Memphite 
kings  of  this  age  have  been  discovered  from  the  inscriptions 
of  the  Serapeum.  It  ^nust  be  remembered  that  Manetho 
only  registers  the  kings  and  dynasties  which  were  ultimate- 
ly admitted  as  legitimate  in  the  ai'chives  of  the  priests.  But 
we  have  now  the  Ethiopian  version  of  this  period,  on  a  stela 
discovered  at  Xapata  by  M.  Mariette.  It  appears  that  Low- 
er and  Middle  Egypt  were  divided  among  no  less  than  thir- 
teen petty  states  when  the  Ethiopian  king  Planlh  marched 
from  Napata,  and,  having  been  welcomed  at  Thebes  as  a 
deliverer,  took  Memphis  by  force  and  gained  several  battles 
against  the  princes  of  the  Delta.  Among  these  princes,  sev- 
eral of  whom  were  military  adventurers  of  the  Libyan  race, 
live  only  are  called  kings.  The  most  powerful  were  OsorcJion 
(or  Sargon)  and  I\faa-(MS'  (or  Fet-sc-Pasht),*'  both  of  whom 
are  placed  by  Manetho  in  the  23d  Tai.ite  Dynasty,  and  7}//- 
nekht,  of  Sals,  the  Tnephachthus  of  Diodorus  Siculus.  Tiie 
curse  said  to  have  been  pronounced  by  this  Tnephachthus 
upon  Menes,  observes  Wilkinson,  "  is  consistent  with  the  fact 
of  his  seeing  the  decline  of  Egyptian  power,  and  with  tlie  com- 
mon habit  of  attributing  to  some  irrelevant  cause  (such  as 
the  innovations  of  an  early  king)  the  gradual  fall  of  a  nation; 
and  is  only  worth  noticing  as  illustrating  the  declining  con- 
dition of  Egypt  during  the  age  of  Tnephachthus  and  his  son."^'' 
§  11.  Under  that  son,  Eokexkaxf,  the  Bocchoris  of  Man- 
etho and  the  Greeks,^'  who  stands  ;ilone  as  forming  the 
Tvienty -fourth  Dynasty,  \\\e  ca})ital  wa^;.  transferred  to  Sais 
{^Sd-el-IIagar),  which  afterwards  became  the  seat  of  a  race 
of  kings  who  raised  Egypt  to  revived  splendor  before  the 
final  extinction  of  the  monarchy.  The  Greeks  had  many 
traditions  about  Bocchoris,  as  of  all  the  kings  of  Sa'is,  the 
city  which  they  frequented  more  than  any  other  in  Egypt. 
These  traditions  are  consistent  only  in  representing  him  as 
an  able  administrator  and  judge.  Though  eminent  for  the 
wisdom  of  Ids  decisions,  and  especially  for  his  laws  regula- 
ting commercial  contracts  and  the  royal  j)rerogatives  and 
duties,  he  is  charged  with  meanness  and  severity,  and  even 
with  wanton  cruelty  and  sacrilege — a  composite  portrait 
which  may  i-eflect  the  prejudices  excited  by  his  reforms.     He 

*'  This  iianie  contains  that  of  the  goddess  Pcifiht.  Oppert  explains  it  as  "  the  man 
of  Pasht."  But  the  king  was  of  a  different  race  from  the  Osorchons  and  ShcshDiika 
of  the  Bubastite  and  Tanite  lines. 

■»2  Append,  io  Herod.,  Book  ii.  in  Kawlinson,  vol.  ii.  p.  379 

"  Died.  i.  45.     For  a  description  of  Sais.  see  chap.  viii. 


1 48  THE  ETHIOPIAN  DYNASTY. 

reigned  for  six  years,  according  to  the  Greek  copyists  of  Man- 
etho  ;  but  tlje  Armenian  version  of  Eusebius  assigns  him 
44.''*  No  details  of  his  reign  are  found  on  the  monuments; 
and  it  is  doubtful  whether,  as  some  say,  he  expelled  the  Ethio- 
pians foi-  a  time,  or  whether  lie  reigned  as  their  vassal.  If 
the  latter,  we  may  account  for  the  statement  that  he  was 
burnt  alive  by  Sabaco,  as  the  punishnient  of  an  attempt  at 
rebellion.  At  all  events,  he  was  overthrown  by  that  con- 
queror. Sals  continued,  however,  the  seat  of  a  native  line  of 
princes — one  of  many  which  reigned  over  the  cities  of  the  Del- 
ta, a  country  easy  of  defense — during  the  rule  of  the  Ethio- 
pians, on  whose  retirement  they  regained  power  as  the  twen- 
ty-sixth dynasty.  There  seems  reason  to  believe,  from  the 
annals  of  the  As^syrian  kings,  that  the  Saite  princes  were  dis- 
tinguished from  the  rest  by  being  the  line  especially  recog- 
nized by  Assyria. 

§  12.  Meanwhile  the  Ethiopians,  who  had  figured  for  so 
many  ages  on  the  monuments  of  the  gi-eat  Egyptian  dynas- 
ties 'as  "the  vile  race  of  Cush,"  came  in  their  turn  to  rule 
Egypt,  as  the  Ticenty-ffth  Dynastij.  It  is  time  to  speak 
more  precisely  of  these  Ethiopians  and  their  country.  The 
Greek  word  Ethiopian  {Aldio\\/^  hurnt-faced)^  like  the  Semitic 
Ciish^  is  a  generic  term  for  the  dark  races."  In  this  wide 
sense  it  included  not  only  the  people  of  Central  Africa,  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Red  and  Arabian  Seas,  but  also  the  black 
«ind  swarthy  races  of  Asia."  In  a  narrower  sense,  like  the 
Gush  of  the  Egyptian  monuments,  there  was  an  "  P^thiopia 
*\bove  Egypt,  which  may  be  described  generally  as  the  coun- 
try watered  by  the  Nile  and  its  tributaries  above  the  Fii-st 
Cataract,  so  far  as  it  was  known,  and  answering  pretty  near- 
ly to  the  modern  N'ahia  and  Seimaar,  with  the  neighboring 
regions  of  Northern  Abyssinia  and  Kordofan.  As  a  geo- 
graphical term,  it  may  have  included  so  much  as  was  known 
of  Negro-land  ;  and  we  have  seen  that  there  were  probably 
mutual  displacements  of  the  negro  and  the  Cushite  races; 
but  the  two  must  not  be  confounded.  The  Ethiopians  or 
Cushites  of  Egyptian  history — the  probable  ancestors  of  the 
Bisharies  and  Shanyallis — vrere  a  straight-haired  race,  hav- 
ing the  Egyptian  physiognomy,  but  with  those  features  that 
border  on  \he  negro  type  somewhat  more  pronounced,  and 

■»*  The  Gth  year  of  Bocchoris  is  said  to  be  fixed  by  an  Apis-stela  to  n.c.  715 ;  a  very 
'jrobable  date  for  the  time  of  his  being  pnt  to  death  by  Sabaco. 

<»  The  name  of  Ethiojrla  has  also  been  traced  to  the  Egyptian  name  of  the 
country  Ethavsh  or  FAhonh.  If  this  is  the  true  derivation,  we  have  another  exan>ple 
of  the  practice,  so  common  with  ihc  Orceins,  of  assimilating  a  foreign  name  to  a  sig- 
nificant form  in  their  own  language.  The  Arabs  have  followed  the  same  practice; 
and  so  have  all  nations,  more  or  less. 

4-*  Herod,  iii.  04  ;  vii.  TO. 


ACCOUNT  0¥  ETHIOPIA.  149 

darker,  but  not  jet-black.  The  Nubian  eye,  more  elo-.igated 
than  the  Egyptian,  is  still  seen  in  the  Shangallas. 

But  still  more  definite  limits  may  be  assigned  to  '*  Ethio- 
pia above  Egypt "  in  the  political  sense,  in  Avhich  it  coin- 
cides with  the  kingdoms  of  Xapata  and  of  Meroe,  and  very 
nearly  with  JShtbia  and  Sennaar.  The  southern  boundary, 
indeed,  can  not  be  precisely  fixed;  but  it  seems  not  to  have 
been  higher  than  the  junction  of  the  Blue  and  White  Itivers 
at  the  viUage  oi Kharmni.  The  Astaboras  (Atbarali  or  la- 
cazze)  formed  tlie  eastern  boundary  both  of  the  kingdom  and 
of  the  ishind  of  Meroe:  below  its  junction  witli  the  Nile,  the 
deserts  bordering  the  river  assigned  natural  limits  on  both 
sides.  The  northern  region,  for  about  a  degree  and  a  quar- 
ter of  latitude  above  the  Eirst  Cataract,  hence  called  the 
Dodecasdxxnm  (80  miles'  space)  or  ^Ethiopia  ^Ugyptl^w-a^ 
a  debatable  land,  reckoned  sometimes  to  Egypt,  though  prop- 
erly in  Ethioi)ia. 

A  natui'al  division  of  the  whole  country  is  formed  by  the 
great  desert  and  the  range  of  hills  v>'hich  cross  the  valley 
of  the  Nile  between  the  Fourth  Cataract  and  the  confluence 
of  the  Astaboi-as;  and  there  is  an  equally  marked  division, 
in  its  political  history,  between  the  old  Ethiopian  kingdom 
of  Napata  and  the  later  kingdom  of  Meroe.  Of  the  latter 
we  know  little  till  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies  and  the  Ro- 
man empire,  though  it  is  mentioned  by  Herodotus  as  the 
capital  of  Upper  Ethiopia."^  Napata,'^  the  capital  of  the 
oldei-  kingdom,  is  a  place  whose  position  has  been  much  dis- 
puted, and  some  have  even  supposed  the  name  to  denote 
simply  tiie  royal  c?'?"?/,  which  might  have  occupied  difterent 
positions  at  difl^erent  times.     But  it  is  now  generally  identi- 

4"  Herod.'ii.  29.  There  are  very  different  opinions  about  the  origin  of  Meroe.  The 
story  mentioned  by  Diodorns  and  Strabo,  ihat  it  was  built  by  Cambyscs,  is  simply 
absurd.  Some  modern  writers  trace  its  origin  to  the  Deserters  from  Psammetichus 
{see  the  next  chapter) ;  but  others  hold  it  to  have  been  the  seat  of  an  independent 
kingdom  as  early  as  Napata,  arguing  its  antiquity  from  the  appearance  of  its  pyra- 
mids at  Dankalah.  Though  M.  Oppert  cftn  hardly  be  wrong  in  regarding  the  Miluh- 
ha  or  Milulihi  of  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  (which  some  read  Mirukli)  as  the  ftinnolof/- 
ical  eqnivalent  of  Meroe,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  name  denotes  specifically  the  id- 
and  of  Meroe,  or  a  tinmlom  with  its  ficat  there.  On  the  contrary,  its  most  definite  use  is 
for  tlie  kingdom  of  Tirhakah;  and  his  mcmumental  records  are  found,  not  at  Meroe, 
but  at  Napata.  Esar-haddon,  in  styling  himself  "  King  of  Egj-pt  and  Ethiopia,"  uses 
both  Milnhhi  aiu\  Kkki  (Cnsh)  for  the  latter  name,  and  that  in  the  same  set  of  in- 
scriptions. Sometimes,  indeed,  there  seems  to  be  a  distinction,  as  if  Miluhhi  were 
the  more  general  term  for  the  whole  valley  of  the  Nile.  In  any  case,  it  seems  in 
vain  at  this  early  period  to  seek  for  any  more  specific  sense  oi  Mihihhi  than  as  a  gen- 
eral name  for  Elhio2na.  It  seems  not  unlikely  that,  in  what  Herodotus  says  of  Meroe, 
he  may  sometimes  mean  Napata,  Avhich  he  does  not  name. 

4«  Sir  G.  Wilkinscm  says  that  the  name  "h-ape-t"  seems  to  signify  "of  Ape-t  or 
Tape,"  i.  e.,  Thebes,  as  if  it  were  derived  from  Thebes,  and  that  it  was  not  unusual  to 
give  the  names  of  Egyptian  cities  to  those  of  Ethiopia,  as  was  often  done  iu  Nubia. 
Note  to  Herod,  ii.  2!»,  Rawlinson. 


150  THE  ETHIOPIAN  DYNASTY. 

fied  witli  tlie  extensive  rnins  o,t  Jcbel-Bei-kd^  a  little  below 
the  Fourth  Cataract,  the  highest  point  on  the  Nile  at  which 
we  find  any  considerable  monuments  of  the  Pharaohs."  It 
was  also  the  farthest  point  reached  by  the  Roman  expedi- 
tion which  was  sent  under  Peti-onius,  in  the  time  of  Augustus, 
against  Candace,  queen  of  the  Ethiopians  (b.c.  22).'°  Can- 
dace  was  the  title  of  a  race  of  queens  who  reigned  at  Napata, 
which  was  probably  at  this  time  a  dependency  of  Meroe. 

Xajoata  owed  much  of  its  wealth  and  inipoi'tance  to  its  be 
ing  the  terminus  of  two  considerable  caravan  routes,  one 
crossing  the  desert  of  Bahiouda  S.E.  to  Meroe,  the  other 
running  in  the  opposite  direction  to  the  island  of  Gagaudes 
(^4>Y/o),in  the  Nile.  Its  commerce  consisted  in  an  interchange 
of  the  products  of  Libya  and  Arabia,  and  it  was  near  enough 
to  the  marshes  of  the  Nile  to  enjoy  a  share  of  the  profitable 
trade  in  the  hides  and  ivory  which  were  obtained  from  the 
chase  of  the  hippopotamus  and  elephant.  The  ruins  at  Jehel- 
Berkel  denote  a  city  well  deserving  the  epithet  o^  golden., 
which  was  given  to  Napata  as  well  as  to  ]\[eroe.  On  the 
western  bank  of  the  Nile  are  found  two  temples  and  a  con- 
sidernble  necropolis.  The  former  were  dedicated  to  Osiris 
and  Amun,^^  and  the  sculptures  representing  the  worship  of 
those  deities  are  inferior  to  none  of  the  Nubian  monuments 
in  design  and  execution.  Avenues  of  sphinxes  lead  up  to 
the  Ammonium,  which  exhibits  the  plan  of  the  great  temples 
of  Es^ypt.  On  the  walls  of  the  Osirian  temple  are  represent- 
ed Amun-re  and  his  usual  attendants.  The  intaglios  exhibit 
Amun  or  Osiris  receiving  gifts  of  fruit,  cattle,  and  other  ar- 
ticles, or  offering  sacrifice  :  strings  of  captives  taken  in  war 
are  kneeling  before  their  conqueror.  On  the  gateway  lead- 
ing to  the  court  of  the  necropolis  Osiris  was  carved,  in  the 
act  of  receiving  gifts  as  lord  of  the  lower  world.  The  pyra- 
mids are  of  considerable  magnitude,  but,  having  been  built 
of  tiie  sandstone  of  Mount  Berkel,  they  have  suffered  greatly 
from  the  periodical  rains,  and  have  been  still  more  injured 

49  The  two  lions  of  red  granite  now  in  the  British  Museum,  hearing  the  names  of 
Amen-hotep  III.  and  Amuntuonkh,  which  some  have  supposed  to  mark  the  farthest 
limit  of  the  dominions  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty,  were  originally  at  Sohh,  as  the  in- 
scription on  them  shows,  and  were  removed  by  Tirhakah  to  adorn  his  Ethiopian 
capital.     Sir  G.  Wilkinson,  in  Rawlinson's  "  Herodotus,"  vol.  ii.  p.  362. 

50  Strabo,  xvii.  p.  S-20  :  Plin.  "  H.  N."  vi.  135. 

51  Herodotus  (ii.  29)  says  that  great  honors  were  paid  at  Meroe,  the  capital  of  the 
Ethiopians,  to  Jove  and  Dionysus,  i.  e.,  Amvn  and  CMria.  By  the  former  he  means 
the  ram-headed  god  {you,  Xoub,  Xoum,  or  Knpph),  who  was  ihe  chief  deity  of  Ethio- 
pia ;  but  the  Theban  Amun  was  also  worshipped  in  Ethiopia,  as  well  as  most  of  the 
Egyptian  gods.  There  were  also  gods  peculiar  to  Ethiopia,  and  of  uncommon  forms. 
"  At  Wadi;  Oivafayb  is  one  with  three  lions'  heads  and  four  arms,  more  like  an  Indian 
than  an  Egyptian  god,  thouL^h  he  wears  a  head-dress  common  to  gods  and  kings,  es- 
pecially in  Ptolemaic  and  Tloman  times."— Wilkinson's  Note  to  Herod,  ii.  29,  Rawliu* 


POLITICAL  STATE  OF  ETHIOPIA.  151 

bv  niaii/^  "There  are  some  curiously-fortified  lines  on  the 
hills  about  five  or  six  miles  below  Jehel-Berkel.,  commanding 
the  approaches  to  that  place  by  the  river  and  on  the  shore, 
apparently  of  Ethiopian  origin.'"^ 

§  13.  Of  the  political  state  of  Ethiopia,  before  its  conquest 
by  the  kings  of  the  Xllth  and  XYIIIth  and  following  dynas- 
ties we  know  next  to  nothing.  AYe  have  seen  that  it  became 
a  vice-royalty  under  a  prince  of  the  reigning  family,  "  the  roy- 
al son  of  Cush,"  and  occasionally  the  refuge  of  the  Pharaohs 
from  invasion  and  revolution.  At  length,  when  the  capital 
of  E^rypt  was  finally  fixed  in  the  Delta,  under  the  XXlst 
dynasty,  the  expelled  family  of  the  priest-king,  Her-Hor,  set 
up  a  sacerdotal  kingdom  at  Xapata,  the  institutions  of 
which  were  doubtless  perpetuated  in  those  of  Meroe,  as  de- 
scribed by  the  Greek  and  Roman  vv'riters.  The  latter  re- 
sembled those  of  Egypt,  except  that  the  priest  had  supreme 
power  over  the  king,  "  In  Ethiopia,"  says  Diodorus,  "  the 
priests  send  a  sentence  of  death  to  the  king,  when  they  think 
he  has  lived  long  enough.  The  order  to  die  is  a  mandate  of 
the  gods.'"*  The  Ethiopians  of  the  8th  century,  therefore, 
were  kindred  to  the  Egyptians  in  race,  religion,  and  institu- 
tions ;  nor  were  they  inferior  in  civilization  ;  and  they  used 
the  same  system  of  hieroglyphics.^^  "Both  the  histoi-ical 
and  prophetic  books  of  the  Jews  attbrd  evidence  of  their  mil- 
itary power.  They  bear  a  part  in  the  invasion  of  Palestine  ; 
they  are  joined  by  Isaiah  with  the  Egyptians  when  he  en- 
deavors to  dissuade  his  countrymen  from  relying  on  their 
aid  to  resist  Assyria.  In  the  87th  Psalm  Ethiopia  is  men- 
tioned, along  with  Egypt,  Babylon,  Tyre,  and  Philistia,  as 
one  of  the  most  illustrious  nations.  Throughout  the  pro- 
phetic writings  the  Ethiopians  are  very  generally  conjoined 
witli  Egypt,  so  as  to  show  that  the  union  between  them,  pro- 
duced sometimes  by  the  ascendency  of  one  country,  some- 
times of  the  other,  was  so  close  that  their  foreign  policy  vs^as 
usually  the  same.^"  We  are  not,  therefore,  to  consider  the 
subjugation  of  Egypt  by  the  Ethiopians  as  if  they  had  fallen 

under  the  dominion  of  a  horde  of  Arabs  or  Scythians 

The  dynasty  was  changed,  but  the  order  of  government  ap- 
pears to  have  suflfered  little  change.  Xo  difference  of  relig- 
ion or  manners  imbittered  the  animosity  of  the  two  nations; 

-2  Hoskius,  "Travels  iu  Ethiopia,"  pp.  1G1,  2SS;  Calliaucl,  "L'Isle  de  MeroiJ." 

S3  Wilkinson's  Note  to  Herod,  ii.  29,  Rawliusoii. 

5*  Diod.  iii.  6.  In  the  time  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphiis  the  influence  of  Gresk  cul' 
tare  lad  the  King  Ergamenes  to  throw  oiT  the  yoke  of  the  priests  and  put  them  to 
death. 

S5  Bein^  applied,  however,  to  a  different  and  less  known  langaage,  this  system  has 
been  found  more  difhcult  to  decipher. 

"'^  li^a.  XXX.  5  :  Nahum  iii.  9  -,  Ezek.  xxx.  4. 


152  THE  ETHIOPIAN  DYNASTY. 

they  had  been  connected  hy  royal  intermarriages and 

to  the  inhabitants  of  Upper  Egypt  the  Ethiopians  would 
seem  hardly  so  foreign  as  the  people  of  Sais.""  In  fact,  we 
now  know  that  their  power  Avas  thoroughly  established  in 
the  Thebiad  before,  and  dui-ing  the  greater  part  of,  the  time 
when  they  were  struggling  for  ascendency  in  the  Delta. 
Politically,  Egypt  seems  now  to  be  divided  between  the  aS'6- 
jmtized  states  of  the  Delta,  leaning  more  or  less  npon  As- 
syria, and  Upper  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  as  the  stronghold  of 
the  old  and  genuine  Egyptians. 

§  14.  The  "Ethiopian  conqueror  of  Egypt  is  called  Sabacos 
by  Herodotus,  who  says  that,  after  a  rule  of  fifty  years,  he 
quitted  Egypt  of  his  own  free-will,  moved  by  religious  scru- 
ples.^^  But  the  historian,  by  including  two  kings  of  the 
same  name  in  one,  and  omitting  a  third,  has  confounded  the 
duration  of  the  Tu'enty -fifth  Dynast  1/  with  the  reign  of  its 
founder,  Manetho's  three  Ethiopian  kings,  Sabaco,  ^Sebichoi 
or  /Sevechos,  his  son,  and  IhrJcus  or  Tarakus^  correspond  to 
the  MabaJca  or  Shebek  Z,  SJiabatoka  or  Shebek  II.,  and  Tar- 
haka,  of  the  monuments.'^  Under  them  Egypt  again  comes 
into  contact  with  Juda?a  and  Assyria,  and  we  have  reached 
the  decisive  period  "  when  Egypt  with  Assyria  strove  "  for 
the  mastery  of  Western  Asia.  The  wai-like  Ethiopian,  after 
conquering  Egypt,  carried  liis  arms  into  Asia,  on  the  oppor- 
tunity afforded  by  Hoshea,  king  of  Samaria,  wlio  asked  the 
support  of  Sabaco  I.  in  his  rebellion  against  Assyria.  Shal- 
maneser  invested  Samaria  before  aid  came  from  Egypt,  and 
his  successor,  Sargon,  took  the  city  after  a  three  years'  siege. *^° 
Meanwhile  Sabaco  seems  to  have  undertaken  some  opera- 
tions on  the  strength  of  which  he  indulged  himself  in  the 
flattery  of  claiming  Syria  as  his  tributary  in  an  inscription  at 
Karnak. 

Bat  now  for  the  Assyrian  version.  In  the  great  inscrip- 
tion on  his  palace  at  Khorsabad,  Sargon  tells  us  that,  after 

'•''  Kenrick,  "Ancient  Egypt,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  365,  36G. 

58  Hei-od.  ii.  137,  139.  We  have  already  had  occasion  to  refer  to  what  Herodotus 
says  of  his  having  substituted  for  the  punishment  of  death  the  labor  of  embanking 
the  cities,  so  as  to  raise  them  above  tlie  inundation.  Diodorus  says  that  he  surpassed 
all  his  predecessors  in  piety  and  clemency. 

59  The  syllable  ka,  in  which  all  these  names  end,  was  the  article  in  the  Cushite  lan- 
guage, and  the  Semitic  forms  seem  to  drop  the  peculiar  Ethiopic  guttural.  The  Ethi- 
opian origin  of  the  name  of  Sabaco  is  confirmed  by  its  occurrence  on  the  monnraeuts 
of  private  persons,  calling  themselves  "natives  of  Cush."  Thus,  the  name  which 
stands  in  the  Egyptian  monuments  and  the  list  of  Manetho  as  Shahaka,  with  the  arti- 
cle, becomes  in  the  Bible  Seba  or  Seva  or  Sua  (with  the  Masoretic  points,  So,  2  Kings 
xvii.  4;  ii'nuop'iu  the  LXX.),  and  SaVe  \n  Assyrian  (the  '  marking  an  hi'afus).  The 
second  Sabaco  is  always  distinguished  on  the  monuments  from  the  first  by  the  t  in  the 
final  syllable  of  his  name.  So  in  Assyrian  he  is  Sabti'.  This  is  a  strong  argument 
for  his  identification  with  the  Setlion  of  Herodotus  (ii.  141).     See  §  1.'5. 

•^0  li.o.  721  iu  the  received  chroudlogy,  confirmed  liy  the  canon.     See  c.  xiii.  ?J  G.  7- 


THE  TWO  SABAC03.  153 

tlie  capture  of  Samaria,  Hanon,  king  of  Gaza,  and  Sab^e,  sul- 
tan of  Egypt.,  met  tlie  king  of  Assyria  in  battle  at  Rapih 
(Rdpliia),  and  were  defeated.  Sabaco  disappeared^  but  Ha- 
non  was  captured"  (about  b.c.  718).  The  flight  of  the  Ethio- 
pian sultan  may  have  some  connection  with  the  statement 
of  Herodotus  that  Sabaco  withdrew  from  Egypt ;  but  we 
shall  presently  see  that  the  Ethiopians  w^ere  driven  back 
more  than  once  into  the  upper  country.  Of  course,  we  do  not 
expect  a  record  of  his  flight  on  the  monuments  of  Sabaco; 
but  his  name  is  found,  with  the  full  titles  of  Egyptian  sover- 
eignty, on  the  internal  face  of  the  propyl^ea  at  Luxor,  built 
by  Rameses  II.,  whose  name  he  has  erased.  Among  others 
of  his  monuments,  there  is  a  fragment  inscribed  Avith  his  12th 
year,  his  last,  according  to  Eusebius.^^ 

§  15.  Sabaco  II.  {^hebetek.^  Shabatoka.,  or,  in  Assyrian, 
Sabti)  is  now  considered  by  the  best  authorities  to  be  iden- 
tified with  the  priest-king  Setiios,  whom  Herodotus  places 
immediately  after  the  retirement  of  Sabaco  I.*^^  Further 
light  is  thrown  on  the  state  of  Egypt  in  his  time  by  the  an- 
nals of  Sargon  and  Sennacherib,  with  both  of  whom  he  was 
contemporary. 

Four  years  after  the  battle  of  Raphia  (in  b.c.  714),  Sargon 
records  the  receipt  of  tribute  from  "  Pharaoh  (Pir'u),  king  of 
Egypt,"  as  well  as  from  a  queen  of  Arabia  and  a  Sabagan 
king.  Here  we  have  a  sovereign  of  Egypt  recognized  both 
by  the  old  royal  name,  and  by  the  title  which  Sargon  with- 
holds from  the  "  sultan  "  who  had  fought  at  Raphia.  In  his 
great  inscription  at  Khorsabad,  this  "Pharaoh"  is  mentioned 
immediately  after  the  record  of  that  battle. 

Four  years  later  still  (in  b.c.  710),  Sargon  was  again  on  the 
confines  of  Egypt,  chastising  a  revolt  of  Ashdod.  Yaman, 
the  rebel  king  of  that  city,  had  fled,  at  Sargon's  approach, 
"  beyond  Egypt,  on  the  side  of  Ethiopia."  But  now,  instead 
of  marching "^out  to  resist  the  Assyrian,  "the  king  of  Ethio- 

«i  Oppert,  "  Les  Inscriptions  Assyriennes  des  Sargonides,"  etc.,  p.  22. 

''-  It  ::;eems  that  his  flight  marked,  or  very  shortly  preceded,  the  end  of  his  reign, 
which  M.  Oppert  places  in  is.c.  710.  If  his  reign  ended  hetween  b.c.  TIS  and  T16,  it 
hegan  betweeu  b.c.  730  and  728  ;  possibly  earlier,  for  it  may  have  exceeded  12  years. 
Comparing  the  close  of  his  reisru  with  another  compntation,  we  have  the  evidence  of 
an  Apis-stela  for  placing  the  accession  of  Tirhakah  in  n.o.  693.  Adding  to  this  the 
12  years  assigned  by  Manetho  to  Sabaco  II.  (or  rather  U,  as  in  Ensebius),  we  reach 
B.o.  707;  bnt  if  14  is  an  error  for  24,  we  come  to  u.o.  717,  the  very  year  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Raphia  and  tlie  flight  of  Sabaco  I.  This  result  is  highly  probable  ou  other 
grounds. 

83  The  identification,  which  is  maintained  bvM.  de  ItongL'  and  M.  Oppert,  is  said  to 
be  now  clearly  established  by  Dr.  Brugsch.  The  modes  of  reconciling  the  characters 
ascribed  to  the  kinc— as  an  Ethiopian  (Manetho,  etc.),  as  a  priest-king  reigning  after 
the  withdrawal  of  the  Ethiopian  (for  Herodotus  knows  of  but  one),  and  as  a  Pharaoh 
—can  not  be  conveniently  discussed  hero.  The  story  told  of  him  by  Herodotus  ia 
given  below  (§  16). 

7* 


ir«-L  TIIIO  ETHIOPIAN  DYNASTY. 

pia,  d  vvelling  in  a  remote  country,  whose  fathers  had  never, 
from  the  remotest  days,  sent  ambassadors  to  the  kings,  my 
ancestors,  to  demand  peace  and  friendship,"  sends  an  embas- 
sy to  sue  for  peace.  "  The  immense  terror  inspired  by  my 
royalty  took  possession  of  him,  and  fear  changed  his  purpose. 
He  threw  Yaman  into  chains  and  fetters  of  iron,  sent  him  to 
Assyria,  and  liad  him  brouglit  before  me."" 

§  16.  The  distinction  between  the  kings  of  Egypt  and  of 
Ethiopia  appears  still  more  clearly  ten  years  later,  in  the  Jew- 
ish campaign  of  Sennacherib,  both  from  his  own  annals  and 
from  the  Bible  (b.c.  700).  After  subduing  Phoenicia  and 
Philistia,  he  was  on  his  march  to  chastise  Migro)i^^  the  revolt 
of  whicli  liad  been  encouraged  by  "  Hezekiali,  king  of  Judah." 
But  he  found  his  way  barred,  precisely  as  his  father's  had 
been  in  the  campaign  of  Kaplua,  by  the  united  forces  of 
Egypt  and  Ethiopia. 

Tie  tells  us  that  "  the  men  of  Migi'on  had  called  to  their 
aid  the  Idmis  of  Egypt,  ^w^  the  archers,  the  chariots,  and  the 
horses  of  the  king  of  Ethiopia;  and  they  came  to  their  help, 
an  innumerable  host.  Near  the  town  of  Altaku  their  line  of 
battle  confronted  me,  and  they  tried  their  arms.  In  the 
adoration  of  my  lord  Asshur,  I  fought  with  them  and  put 
them  to  flight.  My  hands  seized  the  charioteers  and  sons  of 
the  king  of  Egypt,  to^xt^thw  with  the  charioteers  of  the  king 
of  Ethiopia.  The  town  of  Alt  a  ku  and  the  town  of  Tamna  I 
besieged,  I  took  ;  I  spoiJL'd  their  spoils."'*' 

Here,  besides  a  "  king  of  Ethiopia  "  (probably  the  great 
Tirhakah),  who  was  not  yet  king  of  Egypt  in  B.C.  700,^'  we 
have,  first,  ^^ kings  of  Egy])t,"  and  then  one  who  seems  to  be 
recognized  as  "the  king  of  Egypt"  in  some  special  sense.  The 
latter-  is  supposed  to  have  been  Sabaco  II.  (or  Sethos)  :  the 
full  meaning  of  the  plural  will  presently  be  made  api)arent.'^ 
The  sequel  of  this  campaign,  in  its  relation  to  Judah  and 
Hezekiah,   will    be    related    in    the  history   of  Sennacherib. 

6^  Oppert,  "  L'E^'vpte  et  I'Assyrie,"  p.  IS.  Of  course,  on  the  view  stated  above,  tliis 
"  king  of  Ethiopia  "  was  not  Sabaco  II.,  who  was  now  reigning  in  Egypt  as  Pharaoh. 
M.  Oppert  thinks  he  may  have  been  the  father  of  Tirhakah  ;  for  it  is  only  by  a  gratu- 
itous assumption  that  Tirhakah  is  made  the  son  of  Sabaco  II. 

«5  The  Mi(iron  n:entioned  in  Isaiah  x.  28,  among  the  cities  attacked  by  the  Assyrian, 
was  near  Ai  and  Michmash,  on  the  western  edge  of  the  Jewish  highlands,  towards 
the  maritime  plain.     But  some  take  the  Migron  of  Sennacherib's  annals  for  Ekron. 

«6  Oppert,  "  L'Egypte  et  I'Assyrie,"  pp.  25^27.  Altaku  is  evidently  the  Levitical  city 
of  Eltekeh  (Joshna  xis.  44;  xxi.  23)  ;  and  Tamna  is  Timnath,  famous  in  the  story  of 
Samson  (Judges  xiv.  1,  2,  5).  Both  were  in  the  border  of  Dan,  in,  or  on  the  edge  of 
the  maritime  plain. 

«^  Respecting  the  time  of  Tirhakah's  accession,  see  above,  note  G2. 

68  M.  Oppert  considers  the  "kings  of  Egypt"  to  have  been  those  of  the  Upper  and 
Lower  country  respectively;  but  this  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  subsequent  men- 
tion of  many  more  in  both  parts,  and  Upper  Egypt  seems  to  have  been  now  subject 
to  Ethiopia. 


SETHOS  AXD  SENNACHERIB.  IT).! 

Meanwhile  we  liave  to  notice  the  distinct  mention,  in  the 
scriptural  narrative  also,  of  a  "  king  of  Eo-ypt  "  and  a  ''  kino- 
of  Ethiopia,"  the  former  by  the  usual  title  oi  Pharaoh^  the 
latter  by  his  name,  Tirhakah. 

In  the  course  of  his  operations  against  "  the  fenced  cities 
of  Judah,"  after  tlie  battle  of  Altakn,  Sennacherib  had  laid 
siege  to  Lachish  ;  and  thence  he  sent  a  summons  to  Jerusa- 
lem. Our  knowledge  of  his  recent  victory  sets  in  a  new  lioht 
the  taunt  of  the  Assyrian  envoys,  "  Behold,  thou  trustest 
upon  the  staff  of  this  bruised  reed  ;  upon  Egypt,  on  which,  if 
a  man  lean,  it  will  go  into  his  hand  and  pierce  it :  so  is  J-.ta- 
raoh^  king  of  Egypt ^  unto  all  that  trust  on  him.'"^  Present- 
ly afterwards  we  liud  the  movement  of  Sennacherib  from 
Lachish  to  Libnah  connected  with  a  report,  which  had  reach- 
ed him,  that  Tirhakah^  king  of  Ethiopia^  had  come  out  to 
fight  with  him.^'^ 

Such  is  the  concurrence  of  testimony  to  the  fact  that,  both 
when  Sargon  gained  the  victory  of  Kaphia  and  when  Sen- 
nacherib made  war  on  Egypt  and  Judah,  there  were  disthict 
but  allied  kingdoms  of  Egypt  and  Ethiopia.  It  is  in,  as  wel^ 
as  after,  this  interval  that  the  reign  of  Sabaco  If.  seems  to 
fall  (about  b.c.  717-693).  If  this  king  was  the  Sethos  of  He- 
rodotus, his  destitution  of  an  army  may  2:>erhaps  be  explain- 
ed by  the  flight  of  the  warriors  w*ith  Tirhakah  to  the  upper 
country  after  their  great  defeat.  There  Tirhakah  may  have 
rallied  his  forces  for  another  struggle  with  Sennacherib*  while 
he  was  occupied  with  the  siege  of  Lachish  ;  and  the  move- 
ment of  the  Assyrian  to  Libnah  may  have  been  designed  to 
crush  that  "bruised  reed,"  the  destitute  king  of  Egypt,  be- 
fore his  powerful  ally  could  return  to  help  him."' 

The  reader  of  the  Scripture  narrative,  whose  attention  is 
fixed  on  Avhat  was  going  on  at  Jerusalem,  is  apt  to  think  that 
Seimacherib's  army  perished  before  that  city.  But  ordinary 
attention  to  the  narrative  shows  that  the  real  scene  of  the 
catastrophe  was  near  the  confines  of  Egypt;  and  the  Ecryp- 

"9  2  Kings  xviii.  21 ;  Isaiah  xxxvi.  G.  The  figure,  which  is  repeated  in  Ezelciel  xxix. 
G,  T,  becomes  doubly  expressive  when  we  find  a  Lent  reed  as  the  initial  prefixed  to  th« 
C'minion  hieroglyphic  for  the  Egy))tiaii  word  suten,  "king."  The  annals  of  Seunach 
trib  show  that  his  attack  on  the  Jewish  fortresses,  and  consequently  the  summons 
to  Jerusalem,  was  immediately  after  the  battle  of  Altakn.  M.  Oppert  well  savs,  "La 
yictoire  seule  a  pu  dieter  ces  hautaincs  paroles."  Observe  that  the  king  of  Ethiopia 
is  not  mentioned  here;  as  if  no  more  were  to  be  hoped  from  him  since  his  flight 
from  Altakn. 

"0  2  Kings  xix.  8,  9;  Isaiah  xxxvii.  9,  It  is  not  said  that  Tirhakah  came  into  con 
flict  with  Sennacherib ;  on  the  contrary,  it  seems  to  be  Implied  that  he  had  not  ar 
rived  before  the  miraculous  overthrow  of  the  As.^yriau  host. 

^>  The  Libnah  of  the  Scripture  narrative  agrees  fairly  with  the  place  of  that  namo 
in  or  near  the  maritime  plain,  near  Lachish  (Joshua  s.  31 ;  xv.  42) ;  but  M.  Oppert 
argues  very  ingeniously  that  here  it  is  nothing  else  than  a  Hebrew  rendering  of  the 
name  of  Pelusiam  ("  L'Egypte  et  I'Assyrle,"  pp.  34,  35). 


156  THE  PyrHIOPIAN  J)YNASTi. 

tiaiis  gave  their  gods  the  honor  of  the  miracle.  There  was, 
Herodotus  tells  us,  a  priest  of  Hephaestus  (Phtha),  named 
Sethos,  who  reigned  soon  after  the  retirement  of  Sabaco." 
Having  neglected  and  despoiled  the  M'arrior  class,  he  was 
reduced  to  great  straits  by  their  refusal  to  serve,  when  "  San- 
ACHARiB,  king  of  the  Arabians'^  and  Assyrians,"  marched  his 
vast  army  into  Egypt.  Encouraged,  however,  by  the  god, 
Sethos  gathered  an  army  of  traders,  artisans,  and  market- 
people,  and  marched  to  Pelusiura,  which  commands  the  en- 
trance into  Egypt,  and  there  pitched  his  camp.  "  Here,  as 
the  two  armies  lay  opposite  one  another,  there  came  an  army 
oi  field-mice,  which  devoured  all  the  quivers  and  bow-strings 
of  the  enemy,  and  ate  the  thongs  by  wdiich  they  managed 
their  shields.  Next  morning  they  commenced  their  flight, 
and  great  multitudes  fell,  as  they  had  no  arms  with  which 
to  defend  themselves.  The  historian  saw  in  the  temple  of 
Phtha  a  stone  statue  of  Sethos,  with  a  mouse  in  his  hand,''* 
and  an  inscription  to  this  efl*ect :  '  Look  on  me,  and  learn  to 
reverence  the  gods.'  " 

g  17.  Besides  the  mention  thus  made  of  him  in  Scripture, 
Tahraka  [Tirhakah)^  the  Tarkus  or  Tarakus  of  Manetho, 
appears  on  his  monuments  and  in  the  Greek  writers  as  one 
of  the  most  famous  kings  in  the  later  histor}^  of  Egypt. 
Strabo"  speaks  of  him,  by  the  name  of  Tearko.  as  n vailing 
Sesostris,  by  carrying  his  foreign  expeditions  as  far  as  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules ;  and  a  bas-relief  at  Medinet-Abou  rep- 
resents him  as  about  to  cut  ofl'  the  heads  of  a  mass  of  cap- 
tives wdiom  he  holds  by  the  hair — the  usual  symbol  of  a 
number  of  conquered  tribes.  But  his  most  interesting  rela- 
tions are  those  w'ith  Assyria,  against  which  empire  he  main- 
tained a  constant  struggle,  with  alternate  successes  and  re- 
verses. The  particulars  are  learnt  chiefly  from  the  Assyrian 
monuments ;  but  some  light  is  thrown  on  the  Ethiopian  ver- 
sion by  stelce  at  the  capital  of  Xapata. 

We^  have  already  distinguished,  by  aid  of  the  records 
of  Sargon  and  Sennacherib,  the   actual  sovereignty   of  the 

72  Herod,  ii.  141. 

"3  It  is  qnite  uatural  that  the  Arnbians  bordering  on  Mesopotamia  should  have 
served  in  the  armj'  of  Seiinachcrib. 

"4  This  mouse  was,  of  course,  a  sacred  emblem,  perhaps  of  the  generative  principle ; 
and  prophetic  power  was  ascribed  to  mice.  The  people  of  Troas  are  said  to  have  re- 
vered mice  "  because  they  sfnawed  the  bow-strines  of  their  enemies  and  the  leathern 
part  of  their  arms  "  (Eustath.  ad  Horn.  II.  i.  Sf) ;  Strab.  xiii.  p.  416),  and  their  Apollo 
Sminthens  was  represented  with  a  mouse  in  his  hand.  Wilkinson's  Note  to  He- 
rod. I.  c. 

'■"  Strabo  i.  p.  6T ;  xv.  p.  GST.  M.  Oppert  considers  Tearko  to  be  nearest  to  the  true 
form  of  the  name,  which  he  reads  Tearqu.  The  Scriptural  form,  which  we  adopt  as 
the  best  known,  is  obtained  by  a  transposition  of  the  R  ;  the  i  comes  from  the  Ma- 
soretic  punctuation. 


TIRIIAKAil  AND  THE  KINGS  OF   EGYPT.  157 

Ethiopians  in  Egypt  from  the  state  of  things  in  which  there 
was  not  only  a  "  king  of  Egypt,"  but  more  than  one,  in  alli- 
an(3e — though  doubtless  subordinate  alliance — with  a  "  king 
of  Ethiopia."  Instead  of  Tirhakah's  simply  succeeding  Sa- 
baco  II.  as  the  third  Ethiopian  king  of  Egypt,  his  first  ap- 
pearance (by  his  name)  has  been  made  in  b.c.  700,  when 
there  appear  with  him  "  kings  of  Egypt,"  and  a  "  Pharaoh, 
king  of  Egypt." 

These  relations  come  out  for  more  clearly  in  the  records 
before  us,  which  ibr  the  first  time  explain  the  state  of  Egypt 
just  before  the  well-known  period  of  the  Saite  dynasty. 
Erom  their  comparison  it  seems  clear  that  Esar-haddon,  who 
was  the  first  Assyrian  that  invaded  Egypt,  made  his  cam- 
paign in  that  land  near  the  very  end  of  his  reign  (b.c.  670, 
or  even  later).  The  success  which  gave  him  the  title  of 
•'  King  of  Egypt  and  Ethio])ia"  was  gained  (as  wa  learn  from 
his  son's  annals)  against  Tlrhakali;  but  the  Ethiopian  king 
is  now  recognized  in  the  character  of  "  King  of  Egypt  and 
Ethiopia;"'"  and  we  are  expressly  told  that,  when  Esar-had- 
don conquered  Tirhakah,  lie  did  not  deprive  him  of  the  sover- 
eignty of  the  counti-y.  If  the  dates  on  the  Apis-stel?e  are 
rightly  calculated,  the  reign  of  Tirhakah  over  Egypt  began 
in  B.C.  698,  by  his  succession  (as  we  may  suppose)  to  Sabaco 
II.  or  Sethos.  But  the  petty  kings  of  the  several  cities  were 
always  attempting  to  regain  their  independence;  and  it  was 
by  their  aid  that  Esar-h.addon  forced  Tirhakah  to  retire  to  the 
upper  country,  under  an  engagement  to  remain  there.  It  seems 
that  Upper  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  were  left  to  him,  while  Esar- 
haddon  set  up  Assyrian  officers  beside  the  vassal  petty  princes 

It  is  liis  son  Asshur-bani-pal  who  gives  us  the  above  in- 
formation by  way  of  preface  to  his  own  first  campaign  in 
Egypt  (b.c.  667-61)6)."     On  the  departure  of  Esar-haddon,  or 

'6  III  the  AnnaU  of  Esar-haddon,  Egypi  is  only  mentioned  in  one  donbtful  \v^%' 
sage  ;  and  what  we  know  of  his  conquests  there  is  from  the  records  of  his  son.  Bui, 
in  his  other  inscriptions,  Esar-haddon  has  repeated  the  above  title  (which  he  bore 
jirat  and  Imt  of  the  Assyrian  kings)  in  a  variety  of  very  interesting  forms  :  (1.)  He  is 
a  "King  of  the  7i?;tjs  of  Egypt  and  conqueror  of  Ethiopia;"  showing  the  plurality 
of  native  princes  in  Egypt.  (2.)  Not  only  in  different  inscriptions,  but  in  the  same 
(at  Nirarud),  the  last  country  is  called  both  Kusi  (the  more  usual  name  in  his  records) 
and  Miluhhi.-  (3.)  In  two  cases  a  word  intervenes  between  "  Egypt "  and  "  Ethiopia," 
In  one  the  copy  is  doubtful ;  in  the  other,  though  the  third  element  is  uncertain,  the 
reading  appears  to  be  Pu-U([riq-fii ;  from  which  M.  Oppert  deduces  a  strong  confir- 
mation of  the  view  that  Pathros  (Isaiah  xi.  11  ;  Jerem.  xliv.  1, 15  ;  Ezek.  xxix.  14)  and 
Pntrimm  (Gen.  x.  l.S,  14)  denote  Upper  Egypt,  and  especially  the  Thebaid.  (See  Op- 
pert,  "L'Egypte  et  rAssyrie,"  pp.  41,  42 ;  and  Dr.  Smith's  '"'Diet,  of  the  Bible,"  s.  v. 
Pa-thros.)    On  the  whole  of  these  Assyrian  records,  comp.  ch.  xiv. 

''''  These  annals  have  come  down  to  us  in  a  very  mutilated  condition.  The  frag- 
rr-cuts  found  in  his  palace  at  Calah  reached  our  Museum  thoroughly  ahtiffled,  and  the 
utmost  ingenuity  of  Mr.  Cox  and  M.  Oppert  has  only  produced  a  conjectural  resto- 
ration. Fortunately,  there  are  separate  copies  on  four  decagonal  prisms  (but  all 
broken  to  pieces),  besides  other  copies  on  fragments  of  tal)lets. 


l.r^s  THE  ETHIOPIAN  DYNASTY. 

at  least  on  his  death,  Tirhakali  had  returned,  retrtkcii  Mem- 
phis, where  he  established  his  capital,  and  killed,  imprisoned, 
or  carried  away  as  hostages,  many  of  the  officers  set  up  by 
the  Assyrian.     The  rest  sent  to  Nineveh  to  implore  aid,  and 
Asshnr-bani-pal  led  his  whole  army  to  a  place  called  Kar- 
banit,  probably  the  new  Assyrian  name  given  by  Esar-had- 
don  to  some  border  fortress  of  the  Delta.     Tirhakah  marched 
out  fi'om  Memphis  to  meet  him  there  ;  and,  being  defeated  in 
a  oreat  battle,  fled  in  his  ships,  leaving  his  tent  as  a  spoil,  but 
carrying  away  his  captives  of  the  Assyrian  party  as  hostages 
to  Thebes,  which  is  described  as  "  the  city  of  the  empire  ot 
Tirhakah,  king  of  Ethiopia."     After  a  difficult  march  of  forty 
days,  Asshur-bani-pal  reached  Thebes,  whence  Tirhakah  had 
fled  at  his  approach,  and  took  the  city  with  a  great  slangh.ter. 
But  the  vassal  kings,  who  had  sided  with  Tirhakah  on  his 
return,  did   not    submit  till  they  were  defeated  in    another 
great  battle.''     And  here  it  is  that  these  annals  throw  their 
great  light  on  the  political  state  of  Egypt.     The  names  of 
these  kiTigs  and  of  their  cities  are  mentioned,  to  the  number 
of  twenty,  inchiding  cities  of  Upper  Egypt   as  well  as  of  the 
Delta;  not  only  Sais,  Tanis,  Sebenni/hts,  3Iendes,  Bubastis, 
etc.,  but  Chemmis,  This,  and  T/iebes  itself,  the  name  of  whose 
kino-  contains  the  second  element  (ankh),  which  occurs  in  the 
priestly  line  of  Her-Hor.''     A  Sheshonk  is  still  reigning  at 
JJtfbastis.     Xeciio  (doubtless  the  father  of  Psammetichus)  is 
kino;  of  Memphis  as  well  as  Sais,  and  leader  of  the  confed- 
eracy.    This  marks  the  "  hegemony  "  of  Sais,  which  was  es- 
tablished   by  Boechoris   and  doubtless   confirmed  by  Esar- 
haddon,  and  helps  to  explain  the  jealousy  which  Herodotus 
ascribes  to  the  princes  of  the  so-called  "  dodecarchy,"  lest  one 
of  them,  and  especially  Psaminetichus,  should    gain  the  su- 
premacy. 

Hence,  too,  it  is  that  Necho,  fearing  special  punishment  for 
his  rebellion,  flies  to  Thebes,  leaving  his  gods  at  Memphis, 
which  the  Assyrian  takes  by  storm.  Presently,  however, 
we  find  him  submitting,  with''the  other  kings,  whom  the  As- 
syrian restores  "  to  tlie  place  suitable  to  their  subjection ;" 
while  lie  "  places  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  under  a  new  govern- 
ment." He  then  returns  to  Nineveh,  "  laden  with  a  great 
booty  and  splendid  spoils,"  after  strengthening  the  garrisons 
and  fortifications  of  the  cities,  a  very  needful  precaution 
against  Tirhakah's  return. 

^8  Ee  expressly  savs  that  they  had  rendered  homage  to  his  father  ;  but  "  on  the  oc- 
rasion  of  Th-hakah's  lifting  up  his  buclilers"  they  had  forgotten  their  duty,  and  had 
revolted. 

"•'  For  a  full  discussion  of  the  names  in  this  li:it,  and  the  many  questions  they  in- 
V(jlve,  sec  Oppert,  "  L'Egypte  et  I'Assyrie,"  p.  88  foil. 


ASSYRIAN  CONQUEST  OF  EGYPT.  159 

For  the  annals  here  explain,  with  an  amusing  frankness, 
the  dilemma  in  which  the  Egyptian  kings  were  left  between 
the  rival  sovereigns,  and  the  motives  which  drew  them  to  the 
nearer.  "  They  said  among  themselves,  Tirhakah  will  never 
renounce  his  designs  on  Egypt ;  it  is  him  w^e  have  to  fear." 
So  they  sent  ambassadors  to  "  the  king  of  Ethiopia,"  to  make 
a  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship,  promising  not  to  desert  him 
any  more.  They  also  tried  to  corrupt  the  Assyrian  army; 
but  the  officers  discovered  their  plots,  intercepted  their  mes- 
sengers, and  bound  the  kings  themselves  hand  and  foot  in 
fetters  and  chains  of  iron.  Asshur-bani-pal  came  back  in 
person  to  exact  vengeance.  Memphis,  Sais,  Mendes,  Tanis, 
and  the  other  rebel  cities,  were  taken,  and  their  people  mas- 
sacred :  "  I  left  not  one,"  boasts  the  conqueror.  The  captive 
kings  appear  to  have  been  carried  to  Nineveh ;  whence  Ne- 
cho  was  sent  back  to  his  throne  at  Sais  (the  name  of  which 
w^as  changed  to  Kar-hel-mate) ^"^  to  hold  Lower  Egypt  against 
Tirhakah,  who  had  again  retired  to  Thebes,  if  indeed  he  had 
left  it. 

The  end  of  this  campaign  is,  unfortunately,  wanting  in  the 
annals,  which  are  resumed  after  the  death  of  Tirhakah.  But 
we  liave  a  curious  piece  of  evidence  that  the  Ethiopian  re- 
gained his  power  over  all  Egypt.  For  a  iitela  in  the  ISeycq^e- 
•uin  records  that  an  Apis,  born  in  the  26th  year  of  Tirhakah, 
died  in  the  21st  year  of  Fsamatik,  aged  21  years.*^  It  fol- 
lows that  Tirhakah  w\as  the  king  recognized  at  Memphis  in 
the  26th  and  last  year  of  his  reign,  a  monumental  testimony 
all  the  more  important  from  the  silence  of  Herodotus  and 
Diodorus  concerning  this  great  conqueror.**'^  The  Egyptian 
priests  in  the  interest  of  the  Saite  dynasty  would  have  all 
the  more  reason  to  suppress  his  name  if  it  be  true  that  he 
put  Necho  to  death. *^     Be  this  as  it  may,  the  removal  of 

''o  M.  de  Ronsfo  interprets  this  as  "lord  of  the  two  regions,"  a  title  which  marks 
Sais  as  the  capital  qS  Upper  and  Lower  Eirypt.  The  restoration  of  Necho  may  be 
compared  to  that  of  Manasseh  by  Esar-haddou. 

^1  Manetho  also  assigns  Tirhakah  2G  years,  and  we  have  here  the  elements  for  a 
settlement  of  the  chronology  within  a  very  slight  limit  of  error.  For,  as  already 
stated,  an  Apis-stela  places  the  accession  of  Tirhakah  in  n.o.  693  (say  G93-2).  His 
death,  therefore,  would  fall  (allowing  him  26  full  years)  in  u.o.  0(37  or  COO.  Now,  n.c. 
66T-606  is  the  first  year  of  Asshnr-bani-pal,  and  Tirhakal\  appears  to  have  died  be- 
twecQ  that  king's  tirst  and  second  years,  which  would  be  in  n.o.  606.  On  quite  dis- 
tinct grounds,  the  Egyptologers  i)lace  the  accession  of  Psammctichus  (whose  years, 
as  we  see  from  this  record,  are  dated  at  once  from  the  death  of  Tirhakah)  in  the  year 
ji. 0.00.5  to  6(54. 

'-  Herodotus  appears  to  preserve  the  name  of  Tirhakah  {Tearqu,  Tarncus,  Tarcus) 
in  his  incidental  mention  of  Etearclnifi,  a  king  of  the  Ammonites  (ii.  3'2).  But  wiiether 
this  was  the  great  Tirhakah,  or  another  Ethioi)ian  king  of  the  same  name,  or  a  king 
of  the  Ethiopian  house  reigning  separately  at.  the  Oasis  of  Amnion,  we  have  no 
means  of  deciding. 

*'^  Herodotus  (ii.  152)  says  that. Necho  was  put  to  death  by  Sabaco,  who  died  about 
50  years  earlie/  !    But  as  Sabaco  is  ihe  only  Ethiopian  conqueror  known  to  Herodo- 


fuO  THE  ETHIOriAN  DYNASTY 

Necho  might  be  the  occasion  for  the  final  recognition  of  Tir 
hakah  in  the  royal  lists,  as  the  immediate  predecessor  of  the 
restored  Sa'ite  line. 

§  18.  Both  from  the  monuments  of  Napata  and  from  the 
Assyrian  annals,  we  learn  that  Tirliakah  was  succeeded,  as 
king  of  Ethiopia,  by  his  son  Rut-amen,  or  Rot-men,  or,  as 
the^Assyrian  texts  say,  by  his  wife's  son,  Urdamane,  which 
:s  evidently  the  same  name.  The  abijence  of  any  recogni- 
tion of  hini  as  king  of  Egypt  seems  to  imply  that  he  was  in 
Ethiopia  when  Tirliakah  died,  and  that  the  petty  kings  of 
Egypt  seized  the  opportunity  to  cast  oft' the  Ethiopian  yoke, 
under  tlie  i)rotection  of  Assyria.''  But  Rot-men  resolved  to 
strike  a  blow  for  his  inheritance  in  Egypt.  Having  first  re- 
covered the  Thebaid  (if  he  did  not  possess  it  already),  he  in- 
vaded Lower  Egypt.  The  Assyrian  annals  are  resumed 
with  an  allusion  \o  the  death  of  Tirhakah,  and  to  tliis  inva- 
sion  by  Urdamane,  who  was  totally  defeated  by  Asshur- 
bani-pal,  and  "escaped  alone  to  Thebes,  the  city  of  his  roy- 
alty." The  pursuit  of  the  Assyrians  occui)ied,  as  before,  40 
days,  through  difticult  roads  ;  and,  like  Tirhakah,  Urdamane 
fied,  at  their  api)roach,  to  Kip-ki]),  evidently  a  place  in 
Ethiopia. 

The  second  capture  of  Thebes  by  Asshur-bani-pal  was  far 
more  terrible  than  the  first.  "  They  took  possession,"  says 
the  king,  "  of  the  wliole  city,  and  sacked  it  to  its  foundations. 
They  carried  oftMn  this  city  the  gold,  the  silver,  the  metals, 
the  precious  stones,  all  the  treasures  of  l\is  palace"  (another 
copy  has  "all  the  treasures  of  the  country"),  "dyed  stufts  of 
berom  and  linen,  great  horses  (elephants  ?),  huge  apes,  natives 
of  their  hills— the  whole  not  to  be  computed  by  accountants;, 
and  they  treated  it  as  a  captured  city.  They  brought  this 
booty  safe  to  Nineveh,  and  they  kissed  my  feet."  In  anoth- 
er copy  the  king  mentions  the  captives,  "  men  male  and  fe- 
male, great  and  snndl,"  as  well  as  the  works  in  basalt  and  in 
marble,  and  the  palace-gates,  which  he  tore  oflf  and  carried 
to  Assyria.**" 

§  19.  Till  the  discovery  of  this  record,  Ave  knew  of  no  As 
Syrian  invasion  and  captivity  of  Egypt  and  Ethiopia,  and 
particularly  of  Thebes,  which  could  correspond  to  the  warn- 

tus,  the  error  may  be  ouly  in  the  r,amc.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  Necho  mny 
have  been  put  to  death  by  Asshur-baui-pnl.  Of  course,  the  priests  suppressed  every 
aUusion  to  the  Assyrian  conquest  of  Esrypt. 

^*  Here,  probably,  beirius  that  period  of  transition  which  is  marked  by  the  Dodcc- 
archy  and  anarchy  of  Herodotus  and  Diodorns. 

85  The  former  version  preserves  the  third  person  ihi-ou2;hont ;  but  the  latter  has 
the  first,  ending  with  "I  returned  in  safety  to  Nineveh,  the  city  of  my  dominion." 
Wc  may  suppose  the  king  to  lu;ve  k;d  liis  army  into  Egypt  (as,  in  fact,  he  says),  but 
uot  to  have  marched  in  person  aj^ainst  Thebes. 


SECOND  CAPTURE  OF  THEBES.  KJl 

mg^  whicli  Tsaiali  uttered  to  the  Egyptian  party  in  Jiidali  at 
the  time  of  the  siege  of  Aslidod,  or  to  the  still  more  striking 
prophecy  (or,  rather,  the  historical  allusion)  of  Xahum.  But 
here  at  length  we  see  "  the  king  of  Assyria  leading  away  the 
Egyptians  prisoners  and  the  Ethiopians  captives,  young  and 
old,  naked  and  barefoot,  to  the  shame  of  Egypt."*''  In  the 
very  hour  of  her  triumph,  Xahum  denounces  on  "  Nineveh, 
the  city  of  bloods" — we  have  seen  how  well  she  earned  the 
title! — the  very  fate  she  had  inflicted  upon  Thebes:  "Art 
thou  better  than  populous  A"c»,  that  was  situate  among  the 
rivers"  (on  both  sides  of  the  Nile)  ;  "that  had  the  waters 
round  about  her ;  whose  rampart  was  the  sea,  and  her  wall 
was  from  the  sea  ?  Ethiopia  and  Egypt  were  her  strength, 
and  it  was  infinite ;  JPat  and  Luhlm  were  thy  helpers.  Yet 
was  she  carried  away,  she  went  into  captivity ;  her  young 
children  also  were  dashed  in  pieces  at  the  top  of  all  the 
streets  ;  and  they  cast  lots  for  her  honorable  men,  and  all  her 
great  men  were  bound  in  chains."" 

§  20.  This  is  the  last  notice  of  Egypt  in  the  Assyrian  an- 
nals; and  we  may  assume  that  the  country  was  now  left  to 
its  native  princes,  under  the  suzerainty  of  Assyria,  which  her 
rapid  decline  soon  made  an  empty  name.  The  sack  and  cap- 
tivity of  Thebes  must  have  broken  the  power  of  Ethiopia  in 
Upper  Egypt,  and  the  princes  of  the  Delta  were  now  strong 
enougli  to  rejjel  her  last  attempt.  The  curious  record  of 
that  attempt,  lately  discovered  by  M.  Mariette,  on  a  stela  at 
Na{>ata,  evidently  conceals  a  decisive  repulse. 

Kot-men,  the  son  of  Tirhakah,  having  died  without  heirs, 
the  crown  of  Ethiopia  was  assumed  by  a  certain  Amen-meri 
iVov/^,''*in  consequence  of  a  prophetic  dream,  which  had  also 

^^  Isaiah  xx.  1.  The  prophecy,  uttered  at  a  time  when  the  forces  of  Efjirpt  and 
Ethiopia  were  united  a<rainpt  Sarironjs  peculiarly  appropriate  to  a  conquest  jjjained 
ovGr  Thebes  as  the  capital  of  an  Ethiojnan  king,  many  of  whose  best  soldiers,  who 
were  led  away  as  captives,  were  of  course  Ethiopians.  The  express  mention  of  "  the 
As.v/rian"'  excludes  the  idea  that  this  prophecy  was  flrst  fulfilled  by  the  invasion  of 
Nebiichadney.zar  (see  chap.  viii.  §  14).  The  three  years,  during  Avhich  the  prophet 
went  naked  and  barefoot  for  a  sign,  and  which  had  probably  a  primary  reference  to 
the  duration  of  the  war  of  Ashdod,  may  also  denote  the  three  separate  campaigns 
made  in  Egypt  (very  likely  in  three  successive  years),  one  by  Esar-haddon,  aud  two 
by  Asshur-baui-pal. 

^'^  Nahuni  iii.  S-10.  This  important  passasre  is  fully  discussed  in  Dr.  Smith's  "Diet. 
^f  the  Bible,"  art.  No  Am.mon,  and  Oppert's  "L'Egypte  et  TAssyrie."  Besides  the 
clear  allusions  to  the  aid  which  the  Arabs  and  Libyans  on  the  borders  of  Egypt  (Put 
and  Lubim)  gave  to  Assyrln  in  the  war  against  Ttiebes,  M.  Oppert  has  an  ingenious 
argument  r,o  show  that  Carthacie  (named  as  Karbanit  in  the  annals)  joined  with  As- 
syria to  avenge  the  attacks  of  Tirhakah  on  the  northern  coasts  of  Africa ;  or  at  least 
that  there  were  Carthaginian  auxiliaries  in  the  Assyrian  army.  In  this  event  he 
sees  the  origin  of  a  tradition  preserved  by  Amniianus  ^.larcellinus,  that  Thebes  had 
once  been  taken  and  sacked  by  the  Carthaginians. 

^^  Rvidentlv  the  Ethiopian  Amvtcris,  whom  Mauetho  (Euseb.)  places  at  the  head 
of  the  XX^'Ith  (Saite)  Dynasty. 


162  THE  ETHIOPIAN  DYNASTY. 

promised  him  the  two  crowns  of  Egypt.  Marching  down 
the  Nile,  he  was  re<?eived  at  Thebes  with  acclamations;  but 
he  onlv  gained  Memphis  after  a  bloody  battle  with  the  chiefs 
of  the  "Delta,  whom  he  drove  into  the  Marshes.^'  But  he  was 
unable  to  take  their  towns,  and  the  inundation  soon  forced 
him  to  withdraw  from  Memphis,  AVhile  preparing  for  a  new 
attack,  he  received  a  large  tribute  from  the  chiels,  content 
with  which  he  retired  finally  into  Uper  Egypt. 

In  the  long  struggle  wdiich  was  thus  ended,  we  can  not 
fail  to  see  how  essentially  there  was  involved  a  contest  be- 
tween Upper  Egypt,  which  sided  with  the  old  priestly  party, 
and  Lower  Egypt,  where  a  number  of  rival  claimants  Avere 
more  or  less  infiuenced  by  connections  with  Assyria""  and 
ideas  derived  from  intercourse  with  foreign  countries.  The 
triumph  of  these  influences  ^vas  the  spirit  of  the  new  era,  in 
which  Egypt  at  last  connects  herself  with  Europe.  She  now 
presents  the  aspect  of  a  stage,  from  wdiich  the  chief  actors 
have  just  retired ;  and,  after  a  last  scene  of  confusion,  the  cur- 
tain rises  again  amidst  the  full  light  of  well-known  history. 

««  Herodotus's  story  of  the  blind  King,  Anybis,  a  native  of  Anysis  (perhaps  Ei-n-si, 
cit'i  oflsis,  or  Hanes,  if  Hanes  he  Daphnrc)— who  was  conquered  by  Sabaco,  and  to(,k 
refuge  in  the  marshes,  where  the  natives  brought  him  food,  unbeknown  to  the  Ethi- 
opians, and  whence  he  came  forth  and  was  restored,  after  the  forty  years  of  Ethiopian 
domination— may  perhaps  refer  to  one  of  the  minor  princes  of  the  Delta.  At  all 
events,  it  is  a  testimony  both  to  the  perjjetuation  of  the  native  royal  houses  in  the 
Delta  and  to  the  sympathy  of  the  people  with  them  during  the  Ethiopian  rule.  The 
information  we  have  obtained  from  the  Assyrian  annals  as  to  the  state  of  Egypt  gives 
a  caution  against  hastily  rejecting  the  notices  in  Herodotus  and  Diodorus  of  kings 
otherwise  unknown.  The  monuments,  also,  are  constantly  giving  royal  names  which 
are  not  in  the  lists  of  Manetho. 

90  We  have  traced  sucli  rniinection.s  for  at  least  300  years,  from  the  time  of  the  She 
Bhonks.  At  the  time  bef;  le  us  several  of  the  petty  kings  were  clearly  set  up  by  As- 
syria. 


Dress  of  an  Egyptiau  King. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE    LATER    SAITE   MOXARCIIY— TWENTY-SIXTH    DYXASTl  — 

B.C.  665-527  or  525. 

t  1.  The  Dodecarchy.  Oracles  of  the  Bronze  Cup  ana  Brazen  Men.  Psammetichns, 
f=on  of  Nechao  L,  becomes  king.  §  2.  Psamatik  or  Psammeticucs  I.  His  name 
Libyan.  Marries  an  Ethiopian  princess,  and  reunites  Egypt.  Dates  his  reigu 
from  the  death  of  Tirhakah.  Chronological  Epoch.  §  3.  Position  of  Sais,  the 
sacred  city  of  Keith  (Athena).  Remains  at  Sa-el-Hagar.  §  4.  Feast  of  Lamps  at 
SaTs.  §  5.  Connection  of  Sais  with  the  Greeks,  especially  Athens.  §  6.  Psam- 
metichus  encoui-ages  Greek  commerce.  His  Greek  and  other  mercenaries,  and 
Phoenician  sailors.  Siege  of  Azotus.  §  7.  Desertion  of  the  Egyptian  military 
caste.  Their  settlement  in  Ethiopia.  Greek  inscription.  §  8.  Works  of  Psam- 
metichus.  i?eiims.s«ncc  of  Egyptian  art.  §  9.  Nechao  II.,  Nf.co,  or  Pharaoh-Ne- 
Giio,  invades  Asia.  Battle  of  Megiddo  and  death  of  Josiah.  Neco  advances  to 
Carchemish,  on  the  Euphrates.  Deposes  Jehoahaz,  and  sets  up  Jehoiakim  ae 
tributary  King  of  Judah.  §  10.  Neco's  power  in  Asia  extinguished  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. Prophecies  against  Egypt.  §11.  Partial  reopening  of  the  Red  Sea  Canal 
§  12.  Maritime  enterprises  of  Neco.  Story  of  the  circumnavigation  of  Africa 
Growth  of  Hellenic  influence.  Psamatik  II.,  or  Psammis.  Ambassadors  from 
Elis:  the  Olympic  Games.  §  13.  Reign  of  Wah-2)rci-hat,  PnARAon-HopiiRA  or 
Apkies,  as  related  by  Herodotus.  Successes  against  Sidon  and  Tyre.  War  with 
Cyreue.  Mutiny  of  the  Egyptian  army.  Elevation  of  Amasis.  Death  of  Apries. 
§  14.  The  Scriptural  account  of  Pharaoh-Hophra.  His  Alliance  with  Zedekiah. 
Prophetic  testimonies  to  the  destructive  invasion  of  Egypt  by  Nebuchadnezzar. 
§  15.  Amasis  or  Aahmfs  II.  His  early  life  and  character.  Union  of  business 
and  pleasure.  §  10.  Prosperity  of  Egypt.  Law  against  idleness.  §  17.  Encour- 
agement of  foreign  commerce.  Greeks  allowed  to  reside  at  Naucratis,  and  to 
build  temples.     The  Hdlenion.     §  IS.  Flourishing  state  of  Egyptiau  art.    Works 


1C4  THE  LATER  SAITE  MONARCHY. 

of  Amasis.  His  gifts  to  Greek  temples.  Friendship  with  Polycrate?.  Alliance 
with  Cyreue.  §  19.  League  with  Lydia  and  Bal)yl()n  airainst  Cyrus.  Ph.vmmen 
iTi's.  Couquesl  of  Egypt  by  Canil')yse.s.  Dunaxtrj  XA'Vll.  of  Persicois.  5  -JO.  Kc- 
volts  against  Persia.  Dynasties  XXVIIl.  {Scute),  XXIX.  (Mendesian),  XXX.  {Se- 
henmjte).  Final  conquest  by  Ochus.  XXXIst  Persian  DijMistij.  Conquest  by 
Alexander. 

§  1.  "Ix  what  follows,"  says  Herodotus  at  tliis  point,  "  1 
have  the  authority,  uot  of  the  Egyptians  only,  but  of  others 
also  who  agree  with  them."^  The  republican  historian  sarcas- 
tically remarks,  that  the  liberated  Egyptians  were  unable  to 
continue  any  longer  without  a  king  ;  and  so  they  divided 
Egypt  into  twelve  districts,^  and  set  twelve  kings  over  them, 
who  nded  in  peace,  bound  to  each  other  .by  interman-iages 
and  by  the  most  solemn  engagements.  This  Dodecarchy^  as 
it  is  called,  seems  to  have  been  a  union  of  the  petty  princes 
of  the  Delta  against  the  Ethiopian  power  in  Upper  Egypt. 
Of  course,  it  could  not  last ;  and  its  end,  after  15  years,  is  re- 
lated by  Herodotus  in  the  spirit  of  the  age. 

The  voice  of  oracles  had  great  weight  in  public  affairs,  but 
ambitious  men  had  learned  how  to  bribe  the  oracles  or  to 
contrive  the  fulfillment  of  their  ambiguous  responses.  The 
twelve  chiefs  had  been  the  stricter  in  making  their  mutual 
engagements,  as  an  oracle  had  predicted  "that  he  among 
them  who  should  pour  in  thetemple  of  Phtha  a  libation  from 
a  cup  of  bronze  would  become  monarch  of  the  whole  land 
of  Egypt."  They  were  w' out  to  worship  together  in  all  the 
chief  temples;  and  they  had  thus  met  in  the  temple  of  Phtha, 
when  the  high-priest  (of  course,  by  accident)  brought  out 
only  eleven  golden  goblets  for  the  libations  of  the  twelve 
kings.  The  one  who  stood  last  ^vas  Psammetichus,  the  son 
of  that  Xechao  who  had  been  put  to  death  by  Sabac^o  (or  by 
Tirhakah).  He  foilhwith  took  off  his  helmet  of  bronze^ 
stretched  it  out  to  receive  the  liquoi-,  and  so  made  his  liba- 
tion. His  colleagues  remembered  the  oracle,  and  banished 
Psammetichus  to  the  marshes.  Meditating  revenge,  he  sent 
to  the  oracle  of  Buto,  the  most  veracious  of  all  the  Egyptian 
oracles,  and  received  with  incredulity  the  answer  that  "  Ven- 
geance would  come  from  the  sea,  when  brazen  men  should 
ap])ear."  Shortly  afterwards,  certain  Carian  and  Ionian  ad- 
venturers, in  search  of  plunder,  being  driven  by  stress  of 
weather  to  Egypt,  disembarked  in  their  brazen  armor ;  and 
a  terrified  native  carried  the  tidings  to  Psammetichus  that 
brazen  men  had  come  from  the  sea,  and  were  plunderino-  the 
plain.     Psammetichus  engaged  the  strangers  in  his  service  ; 

^  Herod,  ii.  147. 

2  Wilkinson  supposes  these  to  he  the  twelve  nomes  of  the  Delta.  i\I.  Lenormant 
supposes  the  twelve  rulers  to  have  heeu  military  chiefs  of  the  Libyan  (Maxyan)  mi- 
litia.   Thev  would  rather  seem  to  have  been  the  chief  local  princes. 


ACCESSION  OF  PSAMMETICHUS  I.  165 

and  by  their  aid,  and  that  of  the  Egyptians  who  sided  with 
him,  he  vanquished  the  eleven  and  made  himself  king  of 
Egypt.' 

§  2.  Such  is  the  picturesque  dress  of  the  bare  fact  that 
PsAMATiK  I.,  the  son  of  Xechao,  or  Necho  I.,  and  consequent- 
ly the  representative  of  the  Saite  and  Memphian  monarchy, 
regained  the  throne  of  Egypt  by  the  aid  of  Greek  mer- 
cenaries, whose  regular  employment  dates  from  his  reign. 
His  apparently  Libyan  name  is  thought  by  some  to  mark  his 
origin  from  the  Maxyan  militia.  We  have  seen  the  part  played 
by  his  father  in  the  late  contests,*  and  the  son  had  taken  i-efuge 
in  the  marshes  when  Neclio  was  put  to  death."  But  now  the 
politic  chief  formed  a  matrimonial  alliance  with  the  Ethio- 
pians, whether  after  a  successful  campaign  or  to  avoid  war 
does  not  appear;  and  thus  he  reunited  the  whole  of  Egypt 
under  the  Twenty-sixth  Dynasty^  of  t>a"tsi^''  He  asserted  his 
legitimate  claim  to  the  throne  by  ignoring  the  17  years  of 
the  anarchy  and  dodecarchy,  and  dating  his  reign  from  the 
death  of  Tirhakah.' 

The  chronology  of  the  Saite  kings  is  now  pretty  well  fixed 
within  a  limit  of  doubt  not  exceeding  two  years  ;  the  acces- 
sion of  Psammetichus  being  from  b.c.  666  to  664,  and  the  Per- 
sian conquest  in  b.c.  527  or  525.  The  succession  of  kings 
is  as  follows: 

Years.  Accession  B.C. 

1.  Psammetichus  l 54  G6G  or  GG4 

2.  Neco  (Pharaoh-Nechoh) IG  G12  or  CIO 

3.  Psammetichus  II 6  59G  or  594 

4.  Apries  (Pharaoh-Hophra) l!>  590  or  5SS 

5.  Amasis  (Aahmes  II.) 44  5T1  or  509 

6.  Psammenitus G  mo.  527  or  525** 

3  Herod,  ii.  147, 151, 152.  Eespectiug  the  obvious  inconsistencies  and  improbabili- 
ties of  the  story,  and  the  whole  question  of  the  previous  employment  of  foreign  aux- 
iliaries aud  mercenaries  by  the  Kings  of  Egypt,  see  Wilkinson's  note  on  the  passage, 
in  Rawlinson's  "  Herodotus."  **  See  chap.  vii.  §  17.  ' 

^  Herod,  ii.  152.  We  have  no  positive  information  of  a  relationship  between  the 
Saites  of  the  XXVIth  dynasty  and  Bocchoris  of  the  XXIVth  ;  but  it  seems  uow  quite 
clear  that  the  monarchy  of  Psammetichus  was  a  revival  of  that  founded  by  Bocchoris 
at  Sais.  Manetho  places  Nechao  next  before  Psammetichus  in  his  XXVIth  Dynasty  ; 
tha  name  being  probably  inserted  to  recognize  his  right  ratlier  than  in  order  of  time. 
So  also  before  him  stand  Xec.hepsos  and  StepMnates,  who  may  have  been  princes  of 
the  Dodecarchy.  Before  them  Eusebius  places  as  the  lirst  King  of  the  Dynasty 
^'Ammeris,  the  Ethiopian,"  who  is  evidently  the  Ethiopian  invader,  Avien-meri-nout. 

6  We  learn  from  the  monuments  of  Thebes  that,  during  the  Dodecarchy,  Upper 
Egypt  was  governed  by  the  Ethiopian  Pkinkh  IL,  who  reigned  conjointly  with  liis 
wife,  Ameniritis  (or  Amimatis),  sister  of  Shabaka,  a  woman  of  high  intelligence,  who 
had  been  several  times  regent  of  Upper  Egypt  under  the  Ethiopian  dynasty.  It  was 
their  daughter  and  heir,  Shap-en-cq),  or  {TapesHta%}Cfi),  that  Psamatik  I.  married. 

^  See  chap.  vii.  §  17. 

8  The  computation  depends  on  the  Apis-stelce,  the  numbers  given  by  Manetho  and 
Herodotus,  and  the  Assyrian  and  Jewish  annals.  We  have  seen  how  the  annals  of 
A.sshur-bani-pal  bear  on'the  beginning  of  the  period  :  its  end  depends  on  the  date  of 
the  Persian  conquest,  which  is  usually  placed  in  the  5th  year  of  Cambyses  (n.o.  52,5)  ; 
but  some  of  the  highest  authorities  (as  M.  de  Rouge)  refer  it  to  that  king's  3d  year 


166  THE  LATER  iSAlTE  MONARCHY. 

§  3.  The  very  position  of  Sais,  the  last  capital  of  independ- 
ent Egypt,  is  signilicant  of  the  foreign  relations  ^yhic]l  now 
begin  to  be  conspicnous.  It  was  situate  in  31°  4'  N.  lat.,  on  the 
i-ig^it  bank  of  the  Canopic^  the  most  westerly  branch  of  the 
Nile,  more  than  40  miles  from  the  sea.  The  great  embank- 
ment which  raised  it  above  the  inundation  made  the  city 
conspicuous  to  voyagers  ascending  the  river ;  and  its  site  is 
still  marked  by  the  great  mounds  to  the  north  of  iSa-el-Ha- 
(far  {Sa  of  the  stone),^  the  village  wliich  preserves  the  old 
Eo-yptian  name  of  ^Ssa,  the  sacred  city  of  JVeith,  whom  the 
Greeks  identified  with  Athena.  Tiie  splendid  temple  of  the 
goddess,  which  Amasis  decorated  with  great  works  of  art, 
besides  building  its  magnificent  propykTa,'"  contained  the 
tombs  of  the  Saite  kings,''  and  the  burial-place  of  Osiris, 
whose  mysteries  were  celebrated  in  a  lake  near  the  temple. 

"  The  remains  are  now  confined  to  a  few  broken  blocks, 
some  ruins  of  houses,  and  a  large  inclosure  surrounded  by 
massive  crude-brick  walls.  These  last  are  about  TO  feet 
thick,  and  of  very  solid  construction.  Between  the  courses 
of  bricks  are  layers  of  reeds,  intended  to  serve  as  binders. 
.  .  .  The  walls  inclose  a  space  measuring  2325  feet  long 
by  1960,  the  north  side  of  which  is  occupied  by  the  lake 
mentioned  by  Herodotus.  As  he  says  it  was  of  circular 
form,  and  it  is  now  long  and  irregular,  w^e  may  conclude  that 
it  has  since  encroached  on  part  of  the  temertos,  or  sacred  in- 
closures,  where  the  temple  of  ^linerva  and  the  tombs  of  the 
Saite  kings  stood.  The  site  of  the  temple  appears  to  have 
been  in  the  low  open  space  to  the  west,  and  parts  of  the  wall 
of  its  temenos  may  be  traced  on  two  sides:  it  was  about  720 
feet  in  breadth,  or  a  little  more  than  that  around  the  temple 
of  Tanis.  To  the  east  of  it  are  mounds,  with  remains  of 
crude-brick  houses,  the  walls  of  which  are  partially  standing, 
and  here  and  there  bear  evident  signs  of  having  been  burnt. 
This  part  has  received  the  name  of  'el  Kala'  {the  citadel)^ 
from  its  being  higher  than  the  rest,  and  from  the  appearance 
of  two  massive  buildings  at  the  upper  and  lower  end,  Avhich 
seem  to  have  been  intended  for  defense.  It  is  not  impossi- 
ble that  this  was  the  royal  palace.'"^ 

(b.c.  527).  The  important  testimony  of  a  stela,  which  mentions  a  man  as  born  in  the 
3cl  year  of  Neco,  and  dying  in  the  35th  of  Amasis,  seems  to  prove  that  the  shorter  of 
the  two  lengths  assigned  "to  the  reign  of  Apries  (19  years  and  25  years)  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred. Herodotus  places  the  accession  of  Psammetichns  Ufi  years  before  the  in- 
vasion of  Cambyses,  which  carries  ns  back  to  about  n.o.  670.  The  difference  is  slight ; 
and  these  long  periods  are  seldom  exact..  The  total  Avonld  probably  be  lengthened 
by  the  ovcrlnjyping  of  reigns. 

9  So  called  from  the  broken  blocks  of  stone  that  belonged  to  the  ancient  cit}'. 

10  Herod,  ii.  175. 

11  Herodotus  (ii.  169)  particularly  meniions  those  of  Amasis,  and  of  Apries  and  his 
family,  and  describes  the  latter.  i-  Williiuson's  "Handbook  to  Egypt,"  p.  102. 


THE  CITY  OF  SAIS.  1G7 

§  4.  At  Sais  was  celebrated  the  "  Feast  of  Lamps,"  in 
honor  of  Neith,  which  Herodotus  ranks  third  in  honor  among 
the  annual  festivals  of  Egypt ;  and  it  must  have  been  among 
the  most  beautiful.  "At  Sais,  when  the  assembly  takes 
place  for  the  sacrifices,  there  is  one  night  on  which  the  in- 
habitants all  burn  a  multitude  of  lights  round  their  houses 
in  the  open  air.  They  use  lamps,  which  are  flat  saucers  fill- 
ed with  a  mixture  of  oil  and  salt,  on  the  top  of  which  the 
wick  floats.  These  burn  the  whole  night,  and  give  to  the 
festival  the  name  of  the  Feast  of  Lamps.  The  Egyptians 
who  are  absent  from  the  festival  observe  the  night  of  the 
sacrifice,  no  less  than  the  rest,  by  a  general  lighting  of 
lamps ;  so  that  the  illumination  is  not  confined  to  the  city 
of  Sais,  but  extends  over  the  whole  of  Egypt. '"^ 

§  5.  Lying  on  that  branch  of  the  Nile  along  which  was 
the  direct  route  of  the  Greeks  into  Egypt,  and  a  little  above 
Naucratis,  which  was  assigned  for  their  abode,  Sais  was  es- 
pecially interesting  to  the  Athenians  from  the  identification 
of  its  patron  goddess  with  their  own.^*  Their  civic  hero, 
Cecrops,  was  said  to  be  a  native  of  Sais  ;  and  another  tradi- 
tion even  made  Sais  a  colony  of  Athens,'^  so  strong  was  the 
Hellenic  element  in  the  Egyptian  city.  How  early  the  con- 
nection began  it  is  impossible  to  say.  Eusebius'"  says  that, 
in  the  reign  of  Bocchoris,  the  Milesians  became  powerful  at 
sea,  and  built  the  city  of  Xaucratis  ;  but  the  reign  of  Psam- 
metichus  was  certainly  the  epoch  at  which  the  Chinese-like 
exelusiveness  of  Egypt  was  broken  through  by  the  admis- 
sion of  foreigners  to  that  harbor,  whence  they  would  pro- 
ceed to  the  neighboring  capital.  Pythagoras  is  said  to  have 
visited  Sais  in  the  reign  of  Amasis  ;''  and  there,  about  the 
same  time,  Solon  conversed  with  a  Saite  priest,^"  from  whom 
he  learnt  the  fable  of  Atlantis  and  the  primeval  renown  of 
Athens.^^  Diodorus  mentions  a  number  of  instances  which 
show  the  anxiety  of  the  priests  of  Sais  to  ingratiate  them- 
selves with  the  Athenians,  by  discovering  resemblances  be- 
tween Attic  and  Egyptian  institutions.^"  Manetho  says  that 
the  Greek  po[)ulation  of  Sais  was  governed  by  their  own  laws 
and  magistrates,  and  had  a  separate  quarter  of  the  city  as- 
signed to  them. 

§  6.  Diodorus  thus   describes   the    Hellenizing   policy  of 

13  Herod,  ii.  Q2. 

!■*  It  has  been  observed  that  the  essential  letters  of  Xeith  aud  'AOmu  are  the  same 
in  the  inverse  order. 

15  Compare  Diod.  i.  2S,  §  3,  and  v.  5T,  §  45. 

IS  Chron.  Canon,  nnder  Olymp.  vi.  i^  Plin.  xxxvi.  9,  s.  14. 

1^  Pint.  Solon,  26.  Herodotns  (ii.  177)  speaks  of  his  adopting  the  law  of  Amasis, 
that  all  who  could  show  no  visible  means  of  subsistence  should  be  put  to  death. 

'«  Plato,  "  Timaeus,"  iii.  p.  25.  '"  Diod.  i.  2S. 


168  THE  LATER  SAITE  MONARCHY. 

Psammetichus:  "  He  received  with  hospitality  the  strangers 
who  came  to  visit  Egypt;  he  loved  Greece  so  much  that  he 
caused  his  children  to  be  taught  its  language.'''  He  was  the 
first  of  the  Egyptian  kings  who  opened  to  other  nations  em- 
poria  for  their  merchandise,  and  gave  security  to  voyagers  ; 
for  his  predecessors  had  rendered  Egypt  inaccessible  to  foi-- 
eigners  by  putting  some  to  death,  and  condemning  others  to 
slavery."  He  kept  on  foot  a  large  body  of  mercenaries, 
lonians,"  and  Carians,  as  well  as  Arabians,  and  assigned  to 
his  Greek  soldiers  two  "camps  "  (as  the  abodes  of  foreign  set- 
tlers were  called)  on  the  two  banks  of  the  Pelusiac  brancli,  a 
little  beloAV  Bubastis,  evidently  as  a  garrison  for  the  eastern 
frontier." 

"  From  the  date  of  the  original  settlement  of  these  per- 
sons in  Egypt,"  says  Herodotus,  "we  Greeks,  thi-ough  our 
intercourse  with  them,  have  acquired  an  accurate  kno\yledge 
of  the  several  events  of  Egyptian  history,  from  the  reign  of 
Psammetichus  downward ;  but  before  his  time  no  foreigners 
had  ever  taken  up  their  residence  in  that  land." 

Besides  these  Greeks,  Psammetichus  engaged  Phoenician 
sailors  ;  and,  with  such  forces  at  his  command,  he  aspired  to 
recover  the  empire  of  Western  Asia,  where  tlie  power  of  As- 
syria was  in  the  last  stage  of  its  decline.  But  his  enterprise 
was  stopped  on  the  very  threshold  by  the  resistance  of  the 
Philistine  city  of  Azotus  {A.shdod),\he  key  to  the  great  mil- 
itary route,  which  he  only  took  afler  a  siege  of  twenty-nine 
years."* 

§  1.  Meanwhile  an  event  occurred  which  proved  that  tlie 
"new  wine"  of  Hellenism,  instead  of  infusing  new  life-blood 
into  Egypt,  would  "  burst  the  old  bottles  "  of  her  rigid  in- 
stitutions, and  cause  both  to  perish  together.  The  flivors 
lieaped  by  Psammetichus  upon  his  mercenai-ies  roused  the 
jealousy  of  the  native  military  class,  which  broke  out  into 
open  mutiny  when,  in  Ins  Syrian  expedition,  he  gave  the 
foreigners  the  post  of  honor  on  the  right  wing.  Upon  this 
the  whole  class  of  Avarriors,to  the  number  of  200,000  (Herod- 
otus says  240,000),  deserted  in  a  body,  and  marched  away 
into  Ethiopia.     This  is  the  account  of  Diodorus,  which  is  not 

-'1  Herodotus  {loc.  inf.  cit.)  savs  that,  he  intrni>ted  certain  Egyptian  children  to  his 
Greek  soldiers  to  learn  Greek  T  and  that  those  so  taught  ijecanie  the  parents  of  the 
class  of  "  interpreters." 

22  lonianfi  was  now  the  Eijvptian  name  for  the  Greeks  in  penernl. 

2^  Herod,  ii.  154.  He  adds  that  Amasis  removed  the  Greeks  to  Memphip,  to  guard 
h.ini  against  the  native  Egyptians. 

24  Herod,  ii.  157.  He  adds  that  this  was  the  longest  siege  known.  The  captiira  and 
colonization  of  the  city  by  Sargon  accounts  for  its  long  resistance.  Ashdod  (which, 
like  the  Arabic  shedeed,  means  strong)  was  the  great  stronghold  of  the  Philistines  (1 
Sam.  V.  2),  and  continued  the  main  fortress  on  this  frontier.  It  was  repeatedly  taken 
and  retaken  in  the  wars  between  E-jypt  and  Asia. 


DESERTION  OF  THE  WARRIOKS.  169 

only  more  probable  than  the  motive  assigned  by  Herodotus 
for  the  desertion,  but  is  confirmed  by  Hei-odotus's  own  s%ate- 
ment  that  these  Automoli  (deserters)  bore  tlie  name  of  ^.s- 
mach^  meaning  "  the  men  on  the  left  hand  of  the  king  "  (or 
rather,  the  left  iinng  of  the  army)."  Herodotus  adds  tliat 
Psammetichus  pursued  and  ovei'iook  them;  but  his  enti-eat- 
ties  that  they.  Avould  return  were  insolently  repelled  ;  and 
they  received  from  the  king  of  Ethiopia  the  grant  of  the 
lands  of  certain  Ethiopians  with  whom  he  was  at  feud. 
"From  the  time  that  this  settlement  was  formed  their  ac- 
quaintance with  Egyptian  manners  has  tended  to  civilize  the 
Ethiopians,""^  is  a  remark  which,  however  inaccurate,  proves 
that  Herodotus  did  not  believe  that  the  course  of  civilization 
w\as  down  the  Nile. 

From  a  curious  Greek  inscription  at  AboK-Simbel,  it  ap- 
pears that  Psammetichus  himself  did  not  follow  the  deserters 
higher  than  Elephantine,  but  that  the  pursuit  was  continued 
to  a  considerable  distance  up  the  river  by  his  Greek  soldiei-s, 
who,  on  their  return,  left  this  record  of  the  adventure."  The 
part  of  Ethiopia  in  winch  these  deserters  settled  is  hard  to 
determine.  Herodotus  makes  it  as  far  above  Meroe  as  Meroe 
is  above  Elephantine,  which  would  be  in  Abyssinia.'^  Dio- 
dorus  says  that  they  settled  in  the  most  fertile  part  of  Ethio- 
pia, which  would  answer  to  the  neighborhood  of  Meroe  ;  and 
the  geographers  mention  a  people  called  Enonynntfp  (those 
on  the  left  hand,  equivalent  to  the  Asmach  of  Herodotus),  to 
the  north-west  of  Meroe."^ 

§  8.  The  desertion  of  the  military  caste  Avas  a  reason  why 
Psammetichus  should  show  the  more  favor  to  the  priests. 
He  erected  propylaea  to  the  great  temple  of  Phtha  at  Mem- 
phis, and  built  or  enlarged  the  edifice  where  the  bull  Apis 
was  kept.     The  sacred^books,  and  especially  the  Bitual  of 

25  Herod,  ii.  .^0.  The  motive  which  he  assigns  for  the  desertion  is  the  non-relief  for 
three  years  of  the  frontier  garrisons,  which  were  Icept  in  Elephantine  against  the 
Etliinpians,  in  the  Pelusiac  Daphnoe  against  the  Syrians  and  Arabians,  and  in  Marea 
against  the  Libyans,  who,  he  says,  consulted  together,  and,  havin<,'  determined  I)y 
common  consent  to  revolt,  marched  away  towards  Ethiopia- a  highly  improbable 
combination. 

2«  Herod.  I.  c. 

27  For  the  inscription,  see  W^ilkinson's  Note  to  Herod,  ii.  30,  Rawlinsou.  There  is 
no  reasonable  doubt  that  it  refers  to  the  occasion  in  question.  The  king's  name  is 
spelt  Psamatichos,  a  form  nearer  the  Egyptian  than  that  of  Herodotus.  The  names 
of  "  Psamatichus,  the  son  of  Theocles,"  the  leader  of  the  force,  as  well  as  of  "Ama- 
sis,"  indicate  that  Egyptian  names  of  honor  were  given  to  the  Greek  commanders, 
as  in  the  case  of  Joseph.  No  inference  can  be  drawn  as  to  any  connection  of  this 
"Amasis"  with  the  family  of  the  later  king  of  that  r.ame.  The  words  describing 
the  fEvrthest  point  reached  by  the  soldiers  are  uufortun;.tely  obscure. 

28  It  is  possible  that  Herodotus  may  have  confused  .McroG  with  Napata,  which  he 
does  not  mention.     (See  chap.  vii.  §  13,  note  47.) 

29  Strabo,  xvii.  p.  7S0  ;  Plin.  vi.  30.  These  writers,  however,  place  tlic  Automoli 
above  Meroe. 

S 


170  THE  LATER  SAITE  MONAKCHY. 

the  Dead,  appear  to  have  been  revised  in  his  reign.  In  fact, 
the  whole  period  of  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty  may  be  justly 
called  the  renaissance  of  the  religious  art  of  Egypt.  JMan- 
etho  assigns  hfty-four  years  to  his  reign  ;  and  his  fifty-fourth 
year  is  found  on  the  monuments. 

§  9,  Under  Neku  or  Nechao  IT.,'"  the  Necos  of  Herodo- 
tus, and  the  Pharaoh-necho  o^  the  Bible,  the  Saite  monarchy 
reached  its  acme,  only  to  receive  a  decisive  blow  from  the 
new  power  of  Babylon.  The  capture  of  Asbdod  had  opened 
the  road  to  Asia ;  and  the  fall  of  Nineveh,  whether  accom- 
plished or  impending,  left  the  empire  of  Western  Asia  once 
more,  as  a  Greek  would  have  said,  "in  the  midst," as  the 
prize  of  a  contest  between  Egypt  and  Babylon.^'  Neco  set 
out  for  the  Euphrates  along  the  well-AVorn  road  through  the 
maritime  plain  and  tlie  valley  of  Esdi-aelon.  '  Here,  however, 
he  encountered  an  unexpected  obstacle.  Josiah,  the  reform- 
ing King  of  Judah,  faithful  to  his  liege,  and  ardent  in  the 
anti-Egyptian  policy  prescribed  by  the  prophets  to  his  house, 
marched  out  to  withstand  him.  Disregarding  the  friendly 
remonstrance  of  Neco,  except  so  far  as  to  disguise  his  own 
person,  the  King  of  Judah  marched  down  from  the  highlands 
of  Manassch,  by  the  pass  which  issues  near  Megiddo,  only  to 
be  carried  off  in  his  chariot,  mortally  wounded  by  the  Egyp- 
tian archers."^ 

Having  won  this  last  of  Egypt's  victories  in  Asia,  on  the 

30  Herodotus  calls  him  the  son  of  Psammetichus ;  but  he  appears,  from  the  monn- 
raeuts,  to  have  been  his  son-in-law,  as  he  married  Neit-akri  (Nitocris),  the  daughter 
i)f  Psammetichus.  But  it  is  quite  possible  that  he  may  have  married  his  half-sister. 
We  adopt  the  skimpiest  spelling  of  the  name. 

31  The  text  is  so  worded  as  not  to  involve  a  decision  of  the  doubt  respecting  the 
epoch  of  the  fall  of  Nineveh.  Those  who  adopt  the  date  of  b.c.  625  regard  Nabopo- 
Jassar  as  too  much  engaged  with  the  consolidation  of  his  new  power,  and  with  the 
aid  he  rendered  to  Cyaxares  in  the  Lydian  war,  to  concern  himself  with  the  provinces 
west  of  the  Euphrates.  On  the  other  hand,  the  express  statement,  in  the  book  of 
Kings,  that  "  Pharaoh-nechoh  went  up  against  the  king  of  Assijria,"'  is  a  strong 
argument  for  the  Iatc7-  date  of  the  fall  of  Nineveh  (b.o.  600):  for  the  date  of  Josiah's 
death  is  fixed  both  by  Egyptian  and  Biblical  chronology  (see  note  85).  The  Jewish 
writers  do  not  confound  Assyria  and  Babylon.  (2  Kings  xxiii.  29 :  in  2  Chron.  xxxv. 
20,  Necho  goes  up  "to  fight  against  Carcheminh,''''  neither  Assyria  nor  Babylon  being 
mentioned.)  It  seems  probable  that  Neco  would  have  used  the  opportunity  for  join- 
ing in  the  general  attack  on  Assyria,  when,  as  Herodotus  says,  "she  stood  alone,  de 
Perred  by  her  allies"  (Herod,  i.  102).    Comp.  chap.  xiv.  §  20. 

3^  2  Kings  xxiii.  20,  i50 ;  2  Chron.  xxxv.  20-24.  The  latter  passage  is  remarkable  for 
giving  the  var.ie  of  the  king  without  the  title  of  Pharaoh.  Herodotus  (ii.  150)  says 
thatNecos  made  war  by  land  upon  the  H]irian.'<,  and  defeated  them  in  a  pitched  battle 
at  Magdolus  (evidently  not  heie,  as  elsewhere,  Mifidol,  in  Egypt) ;  after  which  he  made 
himself  master  of  Cadytis,  a  large  city  of  Syria.  This  is  commonly  supposed  to  mean 
Jerusalem  {Kodcfih  or  Kadnsha,  the  Holjj)  ;  but  some  take  it  for  Kadesh  on  the  Oron- 
tes,  the  old  capital  of  the  Hittites.  It  may  have  been  worth  Neco's  while  to  complete 
the  conquest  of  Syria  ;  but  it  seems  more  probable  that  he  would  not  delay  his  march 
to  the  Euphrates.  He  maj',  however,  have  taken  Kadesh  on  his  return  through  CceIc- 
Syria  (see  what  follows  in  the  text).  In  the  other  passage  where  Herodotus  mentions 
Cadytis  (iii.  5),  Gaza  is  generally  supposed  to  be  meant. 


NECO  AND  NEBUCHADNEZZAR.  171 

old  baitle-field  of  Tbothmes  III.,  Neco  advanced  to  Carche- 
liiish,  the  object  of  liis  expedition,^'  and  once  more  posted  an 
Egyptian  garrison  in  that  key  to  the  line  of  the  Euphrates. 
Returning  through  Coele-Syria  (Haniath),Xeco  sent  for  Je- 
hoahaz,  whom  the  people  had  made  king  at  Jerusalem,  and 
put  liim  in  bonds,  making  his  brother  Eliakim  (who  Avas  now 
called  Jeh()i;ikim)  king  in  his  place;  and  imposed  a  heavy 
tribute  on  Jiidah.  He  then  returned  to  Egypt,  taking  with 
him  Jehoahaz,  who  died  there.'^ 

§  10.  The  recovery  of  the  boundary  of  the  Euphrates  was 
but  a  dying  gleam  of  military  glory  for  the  Saite  Pliaraohs. 
Four  years  later  (b.c.  604)  Xebuciiadxezzar  ascended  the 
throne  of  Babylon, ^Miaving,  in  the  previous  year,  before  his 
father's  death,  crushed  tlie  Egyptian  army  at  Carchemish,'' 
marched  on  to  Jerusalem,  received  the  submission  of  Jelioia- 
kim,  and  at  one  blow  stripped  Egypt  of  all  power  in  Asia. 
In  the  emphatic  words  of  the  sacred  annalist,  "  The  king  of 
Egyi>t  came  not  again  any  more  out  of  his  land  ;  for  the 
king  of  Babylon  Jiad  taken,  from  the  river  of  Egypt  unto  the 
river  Euphrates,  all  that  pertained  to  the  king  of  Egy[)t."" 
The  brief  warlike  enterprise  of  Xeco  was  out  of  date,  and 
left  nothing  but  its  fame.  "Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt  is  but  a 
noise  ;  he  hath  jiassed  the  time  appointed,"  says  Jeremiah,'" 
in  the  great  prophecies  delivered  while  the  armies  were  mar- 
shalled at  Carchemish  for  the  "  sacrifice  to  the  Lord  of  Hosts 
in  the  north  country  by  the  river  Euphrates  ;"  in  which  he 
predicts  the  invasion  of  Egypt  by  Xebuchadnezzar,  and  her 
destruction  like  one  of  her  own  sacred  heifers  ;  the  fall  of 
Memphis,  and  the  punishment  of  Thebes  and  Pharaoh  and 
Egypt,  with  their  gods  and  all  that  trust  in  Pharaoh."''  The 
prophecy  was  fulhlled  in  the  time  of  Pharaoh-Hophra  or 
Apries,  the  second  from  Xeco. 

§  11.  In  the  works  of  Xeco  at  home  we  trace  those  new 
movements  of  foreign  intercourse  which  give  to  the  Sa'ite 
dynasty  its  peculiar  character.     Foremost  among  them  was 

S3  2  Chron.  xxxv.  20c 

3*  2  Kings  xxjii.  30-35 ;  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  1-4,  There  is  nothing  to  show  that  Neco 
-y^isited  Jerusal'jm.  From  this  time  to  the  captivity  the  course  of  events  in  Judjea 
was  mainly  influenced  by  the  struggles  between  the  Egyptian  and  Babylonian  par- 
ties, as  before  between  the  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  parties,  at  Jerusalem.  Jeremiah 
is  now,  as  Isaiah  was  before,  the  great  opponent  of  the  Egyptianizing  priests  and 
princes. 

35  lu  Jerem.  xxv.  1-3,  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  is  reckoned  as  the  first  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, and  also  as  the  23d  year  from  the  13th  year  of  Josiah.  Supposing  the 
fourth  of  Jehoiakim  to  be  current  at  Nebuchadnezzar's  accession  (Jan.  b.c.  604),  it 
follows  thai  the  first  of  Jehoiakim  was  b.c.  60S-60T ;  and,  adding  the  three  months 
of  Jehoahaz,  we  have  the  beginning  of  b.c.  60S,  or  the  very  end  of  u.c.  609,  as  the  ear* 
aest  possible  date  for  dosiah's  death. 

3«  Jerem.  xlvi.  1,  2,  0,  10.  37  2  Kings  xxiv.  7.  38  jcrem.  xlvL  IT. 

**  Jerem.  xlvi.  1-27. 


172  THE  LATER  SAITE  MONARCHY. 

liis  attempt  to  re-open  and  complete  tlie  canal  connecting  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  lied  Sea,  which  had  been  begun  and 
perhaps  completed  by  Seti  I.  and  Rameses  11."°  The  canal, 
which  was  four  days'  journey  in  length,  and  wide  enough  to 
admit  of  two  triremes  being  rowed  abreast,  left  the  Pelusiac 
branch  of  the  Nile  a  little"  above  Bnbastis,  and  was  carried 
by  a  circuitous  route,  iirst  eastward  and  then  southward, 
to  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez/'  It  cost  the  lives  of  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty  thousand  of  the  Egyptians  during  the 
reign  of  Neco,  who  at  length  desisted  on  account  of  an  oracle, 
which  warned  him  tliat  h^e  was  laboring  for  the  barbariar.s" 
— a  sign  of  the  growth  of  foreign  commerce,  and  probably 
of  the  obstructive  power  of  the  old  Egyi>tian  party. 

§  12.  Neco  maintained  fleets  both  in  the  Mediterranean 
and  the  Erythraean  Seas  ;  and  Herodotus  says  that  the  docks 
on  the  Red  Rea  for  the  latter  fleet  were  visible  in  his  time.'' 
To  his  Red  Sea  fleet  Herodotus  ascribes  the  most  signal 
achievement  of  ancient  maritime  discovery — the  circumnavi- 
gation of  Africa.""  The  story  is  that  Neco,  when  disappoint- 
ed of  connecting  the  Mediterranean  and  Eastern  Seas  by  his 
canal,  sent  to  sea  a  fleet  luanned  by  P]ioenicians,wnth  orders  to 
make  for  the  Pillars  of  Hei-cules,and  I'eturn  to  Egypt  through 
them  and  by  the  Northern  Sea  (/.  e.  the  Mediterranean). 
They  sailed  through  the  Erytlira?an  Sea  into  the  Southei-n 
Ocean.  When  autumn  came,  they  went  on  shore,  wherever 
they  might  be,  and,  having  sown  a  tract  of  land  with  corn, 
waited  until  the  grain  was  flt  to  cut."^     Having  reaped  it, 

40  Herod,  ii.  158 ;  iv.  39.  The  mistake  of  Herodotus,  in  sayins?  that  Neco  was  the 
first  to  construct  the  canal,  arose  from  its  being  filled  up  by  the  sandy  soil,  so  that 
the  attempt  to  open  it  was  virtually  a  new  work.  Aristotle,  Strabo,  and  Pliny  ascribe 
its  commencement  to  Sesostris,  and  monuments  of  Rameses  II.  mark  its  course.  Its 
completion  by  Darius  is  still  a  disputed  question.  There  is  on  the  Suez  stone,  near 
its  ancient  month,  a  cuneiform  inscription  with  the  name  of  "  Daryaoush  naga  waz- 
arka"  (Darius  the  Great  King),  stating  that  he  completed  it,  but  tilled  up  a  part  of 
it  again  ;  which  may  be  a  mode  of  evading  a  conli'ssion  of  failure.  For  an  account 
of  the  course  and  history  of  the  canals,  see  Wilkinson's  Note  to  Herod,  ii.  15S,  and 
"  Handbook  for  Egypt,"  pp.  194-190. 

*i  The  modern  canal  of  M.  de  Les^seps,  opened  in  November,  1S69,  proceeds,  not 
from  the  Nile,  but  southward  from  Lake  Menzaleh  to  join  the  course  of  the  old  ca- 
nal where  it  bends  to  the  S.  near  the  Bitter  Lakes,  between  which  and  Suez  it  is  said 
to  have  been  still  open  as  late  as  the  time  of  Mohammed  Ali.  The  ancient  canal  was 
of  fresh  water. 

■*"  Herod,  ii.  158.  Diodorus  ascribes  the  cessation  of  the  work  to  the  discovery  that 
the  level  of  the  Red  Sea  was  higher  than  the  soil  of  Egypt;  and  Pliny  repeats  th« 
statement  in  connection  with  its  resumption  by  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  an  imaginary 
reason  for  a  doubtful  fiact.  Herodotus  in  the  one  case  and  Strabo  in  the  other  assert 
that  both  kings  did  open  the  canal  to  the  Red  Sea:  nor  would  the  difference  of  level 
(if  real)  have  been  an  obstacle,  for  we  learn,  from  Diodorus  himself,  as  well  as  from 
Strabo,  that  there  were  sluices  at  the  mouth  of  the  canal,  probably  to  keep  out  the 
sea-wa'er  and  to  suit  the  change  of  level  at  the  time  of  the  inundation. 

"  Herod,  ii.  159.  "  "*  Herod,  iv.  42. 

45  Wilkinson  observes  that  this  is  less  surprising  in  an  African  climate,  where  bar.> 
ley,  doora,  peas,  eic,  are  reajjed  in  from  3  monihs  to  10(»  days  after  sowing. 


APRIKS  OK  PHARAOH-HOPHKA.  173 

they  again  set  sail ;  and  thus  it  came  to  pass  that  two  whole 
years  went  by,  and  it  was  not  till  the  third  year  tliat  they 
doubled  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  and  made  good  their  voyage 
home.  True  to  his  principle  of  honestly  reporting  even  what 
he  deemed  incredible,  the  historian  has  added  the.  very  cir- 
cumstance which  affords  the  strongest  argument  against  his 
own  incredulity  :  "  On  their  return  they  declared — for  my 
part,  I  don't  believe  them — that  in  sailing  round  Libya  they 
had  the  sun  upon  their  right  hand" — which  would  be  a  sim- 
ple astronomical  fact/^  It  is  remarkable  that  the  king,  who 
is  said  to  have  been  so  fully  occupied  with  his  wars  and 
maritime  expeditions,  has  left  no  great  buildings  :  but  his 
16th  year  appears  upon  an  Apis-stela ;  and  this  is  the  length 
assigned  by  Manetho  to  his  reign. 

The  growing  influence  of  Greek  ideas  is  shown  by  the  state- 
ment of  Herodotus  that  Neco  dedicated  the  dress  which  he 
wore  in  the  campaign  of  Megiddo  to  Apollo  at  Branchidse, 
near  Miletus.  His  son,  Psammis,  is  represented  as  discussing 
with  an  embassy  from  Elis  the  fairness  of  the  rules  for  the 
Olympic  games."  This  king,  the  Psamatik  H.  of  the  mon- 
uments, and  the  PsammutJds  of  Manetho,  reigned  only  six 
years,  and  died  soon  after  his  return  from  an  expedition 
against  Ethiopia.''®  He  made  several  additions  to  the  tem- 
ples at  Thebes  (at  Ivarnak)  and  in  Lower  Egypt. 

§  13.  His  son  and  successor  was  Wah-pra-hat  {the  Sun 
enlarges  his  heart),  the  Pharaoh-Hophra  of  Scripture,  the 
Vaphris  of  Manetho,  and  the  Apries  of  Herodotus,  who  eS' 
teemed  him  as,  excepting  Psammetichus,  his  great-grandfa- 
ther, the  most  prosperous  of  all  the  kings  that  ever  ruled 
over  Egypt.*''  He  marched  an  army  to  attack  Sidon,  and 
fought  a  battle  with  the  king  of  Tyre  at  sea.'°  At  length 
he  came  in  conflict  with  the  Greek  colony  of  Cyrene,  on  the 

46  We  must  Bot,  however,  lay  too  much  stress  on  the  argument  that  such  state- 
ments could  hardly  have  been  invented  had  they  not  been  true.  An  Egyptian  mari- 
ner, accustomed  to  the  Red  Sea,  the  greater  part  of  which  lies  within  the  tropics, 
would  know  that  the  snu  was  sometimes  to  the  north  of  the  zenith,  and  might  infer 
that  it  was  always  so  to  an  observer  sufficiently  far  south.  After  all  that  has  been 
written  by  Major  Rennell  and  others,  resi)ecting  the  aid  derived  from  the  currents 
round  the  African  coast,  and  so  forth,  the  great  argujnent — unless  the  story  be  an 
entire  fabrication— is  the  statement  that  the  fleet  did  get  round  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Nile.     (See  further  in  the  "  Diet,  of  Greek  and  Roman  Geography,"  art.  Lthya.) 

47  Herod,  ii.  KiO. 

48  Herod.il.  161.  His  name  frequently  occurs  at  Syeue,  as  well  as  those  of  P.-am- 
atik  I.  and  Amasis. 

43  Herod,  ii.  161.  Here,  as  also  in  his  account  of  the  unexampled  prosperity  of 
Egypt  under  Amasis,  it  would  seem  that  Herodotus,  having  once  fixed  his  limit  for 
the  trustworthy  history  of  Egypt  at  the  accession  of  Psammetichus,  tacitly  ignores 
all  the  older  traditions  of  the  priests.  He  could  not  have  meant  to  imply,  for  ex- 
ample, that  these  Saite  kings  were  more  prosperous  than  Sesostris,  had  he  really  be- 
lievt'd  his  own  story  of  Sesostris. 

*"  He  also  appears  to  have  attacked  Cyprus,  which  was  an  old  dependency  of  Egypt. 


174  THE  LATER  SAITE  MONARCHY. 

northern  shore  of  Libya.  His  protection  was  sought  by  the 
natives,  who  had  been  driven  out  by  tho  rapid  growth  of 
the  colony  ;  and  he  levied  a  vast  army  of  Egyptians^  and 
sent  them  against  Gyrene.^'  The  native  warrior  class  once 
more  found  tliemselves  in  arms,  far  from  the  seat  of  royal 
power,  and  the  old  jealousy  burst  forth  on  the  first  occasion. 
Despising  their  unknown  enemy,  tliey  suffered  a  severe  de- 
feat fron^the  Greeks  ;  and,  like  so  many  beaten  armies  since, 
they  cried  that  they  were  betrayed — the  king  had,  of  malice 
prepense,  sent  them  into  the  jaws  of  destruction,  "  They 
believed  he  had  wished  a  \ast  number  of  them  to  be  slain, 
in  order  that  he  might  reign  with  more  security  over  the 
rest  of  the  Egyptian's."  They  returned  in  open  revolt,  and 
were  joined  by  the  friends  of  the  slain. ^^ 

They  were  met  by  an  envoy  of  the  king,  who  happened  to 
bear  the  name  of  the  founder  or  the  XVltttli  dynasty,  Ama- 
sis  (i.  e.  Aahmes).  As  he  was  haranguing  the  mutineers,  a 
soldier,  coming  behind  him,  placed  a  crown  upon  his  helmet 
and  proclaimed  him  king.  Amasis,  not  displeased,  led  the 
army  against  Apries,  and  dismissed  with  insult  a  second  en- 
voy,*^ Patarbemis,  who  was  sent  to  bring  him  alive  to  the 
king.  The  cruelty  w^ith  which  Apries  wreaked  his  rage  on 
Patarbemis  drove  the  loyal  Egyptians  over  to  the  rebels,  and 
the  king  was  left  at  Sa'is  with  his  30,000  Greek  and  Carian 
mercenaries."  He  led  them  out  to  meet  the  vastly  superior 
numbers  of  Amasis  at  Momemjjhis  (on  the  edge  of  the  des- 
ert), where  he  was  utterly  defeated,  and  brought  back  a  pris- 
oner to  the  palace  at  Sais.  Amasis  treated  him  kindly  at 
first;  but, yielding  to  the  remonstrances  of  the  Egyptians, 
he  gave  Apries  into  their  hands.  "  Then  the  Egyptians  took 
him  and  strangled  him,  but,  having  so  done,  they  buried  him 
in  the  sepulchre  of  his  fathers."^* 

§  14.  On  the  story  thus  told  by  Herodotus,  Scripture 
throws  a  new  light.  The  successful  expedition  against  Si- 
don  and  Tyre"  was  part  of  an  effort  to  recover  the  suprema- 
cy of  Western  Asia,  in  which  Pharaoh-Hophra  ventured  to 
measure  himself  against  Nebuchadnezzar.  He  espoused  the 
cause  of  Zedekiah''  in  the  Jewish  king's   rebellion  against 

51  Herod,  iv.  159.  Here  we  see  that  a  new  native  army  had  been  formed,  probably 
from  the  children  whom  the  deserters  are  expressly  said  to  have  left  behind  them; 
and  Apries  would  naturally  send  them,  rather  than  his  Greek  mercenaries,  against  a 
Greek  state.  ^-  Herod,  ii.  101 ;  iv.  159. 

53  Herod,  li.  102, 163.  ^*  Herod,  ii.  169. 

55  The  sea-fight  with  the  King  of  Tyre  is  connected  with  the  question  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's 13  years'  siege  of  Tyre,  and  its  alleged  capture  in  u.o.  5S5.  It  seems  to  im- 
ply that  Tyre  had  submitted  to  Nebuchadnezzar  as  a  vassal,  and  that  Apries  attack- 
ed its  fleet  as  being  a  powerful  auxiliary  to  the  King  of  Babylon. 

58  The  terms  of  "the  compact  are  stated  by  Ezekiel  (xvii.l5):  "He  (Zedekiah)  re- 
Wiled  against  him  in  sending  liis  ambassadors  into  Egypt,  that  they  mi^fht  give  him 


PROPHECIES  AGAINST  PHARAOH-HOPHRA.  175 

!Mebnchadnezzar ;  and,  when  Jerusalem  was  invested,  the 
approach  of  an  Egyptian  army  under  Pharaoh-Hophra  forced 
the  Chaldieans  to  raise,  the  siege."  But  the  relief  was  mo- 
mentary;^® the  king  of  Egypt  did  not  venture  to  meet  the 
army  of  Nebuchadnezzar  in  the  field,  and  the  only  further 
help  he  gave  was  to  receive  the  remnant  who  took  refuge  in 
Egypt  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem/" 

He  had  done  enough  to  draw  upon  him  the  chastisement 
which  is  described  by  the  Jewish  prophets/"  The  arrogance 
of  Pharaoh-Hophra,  in  the  time  of  his  prospei'ity,  is  de- 
nounced in  language  precisely  answering  to  that  of  the 
Greek  historian.  Herodotus  tells  us  "that  Apries  believed 
that  there  was  not  a  god  who  could  cast  him  down  from  his 
eminence,  so  firmly  did  he  think  he  had  established  himself 
in  his  kingdom  ;'-®^  but  Ezekiel  speaks  in  the  name  of  the 
God  who  declares  himself  against  "  Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt, 
the  great  crocodile  that  lieth  in  the  midst  of  his  rivers, 
which  hath  said,  My  river  is  mine  own,  and  I  have  made  it  for 
myself""^  It  is  expressly  declared  that  the  land  and  spoil 
and  people  of  Egypt,  with  Amun  in  Thebes,  and  all  their 
gods,  should  be  given  into  the  hand  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  kino- 
of  Babylon,  as  a  reward  for  his  fruitless  service  against 
Tyre;"  and  the  king's  own  fate  is  thus  predicted:  "Behold, 
I  will  give  Pharaoh-FIophra,  king  of  Egypt,  into  the  hand  of 
his  enemies  and  into  tlie  hand  of  them  that  seek  his  life  ;"'^* 
and,  after  the  land  of  Egypt  had  been  desolated  "from  Mig- 
dol  to  Syene  and  the  border  of  Ethiopia,"  it  was  to  be  re- 
stored as  "  the  basest  of  the  kingdoms  " — that  is,  a  subject 
and  tributary  state — never  more  to  "exalt  itself  to  i-ule  over 
tiie  nations. ""^^ 

Tliese  and  several  other  passages  in  the  propliecies  clear- 
ly attest  the  fact  that  Egypt  was  invaded,  conquered,  and 

horses  and  much  people."  It  is  doubtful  ou  chronological  grouud?,  whether  the  first 
league  of  Zedekiah  with  Egypt  does  uot  fall  in  the  reigu  of  Psammetichus  II. 

57  Jerem.  xxxvii.  5.  5s  Jerem.  sxxvii.  5-S ;  Ezek.  xvii.  11-18. 

s»  Jerem.  xliii.  5-T.  eo  Jerem.  xliii.,  xliv.,  xlvi. ;  Ezek.  xxix.-xxxii. 

61  Herod,  ii.  109.  62  Ezek.  sxix.  3. 

63  Jerem.  xlvi.  25,  2G ;  Ezek.  xxix.  IS,  19.  The  latter  passsge  is  important  for  the 
question  whether  Tyre  was  taken  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  Comp.  below  c.  xv.  §  11. 
This  prophecy  seems  also  to  clearly  mention  Lydia  {Lud)  as  the  ally  of  Egypt  (Ezek. 
XXX.  5).  "  64' Jerem.  xliv.  30. 

65  Ezek.  xxix  13-lG.  Difficulties  arise  from  the  40  j'ears  assigned  as  the  period  of 
desolation,  and  from  the  strong  language  in  which  that  desolation  is  described,  espe- 
cially when  compared  with  Herodotus's  account  of  the  prosperity  of  Egypt  under 
Amasis.  But  the  historian  is  describing  the  internal  state  of  the  countrj^  while  the 
prophet  refers  mainly  to  her  political  subjection;  and  the  former  speaks  of  a  time 
when  the  long  reign  of  Amasis,  corresponding  very  nearly  to  the  40  years  of  the 
prophecy,  had  healed  the  wounds  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  invasion  with  a  ccuipieteness 
only  attainable  in  such  a  country  as  Egypt.  As  to  the  date  of  the  invasion,  v.-e  only 
know,  from  Ezek.  xxix.  IT,  that  the  prophecy  was  still  unfulfilled  in  the  27tii  year  of 
the  Great  Captivity,  u.c.  571,  that  is,  about  two  years  before  the  accession  of  Amasis. 


176  THE  LATEK  SAITE  MONARCHY. 

devastatetl,  by  I^ebiichaclnezzar,"^  Avho  probably  seized  the 
opportunity  offered  by  the  disastrous  campaign  against  Cy- 
rene  and  the  civil  war  between  Apries  and  Amasis,"  and 
confirmed  the  latter  in  the  kingdom  as  his  vassal.  That  the 
connection  of  the  two  kingdoms  was  drawn  closer  by  mar- 
riage is  shown  by  the  famous  Babylonian  queen,  who  bears 
the  Saite  name  of  Nitocris  {Neit-akri^  ^■.  e.  "  Neith  the  Victo- 
rious)." With  Apries,  to  whom  Herodotus  assigns  25  years,"^ 
ended  the  direct  line  of  the  Saite  house,  just  about  a  century 
after  the  accession  of  Psammetichus  I.  (b.c.  569). 

§  15.  Amasis  or  Aahmes  II.,  ends  "  the  long  majestic  line 
of  Egypt's  kings,"  with  the  name  of  the  great  founder  of  the 
Theban  monarchy — a  coincidence  which  may  have  soothed 
the  old  Egyptian  party  who  had  raised  him  to  the  throne, 
though  the  name  was  borne  by  a  vassal  to  Babylon.  His 
place  in  the  Saite  dynasty  was  confirmed  by  his  marriage 
with  AnMs-en-Eanofrehet,  the  daughter  of  Psammetichus 
11.,^"  and  he  adopted  the  title  oi  Re  Use  {son  of  Keith).  He 
was  a  native  of  Siouph,  in  the  Sait  nome,  and  belonged  to  a 
house  of  no  high  distinction.  Finding  that  this  lessened  his 
consideration  v\^ith  his  subjects,  he  caused  (says  Herodotus) 
a  golden  foot-pan  to  be  made  into  the  image  of  a  god  ;  and 
when  the  Egyptians  flocked  to  worship  the  image,  he  called 
them  to  an  assembly,  and,  by  comparing  its  change  of  con- 
dition to  his  own,  won  the  respect  which  was  due,  at  all 
events,  to  his  cleverness. 

In  his  youth  he  had  been  fond  of  pleasure,  and  had  roam- 
ed about  to  rob  people  when  his  resources  failed  him.  When 
charged  with  such  an  offense,  his  denial  was  brought  to  the 
test  before  the  nearest  oracle  ;  and,  when  he  became  king,  in 
the  same  spirit  which  we  see  in  Croesus,  he  honored  or  neg- 
lected the  temples  of  the  gods  according  as  they  had  suc- 
ceeded or  failed  in  detecting  his  crimes.  He  carried  his  love 
of  pleasure  to  the  throne ;  but  did  not  permit  it  to  interfere 
with  business,  nor  his  business  with  his  pleasure.  From 
early  dawn  to  the  busy  time  of  the  forenoon — the  "  full  mar- 
ket," ns  the  Greeks  called  the  third  hour  after  sunrise — he 
sedulously  transacted  all  the  business  that  was  brought  be- 
fore him:  during  the   remainder  of  the   day  he  drank  and 

^^  This  Invasion  is  mentioned  by  Berosus,  who  says  that  Tsebuchadnezzar  conquered 
Eg-ypt  and  put  Apries  to  death.     Comp.  c.  xv.  §  12. 

<57  Another  theory  is  that  the  Babylonian  invasion  Avas  the  cause  of  the  disaffection 
of  thcE'j-yptians  towards  Apries. 

*«  Vv"e  prefer  this  date  to  Manethr/s  19  years,  botli  from  its  better  agreement  with 
the  Scripture  chronology  and  from  the  constant  corruption  of  ]\Ianetho's  numbers. 

69  According  to  some  authonties,  this  princess  was  the  daughter  of  a  King  Psam- 
METiciius  III.,  whose  name  is  found  on  some  monuments  at  Thebes.  His  place  in 
'.he  series— whether  before,  or  after,  or  tontempcrarj^  with  Aprie:/-  is  vi-.y  doubtfui 


FROSPERITY  OF  EGYPT  UNDER  AMASIS.  177 

joked  witli  his  guests,  often  beyond  the  limits  of  propriety. 
To  tlie  friends  who  would  have  had  the  Egyptians  always 
see  him  in  royal  dignity  upon  his  throne  he  replied  by  the 
celebrated  metaphor  of  the  mischief  of  keeping  a  bow  always 
bent. 

§  16.  Such  a  spirit  suited  the  subject  state  of  Egypt ;  and, 
first  as  an  unambitious  vassal,  afterwards  favored  by  the  de- 
clining power  of  Babylon,  Amasis  raised  the  country  to  a 
very  high  state  of  material  prosperity,  and  adorned  the  tem- 
ples with  admirable  w^orks  of  art.  Herodotus  reports  the 
saying  "  that  tlie  reign  of  Amasis  was  the  most  prosperous 
time  that  Egypt  ever  saw — the  river  was  more  liberal  to  the 
land,  and  the  land  brought  forth  more  abundantly  for  the 
service  of  man,  than  had  ever  been  known  before,  while  the 
number  of  inhabited  cities  was  not  less  than  20,000.'""  How- 
ever this  prosperity  may  have  been  exaggerated  by  the 
priests,  who  dwelt  with  fond  regret  on  the  period  just  before 
the  Persian  conquest,  we  have  abundant  evidence  of  Egypt's 
wealth,  both  from  the  tombs  of  private  persons  at  Thebes 
and  from  the  vast  booty  carried  oft'  by  the  army  of  Cam- 
byses. 

The  rule  of  Amasis  was  as  hostile  to  idleness  as  that  of 
any  of  the  old  Pharaohs.  Herodotus  ascribes  to  him  the  law 
(Avhich  Solon  adopted)  requiring  all  Egyptians  to  present 
themselves  once  a  year  before  the  governor  of  their  nome, 
and  to  show  their  means  of  living,  on  pain  of  death  ;  but  the 
monuments  exhibit  such  registration-scenes  at  a  much  ear- 
lier date/^ 

§  17.  A  main  source  of  this  prosperity,  besides  the  irre- 
pressible fertility  of  Egypt,  was  the  full  development  which 
Amasis  gave  to  the  commercial  policy  begun  by  Psammeti- 
chus.  He  permitted  the  Greeks  to  settle  at  Naucratis,  be- 
low SaTs,  on  the  Oanopic  branch  of  the  Nile,  to  which  chan- 
nel their  commerce  was  restricted."  As  was  usual  with  the 
ancient  nations,  the  concession  of  a  residence  to  foreigners 
involved  the  free  exercise  of  their  w^orship  ;  but  Amasis  also 
granted  sites  for  temples  to  those  who  wished  only  to  trade 
upon  the  coast,  without  taking  up  thjir  residence  in  Egypt. 
The  most  famous  and  most  frequented  of  such  temples  was 
the  Hellenion.^  built  conjointly  by  the  lonians,  Dorians,  and 

''^  Herod. :-.  ITT. 

■^1  Wilkinson  suggests  that  Aahmes  T.  (Aniosis)  may  have  been  the  author  of  the 
law ;  but  we  have  seeu  that  the  Old  Monarchy  of  Memphis  was  equally  intolerant  of 
idleness. 

'''^  Herod.  './.  778.  iT?.  Vv''iikii::soii  ob<^erves  that  this  restriction,  which  resembles 
the  pciicy  of  the  Ohine?e  towards  Europeans,  was  also  a  wise  precaution  against  the 
Gre2k  piia.es  .vhu  i'-ixep/ief!  the  Meciiterranean.-  The  exact  position  of  Naucratis  "is 
iinkuowa. 


178  THE  LATER  SAITE  MOXAKCHY. 

^olians  of  Asia  Minor ;  and  the  contributing  cities  had  tb& 
right  of  appointing  the  governors  of  the  factory  with  which 
the  temple  was  connected.  Separate  temples  were  erected 
by  the  ^Eginetans  to  Jove  ;  by  the  Samians  to  Hera  ;  and  by 
the  Milesians  to  Apollo." 

§  18.  Such  works,  executed  at  a  time  when  Grecian  art 
was  approaching  its  acme,  must  have  had  some  influence  on 
the  art  of  Egypt,  and  thus  Greece  repaid  a  ])art  of  an  ancient 
debt.  The  Egyptian  monuments  of  this  age,  while  retaining 
their  national  style  and  conventional  forms,  are  distinguish- 
ed by  a  new  freedom  and  grace,  especially  in  those  figures 
which  were  unfettered  by  hieratic  rules.  Nor  did  the  Egyp- 
tian artist  want  for  occupation  under  Amasis,.who  emulated 
the  old  kings  in  the  colossal  size  of  his  works.  At  Memphis 
he  built  a  vast  temple  to  Isis,  and  adorned  the  temple  of 
Phtha  with  colossal  statues.^^  At  Sais  he  built  the  propyLnea 
of  the  temple  of  Xeith,  "  an  astonishing  work,  flir  surpassing 
all  other  buildings  of  the  same  kind,  both  in  extent  and 
height,  and  built  with  stones  of  rare  size  and  excellency" 
(Herod.).  He  also  repaired  the  temple  with  stones  of  a  most 
extraordinary  size,  some  of  limestone  from  the  quariies  op- 
posite Memphis,  but  the  largest  were  granite  blocks  from 
Elephantine.  Of  these  huge  masses  the  most  wonderful  was 
a  monolith  chamber,  the  conveyance  of  which  from  Elephan 
tine  to  Sais  (commonly  a  voyage  of  twenty  days)  occupied 
2000  laborers  three  years,  and  after  all  an  omen  prevented 
its  being  placed  in  the  temple.'^  Amasis  also  placed  there 
several  immense  andro-sphinxes,  and  other  colossal  statues, 
among  which  was  a  recumbent  colossus  of  the  same  size  as 
that  at  Memphis.''' 

While  thus  adoi-ning  the  sanctuaries  of  his  native  gods,  he 
gave  100  talents  (about  £25,000)  towards  the  rebuilding  of 
the  tem])le  at  Delphi,  which  was  burnt  in  B.C.  548,  and  he 
dedicated  statues  and  other  works  of  art  to  various  Greek 
deities :    to  Athena   at  Lindus,  in   regard  for  the  tradition 

73  Herod,  ii.  178. 

"■*  Herod,  ii.  ITC.  One  of  these  was  a  recumbent  colossus  75  feet  loug,  in  front  of 
the  temple— au  attitude  so  unusual  that  (as  Wilkinson  suggests)  the  monolith  was 
probably  left  on  the  ground  on  account  of  the  troubles  which  soon  befell  Egypt,  a  rea- 
son which  the  priests  would  not  confess  to  Herodotus.  The  others  were  two  pairs 
of  twin  colossi  on  the  same  base,  20  feet  high,  carved  in  the  stone  of  Ethiopia,  on 
each  side  of  the  temple. 

'=  So  Herodotus  was  told  ;  but  the  true  reason  was  probably  that  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  note.  A  similar  monolith  of  the  same  king  at  Thmuis  or  Leontopolis  (Tel- 
et-Mai),  measures  21  feet  9  inches  high,  13  feet  broad,  and  11  feet  7  inches  deep,  exter 
nally.  The  dimensions  given  by  Herodotus  are  equal  to  31  feet  6  inche?=  hiah,  -22  feet 
broad,  and  12  feet  deep,  outside,  and  inside  2S  feet  3  inches,  IS  feet,  and  7i  feet.  W^hat 
he  calls  the  lenrith  was  the  hright,  when  the  ch^.mber  stood  erect. 

'0  Herod.  ii.lTP. 


EGYPT  r:NDER  PEESIA.  179 

that  the  temple  was  built  by  the  daughters  of  Daiiaiis,  v/hen 
they  touched  there  on  their  flight  from  the  sons  of  ^Egyp- 
tus  ;  to  Hera  at  Samos,  in  memory  of  his  friendship  for  the 
ill-fated  Polycrates,  an  episode  in  ancient  liistory  made  fa- 
mous by  Herodotus  and  Schiller;"  and  to  Athena  at  Cy- 
rene,  with  which  state  ]ie  formed  a  close  alliance,  marrying 
Ladice,  the  daughter  of  the  king  or  of  a  Cyrenaic  noble, 
"  either  as  a  sign  of  friendly  feeling,  or  because  he  had  a  fan- 
cy to  marry  a  Greek  woman. "'^ 

§  19.  But  his  foreign  policy  was  not  entirely  pacific.  He 
used  the  navy  which  Neco  had  founded  to  take  Cyprus, 
which  was  a  dependency  of  Phoenicia,  and  to  reduce  it  to 
tribute."  In  the  final  ettbrt  to  resist  the  Persian  conqueror 
Cyrus,  Amasis  appears  as  the  ally  of  the  Lydian  Croesus  and 
tlie  Babylonian  Nabonidus,  the  latter  beino;  still  probably  his 
nominal  suzerain.  If  we  may  believe  Xenophon,  Amasis  sent 
to  the  aid  of  Croesus  a  force  of  120,000  Egyptians,  who,  af- 
ter a  very  brave  resistance,  were  admitted  to  an  honorable 
capitulation,  and  settled  in  Larissa  and  Cyllene.  Amasis 
seems  afterwards  to  have  been  on  friendly  terms  with  Cyrus, 
to  whose  aid  he  sent  one  of  the  famous  Egyptian  eye-doc- 
tors.®" But  this  man's  resentment  is  said  to  have  suggested 
the  pretext  which  the  ambition  of  Cambyses  found  for  the 
attack  which  he  meditated  from  tlie  beginning  of  his  reign. 
Amasis  died  just  as  the  invasion  began  (b.c.  527  or  525), 
leaving  the  inheritance  of  a  lost  thi-one  to  his  son  Psammexi- 
Tus,  who  was  defeated  at  Pelusium,  and  put  to  death  with 
every  indignity,  after  a  nominal  reign  of  six  months. 

§  20.  Tlie  story  of  the  conquest,  and  of  the  renewed  at- 
tempts of  Egypt  to  throw  ofi'  the  yoke,  belong  to  the  bis- 
tory  of  Persia.  The  Persian  kings,  from  Cambyses  to  Da- 
rius II.  Nothus,  are  enrolled  as  the  7'icenti/-sei)entJi  Dynasti/ 
of  Manetho.  The  ensuing  .revolts  are  recognized  in  the 
Ticenty-elghth  {Salle)  Di/nasfy,  consisting  only  of  Amyrtanis, 
who  restored  the  independence  of  Egypt  (b.c.  414-408),  and 
the  Ttrentij-ninth  {Mendesian)  and  Thirtieth  {Sebennyte)  Dy- 
nasties (about  B.C.  408-353),®'  of  whose  intricate  history  we 
need  only  iiere  say  that  they  ruled  w^ith  great  prosperity 
and  have  left  beautiful  monuments  of  art.®^  The  last  king  of 
independent  Egypt  was  Nectaxebo  IT.,  who  succumbed  to 
the  invasion  of  Artaxerxes  Ochus,  and  fled  to  Ethiopia  (b.c. 

■^■^  Ilei-od.  iii.  30-43;  Schiller,  "Der  Riujr  des  Polykrates ;"  see  Lorrl  Lytton's  tvjins. 
lationsof  Schiller's  ballads.  ^^  Hgrod.  ii.  ISO.  "  Herod,  ii.  1^2. 

^^  Herod,  iii.  1.  Ophthalmia  has  always  been  one  of  the  platincs  of  Etrypt.  Wil- 
kinson ascribes  it-  to  the  transition  from  excessive  dryness  to  damp. 

•^1  See  Book  iii.  chap,  xxviii. 

^2  The  British  Museum  is  particularly  rich  in  their  monuments. 


180  THE  LATER  SAITE  MONARCHY. 

353).  Tlie  last  three  kings  of  Persia,  Ochus,  Arses,  and  Da« 
rius  Codomanniis,  form  the  Thirty-first  Dynasty  or  Manetho, 
ending  with  the  submission  of  Egypt  to  Alexander  the  Great 
(B.C.  332). 

His  foundation  of  Alexandria  prepared  the  three  centu- 
ries of  prosperity  which  Egypt  enjoyed  under  the  Ptolemies 
(b.c.  323  to  B.C.  30)  ;  till  Mark  Antony  bartered  the  chance  of 
a  new  Eastern  Empire,  with  its  seat  in  Egypt,  for  the  charms 
of  Cleopatra  at  the  battle  of  Actium ;  which  made  Egypt  a 
Roman  province,  and  decided  the  victory  of  European  prog- 
ress over  the  despotic  spirit  and  barbarian  immobility  of  the 
East. 


Funeral  Boat,  or  Bans." 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE    IXSTITUTIONS,  KELIGIOX,  AND    ARTS    OF    EGYPT, 

Section  I.  Social  Institutions.  §  1.  Character  of  the  Egyptians.  5  2.  Common 
view  of  caste  called  in  question.  But  the  hereditary  .system  of  occupations  the 
general  rule.  §  3.  Classes  enumerated  by  the  Greek  writers.  The  lower  classes 
distinguished  from  the  priests  and  warriors.  Agriculturists  and  herdsmen.  §  4. 
Occupations  depicted  on  the  monuments.  Unenumerated  classes.  Independent 
proprietors.  City  Populace.  §  5.  The  highest  Class:  the  Pn. sis.  Their  landed 
property  and  other  resources.  Their  ritual  observances.  Monogamy.  Sacerdo- 
tal Colleges.  §  6.  The  second  or  Military  Class.  Hermotybians  and  Calasirians. 
Distribution  of  the  forces:— Land;  Body-guard;  Allowances;  Auxiliaries,  and 
Mercenaries. 

Section  II.  Poi.itkjai.  Institutions.  §  T.  Power  of  the  King.  His  divinity.  Dis- 
tance above  his  subjects.  No  independent  nobility.  §  8.  Sacerdotal  rules  for  the 
King's  daily  life.  "The  King  can  do  no  wrong."  Fiction  of  a  posthumous  judg- 
ment by  the  people.  §  9.  Hereditary  Succession.  Royal  Princes.  Erection,  In- 
itiation into  sacerdotal  knowledge.  The  King  bound  to  govern  according  to  law. 
Stability  of  the  government.  §  10.  Egyptian  legislation.  Admired  and  copied  by 
the  Greeks.  Likeness  to  the  Mosaic  laws.  Criminal  code.  Forced  labor  in  the 
mines.  Curious  law  of  tlieft.  Civil  law.  Debtor  and  Creditor.  §  11.  Independ- 
ence of  the  judicial  administration.  Court  of  the  Thirty.  Course  of  procedure  ; 
wholly  in  writing.  Reports  of  two  trials.  §  12.  General  Administration  by  the 
corporation  of  Scribes.  Chief  departments.  Sources  of  Revenue.  §  13.  Division 
of  Egypt  into  Xomes.  Nomarchs  and  Toparchs.  Central  Representation  at  the 
Labyrinth.    The  people  excluded  from  the  government. 

Shction  III.  Religious  Institutions.  §  14. "Greek  Tiew  of  the  popular  supersti- 
tions. Esoteric  religion  of  the  priests.  Doctrine  of  one  self-existing  God.  "I 
AM  THAT  I  AM."  §  15.  His  unitj  lost  in  His  manifestations.  Symbolic  spirit  of 
Egyptian  polytheism  and  idolatry.  Triads  of  deities  ;  father,  mother,  and  son. 
§  16,  Doctrine  of  a  future  life:  symbolized  by  the  course  and  power  of  the  Sun. 
His  various  personifications,  Ra,  Atonm,  Kheper.  Inert  Matter  the  universal  Moth- 
er. Created  and  vivified  by  Xoimi,  the  first  demiurgus :  symbol,  the  Ram.  The 
region  of  darkness  and  death  personified  in  Athor  (symbol,  the  Cou'),  mother  of 
Horns.  Boat  of  Osiris.  Fable  of  Osiris,  Isis,  Horus,  and  Typhon.  §  17.  The 
chief  Egyptian  Triads— (\.)  Of  Thebes:  Amim,  Maut,  Chans,  (ii.)  Of  Memphis: 
Phtha,Pasht,  Month,  (in.)  Of  Hermonthis:  Month,  Ritho,  and  Horm.  (iv.)  Uni- 
versal triad  of  Osiris,  Isis,  and  Hones.  Three  orders  of  deities.  The  eight  great 
gods.  §  18.  Animal  Worship  of  the  Egyptians.  Various  explanations.  Theory 
of  utility,  inadequate.  §  19.  True  origin  of  the  practice  in  symbolism.  Three 
stages.  Cases  of  positive  incarnation.  The  bull  Apis.  His  revelation,  mainte- 
nance, and  burial.  His  new  manifestation  as  Osir-Hap>i,  the  Serapis  of  the  Greeks. 
5  20.  Care  of  the  sacred  animals.    Laws  for  their  protection.    Sacrilege  of  Camhy- 


182    THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  AKTS  OF  EGYPT. 

ses.  The  Romau  .soldier.  Descriptiou  of  Clemens  Alexaudriuusf.  §  21.  Sacrifices 
iiud  worship.  Ciicunicisioii.  EinbalmmeiU.  Doctrine  of  immortality  and  resur- 
rection, and  of  future  rewards  and  punishments.  Judgment  of  the  Dead.  Fate 
of  the  wicked.  Trials  and  bli.ss  of  the  just.  His  identification  with  "  Osiris  the 
Good." 

Section,-  IV.  Egyptian  Arts.  §  22.  Antiquity  and  excellence  of  Egyptian  art.  Its 
religious  source.  Architecture:  monumental  and  permanent  in  its  forms,  but 
not°wanting  in  grace.  §  23.  Four  classes  of  buildings:  pyramids,  tombs,  palaces, 
and  temples.  Description  of  an  Egyptian  temple.  Buildings  attached.  Sphinxes, 
obelisks,  and  colossi.  §  24.  Sculpture:  its  religious  character,  and  development 
from  the  temple.  Its  symbolic  spirit.  Repose  and  absence  of  detail.  Symmetry 
and  rhythmical  postures.  §  25.  Five  epochs  of  Egyptian  Sculpture.  §  26.  Paint- 
inij:  chiefiv  decorative.     Colors  and  pigments.    Painted  tablets  and  vignettes. 

Seotioj^  V.  Wkitino,  LiTEEATURE,  and  Science.  §  27.  Writing  — its  antiquity  and 
general  use.  Materials  :  paiJ7/r«.s,  pens,  ink.  §  28.  Three  forms  of  letters  :  hicro- 
glUJihic,  hieratic,  and  demotic.  Essentially  the  same.  §  29.  Interpretation  of  the 
hieroglyphics.  §  30.  Phonetic  and  ideographic  characters.  §  31.  Egyptian  Lit- 
erature. Libraries.  Rit^tal  of  the' Dead  and  other  Religious  works.  Hermetic 
Books.  Historical  Literature.  Poems.  Literary  exercises.  Romances.  §  32. 
Egyptian  Science.    Medicine.     Geometry.    Astronomy.    Astrology.    Numerals. 

Section  I. — Social  Institutions — Classes  of  the  People. 

§  1.  A  PEOPLE  vvlio  lived  for  more  than  two  thousand 
years,  at  the  least,  under  a  despotic  government,  amidst  all 
the  dynastic  changes  of  which  we  never- nieet  with  a  popu- 
lar revolution,  must  have  had  the  strongest  elements  of  per- 
manence both  in  their  character  and  their  institutions.  The 
Egyptians  were  serious,  as  became  believei's  in  an  immortal 
life  and  the  subjects  of  a  supreme  ruler,  living  under  a  fixed 
system  of  laws,  and  inhabiting  a  climate  whose  very  changes 
show  its  regularity.  But  the  sombre  style  of  their  monu- 
ments, and  the  composed  features  given  to  their  statues  .by 
conventional  rules  of  art,  perhaps  even  the  very  preservation 
of  so  many  of  their  dead,  have  produced  an  exaggerated  im- 
pression of  their  gravity.  They  liave  left  scenes  of  feasting 
and  amusement  enough  t^  prove  that  they  could  be  cheerful, 
and  something  more. 

§  2.  The  assertion  constantly  made,  on  the  authority  of  the 
ancients,  that  Egyptian  society  was  founded  on  the  immutable 
law  of  caste,  has^  been  called  in  question  by  Rossellini  and 
Ampere.  In  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  the  three  condi- 
tions of  c«s^e— devotion  to  the  profession  of  the  caste,  absti- 
nence from  all  other  professions,  and  from  intermarriage  willi 
other  castes— were  not  fulfilled  by  the  Egyptians.  From  the 
monuments  we  find  the  sacerdotal  and  military  functions 
borne  by  the  same  persons,  and  combined  with  civil  ofiices: 
priests  and  soldiers  intermarry  with  each  others'  daughters; 
and  members  of  the  same  ijimily  follow  these  two  several 
professions.  For  example,  a  monument,  in  the  museum  at 
Naples,  to  one  who  was  liimself  a  general  of  infantry,  records 
tliat  his  elder  brother  was  a  chief  of  public  works,  and  at  the 


CLASSES  AND  OCCUPATIONS.  183 

teame  time  a  priest.'  The  nobility  of  an  Egyptian,  raore- 
over,  consisted  in  his  high  functions;  and  high  birth  is 
never  put  forward  in  the^Laudatory  epitaphs.  Except  the 
royal  race,  who  claimed  a  divine  descent — whether  as  a  fact 
or  a  figure  is  not  quite  clear — all  Egyptians  were  equally 
well  born.^ 

But  there  was  a  tendency,  as  in  some  modern  aristocra- 
cies,  for  the  higher  services  of  religion  and  the  state  to  be- 
come hereditary  in  certain  families  of  the  nobles,  to  whom 
such  functions  'were  strictly  confined.  The  line  of  division 
v/as  clear  and  broad  between  these  privileged  classes  and 
those  who  were  occupied  with  the  wants  of  daily  life;  and 
among  the  latter  it  was  customary,  if  not  established  by  law, 
that  the  same  occupations  were  handed  down  from  father  to 
son.  Such,  indeed,  is  the  natural  result  of  a  state  of  society 
in  which,  the  land  and  the  government  being  in  the  hands  of 
the  upper  classes,  they  can  prescribe  to  the  lower  the  condi- 
tions under  which  they  shall  earn  their  daily  bread.-  The 
general  rule,  at  all  events,  in  Egypt  was  that  every  man 
should  be  limited  to  his  hereditary  business.V  The  monu- 
ments show  clearly  the  distinct  line  between  the  privileged 
classes  of  the  priests  and  warriors,  who  also  held  the  high- 
er administrative  oftices,  and  the  rest  of  the  population  ; 
but,  for  that  very  reason,  they  give  no  indications  of  any 
fixed  distribution  of  employments  among  the  lower  classes. 
"Priests,  warriors,  judges,  architects,  chiefs  of  districts  and 
provinces,  are  nearly  the  only  ranks  or  classes  that  appear  in 
the  inscriptions.  We  do  not  find  the  laborer,  the  agricultur- 
ist, the  artist,  or  the  physician,  receiving  those  funereal  hon- 
ors which  consist  in  the  representation  of  the  deceased  as  of- 
fering to  the  gods  and  pravinii'  for  their  protection  in  another 
world."^ 

§  3.  Of  such  classes,  then,  rather  than  castes,  Herodotus 
enumerates  seven,  D'wdovn^  /.ve  ;  but  neither  account  is  ex- 
act. Both  agree  in  making  the  priests  and  soldiers  the  two 
highest  classes:  the  rest,  forming  the  coinmoit  peo2ne,^YQ 
divided  by  Diodorus  into  siifpherds  (or  herdsmen),  agricul- 
tiirists^^w6.  artisans;  by  Herodotus  into  Ae/Y^s/^zen,  swine-herds, 
tradesmen,  interpreters,  and  steersmen  (or  pilots).  The^  last 
two  classes  (as  Herodotus  expressly  tells  us  of  the  inter- 
preters) would  naturally  be  formed  into  distinct  corporations 
under  t*lie  Saite  kings,"who  encouraged  foreigners  and  their 

1  Ampere,  in  the  '^  Revue  des  Deux  Moudes,"  1848,  p.  410.  ^  Diod.  i.  92. 

^   PiciPaiT.hu.s  attribute^  to  Seso-Stris  the  hxw,  isi^beva  KaraXi-Ke'iv  ti^v  narpwav  -(-'xi-'n'' 
Schol.  to  Ap.  Rhod.  iv.  p.  27-2-27C.. 
♦  Ampere,  as  quoted  by  Keiirick,  ''Ancient  Egypt,"  vul.  ii.  c.  24. 


184    THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  AKTS  OF  EGYPT. 

commerce  f  and  it  must  be  constantly  remembered  that  He- 
rodotus describes  Egypt  (and  chiefly  Lower  Egypt)  as  the 
Saite  kings  had  left  it  to  their  Persian  conquerors.  The  sep- 
aration of  the  unclean  swine-herds  from  the  other  pastoral  peo- 
ple is  a  mere  subdivision,  or  vice  versa;  and  tlie  remarkable 
omission  of  the  agriculturists  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that 
they  were  virtually  serfs,  adscripti  cflebm^  not  recognized  as  fol- 
lowing a  calling  of  their  own.  All  the  land  of  Egypt  being- 
owned  by  the  king,  priests,  and  soldiers,  the  peasants  tilled 
it  for  their  masters,  paying  a  full  and  rigidly  exacted  rent  of 
the  produce.  Their  condition  was  much  like  that  of  XkxQ  fel- 
lahs of  this  day.^  I  No  class  seem  to  have  been  social  outcasts 
like  the  Indian  pariahs^  except  perhaps  the  svnne-herds^  who 
(Herodotus  tells  us)  were  not  permitted  to  enter  a  temple. 
As  to  the  supposed  hatred  and  contempt  for  shepherds  and 
herdsmen  in  general — "  every  shepherd  is  an  abomination  to 
the  Egyptians'"'^ — it  seems  probable  that  some  distinction 
should  be  drawn  between  tlie  Semitic  nomad  races,  the  de- 
tested kinsmen  of  the  Hyksos^  and  the  native  Egyptians  who 
tended  their  lords^  flocks  and  herds.  But  the  antipathy  to 
the  former  class  would  naturally  include  all  the  subject  pas- 
toral races  of  the  Delta,  the  marshes  of  which  were  the  great- 
e^st  pasture-ground  of  Egypt. 

§  4.  The  vast  variety  of  tlie  occupations  followed  by  the 
several  classes  of  artisans,  who  are  seen  on  the  monuments 
in  the  actual  work  of  their  several  callings,  has  been  partly 
described  in  our  account  of  the  life  of  Egypt  under  the  Old 
Monarchy.  A  full  account  nev?  quite  beyond  our  limits,  and 
it  has  been  already  given  by  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson,^  in 
whose  descriptions  and  plates  the  reader  will  find  the  old 
Egyptians  engaged  in  all  the  operations  of  agriculture,  gar- 
dening, hunting,  and  boating  ;  in  the  manufactures  of  glass, 
pottery,  metal-work,  and  textile  fabrics  ;  in  the  handicrafts  oi 
shoe-making  and  carpentry,  masoniy  and  building,  polishing 
pillars  and  colossal  statues  ;  in  the  occupations  of  shop-keep- 
ers, public  weighers  and   notaries,  fowlers,  fishermen,  brick- 

'  The  large  class  of  ordinary  sailors,  especially  boatmen  navJgatiug  the  Nile, 
-Afoulcl  be  inchulecl  iu  Diodorns's  class  of  artificers  or,  as  we  may  say,  craftsmen. 

^  It  Avonld  seem,  however,  from  Genesis  xlvii.  lS-21,  that  there  was  ouce  a  class  of 
jidepeiideut  proprietors  who,  on  their  extinction  as  laud-owners,  were  added  to  the 
urban  population. 

^  Genesis  xlvi.  34.  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  adds  to  the  text  the  evidence  of^the  monu- 
ments: "As  if  to  prove  how  much  they  despised  every  order  of  pastors,  the  artists, 
both  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt,  delighted  on  all  occasions  in  caricaturing  their  ap- 
pearance." ("Anc.  Egyptians,"  vol.  ii.  p.  1G9,  popular  edit.)  Dr.  Beke  has  attempt- 
ed to  show  that  the  word  translated  "abomiuatiou"  really  means  "an  object  of  rev- 
erence."     (See  "Atheufeum,"  June,  1SG9.) 

«  "The  Ancient  Egyptians,"  0  vols.  Svo  ;  and  "A  Popular  Account  of  the  Ancient 
Egyptians,"  2  vols,  crown  Svo. 


THE  PRIESTS.  ,     1S5 

makers,  and  common  laborers ;  besides  other  scenes  too  many 
to  enumerate. 

The  classification  attempted  by  the  Greek  writers  could 
not,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  be  complete.  "  In  a  countr}- 
so  fertile  as  Egypt,  in  which  manufactures,  art,  and  internal 
commerce  were  carried  on  to  such  an  extent,  wealth  must 
have  accumulated  among  those  engaged  in  civil  life,  and 
have  given  rise  to  a  class  of  independent  proprietors  not  in- 
cluded in  any  of  the  genea.  On  the  other  hand,  we  find  that 
in  large  cities  2ipopidaGe  forms  itself,  depending  on  casual  ex- 
pedients for  subsistence,  and,  as  having  no  definite  occupa- 
tion, equally  excluded  from  the  list.  Such  a  class  in  later 
times  existed  in  Egypt ;  Sethos  employed  it  in  support  of 
his  usurpation  ;"  Amasis  endeavored  to  check  its  growth  by 
compelling  every  man  to  declare  his  occupation  before  the 
magistrate.'"" 

§  5.  The  liighest  class  was  that  of  the  Peiests  ;  and  their 
office  was  strictly  hereditary.  The  priests  of  Amun  at 
Thebes,  and  of  Phtha  at  Memphis,  boasted  to  Hecatteus  and 
Herodotus  their  descent  from  father  to  son  for  345  and  340 
generations  respectively.''  They  were  the  great  hereditary 
nobility  of  Egypt;  and  they  shared  with  the  king  and  the 
warrior-clnss  the  ownership  of  all  the  land.  They  claimed 
their  possessions  as  the  gift  of  Isis,  who  had  granted  one-third 
of  the  soil  of  Egypt  to  t1ie  priests  ;  and  in  fact  they  held  the 
greatest  pait  of  it,  though  we  do  not  know  the  exa(;t  propor- 
tion. Wiien  Joseph  accomplished  his  new  policy  of  land 
tenure,  the  land  of  the  priests  was  exempted  fronrthe  para- 
mount ownership  of  the  king,  and  from  the  tax  of  oiie-'^lr 
of  the  produce;  nnd  the  exemption  remained  pernijuient.^^ 
The  lands  were  let  out  to  tenants,  whose  rents  were  carried 
into  the  treasury  of  the  temples,  of  which  the  cultivators 
Avere  considered  as  the  servants.  Hence  were  defrayed  the 
expenses  of  the  temples,  their  pompous  ritual,  and  their  nu- 
merous hierarchy  of  ministers  ;  but  the  priests  received,  be- 
sides, daily  rations  of  cooked  food,  and  contributions  of  oxen,  / 
sheep,  and  wine :  fish  was  forbidden  to  them.  So  abundant  » 
were  these  resources  that  they  had  no  need  to  expend  their 

»  Herod,  ii.  141.  lo  Kenrick,  "Ancieut  Ei?ypt,"  vol.  ii.  p.  4S. 

11  Herod,  ii.  142,  143.  Taken  literally,  the  statement  is  of  conr.«e  incredible,  and  its 
artificial  character  is  farther  shown  by  the  number  of  generations  of  the  kings  being 
the  same  as  that  of  the  priests.  Bnt  It  is  a  good  argument  for  the  law  of  he'i-editary 
enccession  in  both  cases.  A  similar  case  of  hereditary  succession  in  the  civil  service 
is  cited  by  Lepsius  from  an  inscription  in  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  in  which  a  chief  of 
the  mining  works  declares  that  twenty-three  of  his  ancestors  had  filled  the  same  of- 
fice before  him. 

12  Genesis  xlvii.  22 ;  Diod.  i.  73.  But  it  appears  from  the  Eosetta  stone  that  the 
Ptolemies  received  a  tax  from  the  priests. 


186    THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

private  property/'  They  lived  in  wealth  and  luxury;  and 
the  minute  ritual  observances  of  their  lives,  in  a  climate  like 
that  of  Egypt,  were  agreeable  rather  than  ascetic.  They 
shaved  the  head  and  body  every  other  day,  washed  in  cold 
water  twice  every  day  and  twice  eveiy  night,  and  wore 
robes  of  linen  and  shoes  of  papyrus,  wool  and  leather  being 
forbidden  them/^  The  endless  variety  of  their  services  filled 
up  the  time  for  which  there  was  no  other  occupation  (for 
the  sciences,  of  which  the  priests  held  the  key,  could  only 
be  mastered  by  the  few);  and  even  amusement  might  be 
found  in  ritual  observances.  They  were  bound  by  no  law 
of  celibacy  ;  but  they  were  the  only  class  to  whom  polyga- 
my was  forbidden.'^  Women  could  not  hold  the  priesthood, 
even  to  female  deities;'^  but  they  might  minister  in  the  tem- 
ples.*^ For  each  deity  there  was  a  high-priest,  whose  digni- 
ty was  hereditary,  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  hierarchy  of 
priests,  scribes,  and  attendants  of  all  sorts.  The  most  fa- 
mous sacerdotal  colleges  were  tliose,  of  the  three  religious  cap- 
itals, Memphis,  Pleliopolis,  and  Thebes. 

§  G.  The  Military  Class  ranked  second.  None  of  them 
practised  any  trade  ;  and  the  son  succeeded  to  the  profession 
of  the  fother.^^  Herodotus  divides  them  into  the  two  bodies 
called  Hermotyhians  and  Calasirians.'^  Each  body  consist- 
ed of  the  forces  of  different  nomes;  the  Hermotybians  be- 
longing to  five  nomes  of  Lower  Egypt  and  one  of  Upper 
Egypt,  namely,  Chemmis  ;  the  Calasirians  to  eleven  nomes  of 
Lower  Egypt  and  one  of  Upper,  namely,  Thebes.^"  As  Ken- 
rick  observes,  "  It  was  on  the  side  of  Asia  that  the  country 
was  most  exposed  to  attack ;  .  .  .  .  and  the  abundance  and 
fertility  of  land  in  the  Delta  pointed  out  this  as  tlie  part  most 
suitable  for  the  settlement  of  the  soldiery."  Here,  also,  the 
foreign  auxiliaries  were  stationed  in  their  separate  "  camps." 
To  the  native  soldiery,  as  we  have  seen,  were  intrusted  the 
three  great  frontier  garrisons  of  Elephantine  towards  Ethio- 
pia, Pelusium  towards  Syria,  and  Mai-ea  towards  Libya. 

The  military  class  shared  the  soil  of  Egypt  with  the  king 
and  the  priests  ;  and  an  expression  of  Diodorus  seems  to  im- 

'-3  Herod,  ii.  3T.  '^  Herod,  ii.  37. 

15  Diod.  i.  80  :  comp.  Herod,  ii.  92.  ^'''  Herod,  ii.  35. 

■'^  Herod,  ii.  55;  confirmed  by  the  mouiiments.  But  the  Eosetta  stone  shows  that 
the  deified  Ptolemies  had  their  priestesses  as  well  as  their  priests. 

1*  Herod,  ii.  165, 1136.  Priests  also,  as  we  have  already  seen,  held  military  com- 
mands ;  and  there  is  no  proof  that  men  of  daring  and  promise  were  not  received 
from  other  chisses  into  the  niiiitary. 

J»  The  latter  name  is  found  on  the  monuments  as  Klashr,  foUoAved  by  the  figure  of 
an  archer  or  a  soldier,  the  Egyptian  iufttntry  being  chiefly  archers.  Wilkinson,  note 
to  Herod,  ii.  164. 

20  Hevc  airaiu  it  should  bo  observed  that  the  informatiou  of  Herodotus  relates  tc 
Ihe  state  of  Egypt  under  the  Saite  kin^s. 


POLITICAL  INSTITUTIONS.  187 

ply  that  they  employed  their  leisure  in  cultivating  their 
lands  :^^  but  they  were  interdicted  from  all  handicrafts.  He- 
rodotus says  that  each  soldier  had  12  cirurce  (about  3  roods) 
exempt  from  all  imposts.  There  was  no  privileged  corps, 
like  our  Guards  ;  but  the  king's  body-guard  was  furnished 
every  year  by  1000  men  from  each  of  the  two  bodies  ;  and, 
during  this  service,  each  man  received,  as  daily  allowance, 
6  minci^'^  of  baked  head  or  parched  corn,  2  laime  of  beef, 
and  about  a  quart  of  wine.  Their  peculiar  arms,  clothing, 
and  ensigns,  are  seen  on  the  monuments. 

From  all  this  it  is  clear  that  the  Egyptian  army  had  no 
resemblance  to  forces  of  paid  soldiers  enlisted  from  the  low- 
er classes,  and  commanded  by  privileged  officers.  The  whole 
profession  was  privileged  ;  and,  in  the  flourishing  times  of 
the  monarchy,  it  was  strictly  national.  The  foreign  auxilia- 
ries were  kept  in  a  thoroughly  subordinate  position ;  till, 
in  the  course  of  generations,  they  became  Egyptian  citizens, 
like  the  Matoi^  under  the  Middle  Monarchy,  and  tlie  Libyan 
Maxyans^  under  the  New.  The  reliance  of  Psammetichus 
on  his  Greek  and  Carian  mercenaries  broke  up  this  system, 
and  caused,  first,  the  secession  of  the  bulk  of  the  native  sol- 
diers, and  afterwards  those  intestine  struggles  of  the  two 
forces  which  left  Egypt  an  easy  prey  to  Persia. 

Section  II. — Political  Institutions. 

§  7.  The  government  of  Egypt  was  an  absolute  monarchy, 
only  qualified  by  a  definite  system  of  laws,  and  by  the  strong 
influence  of  religion  on  the  conscience  of  the  king  and  of 
rules  imposed  by  the  priests  upon  his  daily  life.  He  held 
unlimited  power  over  a  peo])le  who  were  unquestioning  be- 
lievers in  the  divine  right  of  kings,  on  the  only  sure  ground 
of  a  real  belief  in  their  divine  origin.  "  The  Egyptians," 
says  Diodorus  Siculus,  "  adore  tlieir  kings  as  equal  to  the 
gods;"  and  the  monuments  confirm  him.  In  the  earliest  age 
of  the  monarchy  we  find  the  king  invested  with  the  sacerdo- 
tal character;  and  the  priests  are  in  a  state  of  absolute  de- 
pendence on  him  as  their  head.  As  the  priests  gained  more 
independent  power,  the  king  added  to  his  rank  as  sovereign 
pontifl'the  character  of  a  visible  god  upon  the  earth.  Hence 
the  sublime  epithet  of  Pharaoh,  S07i  of  the  Sun-god  Ra, 
which  was  prefixed  to  the  name  of  every  king,  in  an  oval 
surmounted  by  a  crowned  hawk,  the  symbol  ofRa."  "The 
king  is  the  image  of  Ea  among  men,"  says  an  inscription, 

21  Diod.  i.  28. 

22  The  Attic  mhm  was  about  U  lb.  avoirdupois,  tho  Ei^infitau  about 

23  This  is  the  earliest  use  oi  crusts,  when  crests  had  a  real  v.ieaning. 


188    THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

Ht'iice  the  constant  identification  of  the  king  with  Horns,  and 
his  titles  of  "  the  great  god,"  "  the  good  god,"  "  the  sun, 
the  lord  of  justice  ;"  for  lie  ruled  the  lower  world  as  the  sun 
rules  the  order  of  the  universe.  In  short,  as  a  modern  writer 
puts  it,  in  the  act  of  mounting  the  throne,  he  was  transfigured 
befoi-e  the  eyes  of  his  subjects,  and  enjoyed  an  apotheosis 
dui-ing  his  life  besides  his  apotheosis  after  death.  The  di- 
vine and  regal  emblems  are  so  interchanged  on  the  monu- 
ments, the  god  and  king  are  so  associated,  that  it  is  often 
difficult  to  say  which  is  which ;  and  the  king  is  even  seen  in 
the  act  of  worshipping  his  own  image.  After  death,  the 
long  line  of  kings  are  worship])ed  by  their  successors,  as  we 
have  seen  in  the  "  Chamber  of  Ancestors  "  and  the  "  Tables 
of  Abydos."  But  during  life,  also,  they  had  their  own  priests 
and  altars. 

The  distance  was  immeasurable  between  the  king  and  the 
highest  of  his  subjects.  He  might  not  be  ministered  to  by 
slaves ;  but  priests  and  military  nobles  were  his  domestics ; 
and  their  epitaphs  record  exemption  from  abject  reverence 
as  the  most  distinguished  favor.  One  rejoices  in  being  al- 
lowed to  touch  the  king's  knees  in  place  of  prostration  before 
him ;  another  is  even  permitted  to  wear  his  sandals  in  the 
palace.  This  system  endured  even  under  the  Ptolemies ; 
who,  we  must  remember,  were  not  free  Greeks,  but  semi- 
barbarians,  prone  to  adopt  Oriental  forms  and  Oriental  vices. 
Such  a  view  of  the  royal  person,  as  one  to  Avhom  reverence 
and  obedience  was  a  religious  duty  even  in  the  highest  sub- 
ject, excluded  that  personal  dignity  and  independence  which 
are  essential  to  a  true  nobility,  and  left  no  separate  power 
or  rank  between  the  divine  Pharaoh  on  the  throne  and  tlie 
people  at  his  footstool.  Such  was  the  full  theory  of  Egyp- 
tian royalty,  however  modified  in  practice  by  the  power  of 
the  priests  and  soldiers. 

§  8.  One  class  of  restrictions  arose  from  the  very  dignity 
of  the  royal  nature.  The  divine  Pharaoh  must  himself  ob- 
serve an  etiquette  of  order  worthy  of  a  god;  and  of  this  the 
priests  made  themselves  the  interpreters  and  ministers.  His 
food  and  the  quantity  of  his  wine,  his  exercises  and  his  pleas- 
ures, were  all  prescribed  by  a  ceremonial  contained  in  one  of 
the  books  of  Hermes  [i.  e.  Thoth)."*  "  It  was  his  duty,"  says 
Diodorus, "  when  he  rose  in  the  early  morning,  first  of  all  to 
read  the  letters  sent  from  all  parts,  that  he  might  transact  all 
business  Vvdth  accurate  knowledge  of  vrhat  was  being  done 
everywhere  in  his   kingdom.     Having  bathed,  and   arrayed 

2*  Clem.  Alex.  "  Strom."  vi.  4,  p.  757,  cd.  Potter.    Concerning  these  books,  see  be- 
low, §  30. 


THE  KING.— HIS  DIVINITY  AND  RULES  OF  LIFE.       189 

himself  ill  splendid  robes  and  the  iusigna  of  sovereignty,  he 
saci  iticed  to  the  gods.""  The  victims  being  placed  beside  the 
altar,  the  high-priest,  standing  near  the  king,  prayed  with  a 
loud  voice  (the  people  standing  round)  that  the  gods  would 
give  health  and  all  other  blessings  to  the  king,  he  observing 
justice  towards  his  subjects.  It  was  the  prie^st's  office,  also, 
to  declare  the  king's  several  virtues,  saying  that  he  showed 
piety  towards  the  gods  and  clemency  towards  men  ;  that  he 
was  temperate  and  magnanimous,  truthful  and  liberal,  and 
master  of  all  his  passions  ;  that  he  inflicted  on  oftenders  pun- 
ishments lighter  than  their  misdeeds  deserved,  and  repaid 
benefits  with  more  than  a  proportionate  return.  After  many 
similar  prayers,  the  priest  pronounced  an  imprecation  respect- 
ing things  done  in  ignorance,  exempting  the  king  from  all  ac- 
cusation, and  fixing  the  injury  and  the  penalty  on  those  who 
had  been  his  ministers  and  who  had  wrongfully  instructed 
him."  So  early  in  the  history  of  the  worfd  do"^  we  find  the 
doctrine  of  the  ministerial  responsibility  brought  to  support 
the  maxim  that  "  the  king  can  do  no  wrong." 

It  is, indeed,  affirmed  that  his  own  responsibility  was  en- 
forced by  a  form  of  posthumous  judgment,  to  which  he  was 
subjected  in  the  person  of  his  mummy.  Any  one  who  had 
an  accusation  to  bring  against  him  was  heard  ;  and,  after  the 
priests  had  pleaded  his  merits,  the  honors  of  sepulture  were 
granted  or  refused  by  the  applause  or  murmurs  of  the  assem- 
bled people.^^  But  this  singular  statement  receives  no  con- 
firmation from  the  monuments;  and  when  we  find  the  me- 
morials of  a  deceased  king  defaced,  it  is  generally  by  some 
rival  who  wished  to  brand  him  as  a  usurper. 

§  9.  The  succession  to  the  crown  was  hereditary ;  and  the 
princes  of  the  royal  family  were  distinguished  by  a])propri- 
ate  titles  and  insignia."'  These  princes  generally  followed 
the  military  profession,  to  which  most  of  the  Egyj^tian  kings 
belonged  :  we  find  them  mentioned  as  generals  of  tlie  cav- 
alry, archers,  and  other  corps,  and  admirals  of  the  fleet. 
Many  held  honorable  offices  in  the  royal  household,  such  as 
fan-V)earers  on  the  right  of  their  father,  royal  scribes,  super- 
intendents of  the  granaries  or  of  the  land,  and  treasurers 
of  the  king.  That  "  the  king  never  dies  "  was  a  fundamental 
maxim  of  the  monarchy  ;  and,  amidst  all  the  dynastic  revoiu- 

25  The  monnments  coustantlv  show  the  king  offerius:  sacrifices  in  person.  For  a 
representation  of  the  ro3'al  robes  and  apro7i,  see  Wilkiuson,  "Popular  Accounr," 
etc.,  vol.  ii.  p.  32;i.  26  Diod.  i.  72. 

27  Their  regular  distinction  was  a  badge,  hanging  from  the  .side  of  the  head,  which 
inclosed,  or  represented,  the  lock  of  hair  emblematic  of  a  "  son,"  in  imitation  of  the 
youthful  god  Horns,  who  was  the  type  of  royal  virtue  and  the  model  for  all  princes. 
iSee  this  head-dress  in  Wilkiuson,  vol.  ii.  p.  312.) 


190    THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT, 

tions  the  priestly  registers  (as  we  see  from  Manetho)  were 
made  to  show  an  unV)roken  succession  from  Menes  to  Psam- 
menitus. 

The  ceremonies  of  election,  spoken  of  by  some  late  writers, 
seem  to  have  been  only  formal,  the  people,  as  at  modern  cor- 
onations, welcoming  the  new  king  by  their  acclamations. 
In  the  case  of  a  real  or  formal  election,  owing  to  a  dynastic 
revolution  or  the  failure  of  the  royal  line,  the  new  king  must 
be  either  a  priest  or  soldier  ;  and,  if  the  latter,  he  was  admit- 
ted to  the  sacerdotal  order  and  initiated  in  the  hidden  wis- 
dom of  the  priests.^®  In  every  case,  the  king  was  diligently 
instructed  by  the  scribes  in  the  moral  precepts,  and  in  the 
histories  of  eminent  and  virtuous  men,  contained  in  the  sacred 
books.  He  was  bound  to  use  his  power  according  to  the 
law,  and  nothing  was  left  to  caprice  or  passion  f^  and,  amidst 
some  striking  cases  of  tyranny,^"  the  absence  of  popular  rev- 
olutions is  a  strong  argument  that  the  rulers  generally  re- 
spected the  laws  and  revered  their  religious  sanctions. 

"The  union  of  priestly  sanctity,  military  power,  and  mo- 
narchical authority,  in  one  person,  gave  the  government  a 
degree  of  stability  not  belonging  to  forms  of  polity  in  which 
these  powers  were  dissociated  or  hostile.  At  the  same  time 
the  influence  of  the  sacerdotal  order,  who  were  almost  the 
sole  possessors  of  knowledge,  stamped  it  with  a  character  of 
mildness  and  humanity  ;  as  in  the  Middle  Ages  the  influence 
of  the  Church  tempered  the  rigors  of  feudalism.  It  substi- 
tuted religious  awe  for  constitutional  checks  and  sanctions 
in  the  mind  of  the  monarch,  and  by  this  sentiment  more  ef- 
lectually  controlled  him  as  long  as  religion  and  its  minis- 
ters were  res))ected."^' 

§  10.  Legislative  poioer  seems  to  have  been  vested  in  the 
sovereign  alone  ;  and  among  the  kings  famous  as  lawgivers 
are  Menes,  Sasychis,  Bocchoris,  and  Amasis.  But  it  is  im- 
possible to  doubt  that  they  consulted  the  learning  of  the 
priests  and  the  wishes  of  the  higher  classes  generally  in  mak- 
ing new  laws.  The  Greeks  regarded  the  laws  of  Egypt  as 
the  expression  of  the  highest  wisdom  and  the  fountain  of  in- 
spiration to  their  own  great  legislators  and  philosophers,  Ly- 
curgus,  Solon,  Pythagoras,  and  Plato ;  and  the  likeness  be- 

2*  Plato,  "  Polit."  ii.  p.  290  ;  Plut.  "  Is.  et  Osir."  p.  354,  B.  It  seems  also  that  a  royal 
prince  (whether  by  birth  or  adoption)  was  similarly  initiated  ;  aud  thus  it  was  that 
"  Moses  was  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians."  (Acts  vii.  22.)  What  has 
been  said  of  the  occupations  of  the  royal  princes  will  illustrate  the  further  statement 
that  he  "  was  mighty  in  words  aud  deeds,"  and  the  military  exploits  ascribed  to  him 
by  Jose))hns,  though  with  details  evidently  fabulous. 

29  Diod.  i.  94.  30  xotably  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus. 

21  Kenrick,  "  AncienL  Egypt,"  vol.  ii.  p.  35. 


EGYPTIAN  LEGISLATION.  101 

tween  the  Egyptian  and  Jewish  codes  is  a  decisive  testimony 
alike  to  the  merit  of  the  former  and  to  the  purpose  for  which 
Moses  was  led  to  acquire  his  Egyptian  learning. 

Unfortunately,  both  the  monuments  and  the  papyri,  so 
rich  in  historical  facts  and  religious  lore,  are  almost  silent 
about  the  laws  ;  but  Diodorus  gives  the  outline  of  the  crhn- 
inal  code.^^  First  of  all,  perjury  was  punished  by  death,  as 
combining  the  two  greatest  crimes  that  can  be  committed 
against  God  and  against  man.  The  false  accuser  was  subject 
to  the  penalty  of  the  ofiense  charged.  The  willful  murder, 
whether  of  a  free  man  or  of  a  slave,  was  alike  punished  by 
death  ;  and  the  same  penalty  was  inflicted  on  the  by-stander 
who  refused  to  assist  a  man  attacked  by  an  assassin.  If,  be- 
ing really  unable  to  give  effectual  help,  he  failed  to  denounce 
the  culprit  before  the  tribunals,  he  received  a  certain  number 
of  stripes,  and  was  kept  without  food  for  three  days.  A  par- 
ent who  killed  his  child  was  compelled  to  sit  three  days  and„ 
three  nights  embracing  its  body,  under  the  guard  of  a  public 
officer.  The  exposure  of  infants  was  forbidden,  nor  was  a 
mother  allowed  to  be  executed  with  an  unborn  child  ;  for  it 
was  held  supremely  unjust  to  make  an  innocent  being  share 
the  penalty  of  the  guilty,  and  to  take  two  lives  in  expiation 
of  the  crime  of  one.  A  thousand  stripes  w^ere  inflicted  on  an 
adulterer,  and  mutilation  of  the  nose  on  the  adulteress,  to  spoil 
her  beauty.  Makers  of  false  weights  and  measures,  counter- 
feiters of  money  and  seals,  forgers  of  documents,  and  those 
who  altered  public  acts,  had  both  hands  cut  off.^"^  Desertion 
was  punished,  not  by  death,  but  by  infamy,  in  order  that  the 
soldier  might  fear  shame  more  than  death,  and  also  to  incite 
him  to  valiant  efforts  to  regain  his  rank ;  while,  if  put  to 
death,  he  would  have  been  useless  to  the  state.  The  spy 
who  betrayed  secret  plans  to  an  enemy  had  his  tongue  cut 
out. 

There  were  other  forms  of  punishment.  We  have  seen 
that  Herodotus  mentions  the  substitution,  by  Sabaco,  for  the 
punishment  of  death,  of  forced  labor  in  embanking  the  cities 
of  the  Delta.  It  is  probable  that,  in  the  times  of  the  Pha- 
raohs, as  well  as  those  of  the  Ptolemies,  the  working  of  the 
gold  mines  of  Nubia,  and  of  the  mines  in  the  Arabian  Desert, 
v\'as  one  of  the  ])unishments  of  criminals.  The  labor  was 
cruelly  severe,  and  was  exacted  by  the  scourge;  in  the  low 
and  winding  passages  in  which  they  wrought,  the  miners 
were  compelled  to  assume  painful  and  unnatural  postures  in 

82  Diod.  i.  77,  78. 

33  A  grave  was  found  at  Sakkra-a  coutaiuiug  bodies,  the  hands  and  feet  of  which 
had  been  mutilated  at  the  ioints. 


192    THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

order  to  carry  on  their  work.^*  Their  complaints  could  excite 
no  sympathy,  for  guards  were  placed  over  them  who  did  not 
understand  their  language.  Children,  women,  and  old  men 
were  employed  in  different  o^ierations,  and  neither  infirmity 
nor  disease  procured  a  respite  while  there  remained  any 
strength  which  blows  could  compel  them  to  exert.^^  The  law 
of  theft  was  very  curious.  Tlie  "  habitual  criminals  "  of  this 
class  (if  criminals  they  could  be  called  under  such  a  law) 
were  organized  under  a  chief,  who  kept  n  register  of  their 
names,  and  acted  as  their  "  receiver-general.""  On  application 
to  him,  a  person  who  had  been  robbed  could  recover  his 
property  by  paying  one-fourth  of  its  value;  and  probably 
nowhere,  as  Kenrick  observes,  has  stolen  property  been  so 
cheaply  recovered.^"  Unless  the  law  referred  to  some  pe- 
culiar cases,  it  would  have  amounted — as  some  later  writers 
represent  it — to  a  general  permission  of  theft  in  Egypt." 

Of  the  civil  laic — besides  the  general  statement  that  Boc- 
choris  legislated  for  commerce — tlie  only  details  given  by  the 
ancients  relate  to  debtors  nnd  creditors.  Where  no  written 
acknowledgment  could  be  produced,  a  claim  might  be  re- 
butted by  the  oath  of  the  alleged  debtor;  and  in  no  case  was 
interest  allowed  to  exceed  twice  the  principal.  A  debtor 
was  answerable  to  the  extent  of  his  property,  but  not  in  his 
person,  for  the  latter  was  held  to  be  at  the  disi)osal  o\'  the 
state.  We  have  already  mentioned  the  pledging  of  the 
mummy  of  a  debtor's  father,  and  of  his  fiimily  tomb.  The 
numerous  existing  pn])yri,  containing  contracts  of  sale  and 
lease  of  lands  and  liouses — found  among  other  family  papers 
in  the  tombs — show  the  strict  forms  and  guaranties  by  which 
property  was  secured. 

§  11.  Egypt  had  the  blessing  oi  [i  judicial  administration 
almost  independent  of  the  crown.  The  kings  reserved  for 
the  last  resort  (except  probal)ly  in  political  cases)  those  ju- 
dicial functions  which,  as  in  all  tlie  ancient  monarchies,  wei-e 
the  prerogative  of  royalty.  Tliere  was  the  supreme  court 
of  Thirty  (or  rathei-  thirty-one)  persons,  ten  from  each  of  the 
cities  of  Memphis,  Heliopolis,  and  Thebes;  they  chose  their 
president,  who  was  replaced  by  another  representative  from 
the  same  city.  As  these  w^ere  the  three  great  seats  of  priest- 
ly colleges,  it  is  inferred,  and  it  is  probable  on  other  grounds, 
that  the  judges  were  of  the  sacerdotal  order,  whicli  alone 
possessed  the  necessary  knowledge  of  the  law. 

All  cases  were    conducted   in    writing,  that  the   decision 

3*  "Distorting-  their  bodies  in  innuy  wnj's  to  suit  the  pecnliaritie:?  of  the  rocks.'' 
Diixl.  iii.  1'.  35  Diod.  /.  c.  ;  Kenrick,  "  Ancieut  Egypt,"  li.  p.  55. 

3«  Diod.  I  SO.  3 '  Aulas  Gellius.  xi.  18. 


CIVIL  ADMI^sISTEATION.  193 

might  be  uninfluenced  either  by  eloquence  or  supplication. 
"A  collection  of  the  laws,  in  eight  volumes,  lay  before  the 
judges:  the  plaintiff,  or  accuser,  declared  in  writing  how  he 
Iiad  been  injured,  cited  the  portion  of  the  law  on  which  he  re- 
lied, and  laid  the  amount  of  his  damages,  or  claimed  the  pen- 
alty which,  in  his  view,  the  law  awarded.  The  defendant,  or 
culprit,  replied  in  writino-,  point  by  point,  denying  the  fact  al- 
leged, or  showing  that  his  act  had  not  been  unlawful,  or  that 
the  penalty  claimed  was  excessive.  The  plaintiff  having  re- 
joined, and  the  defendant  replied  again,  the  judges  delTber- 
ated  among  themselves.  A  chain  of  gold  and  precious 
stones  was  worn  by  the  president,  to  which  was  attached  an 
image  of  Thmel  (or  Ma),  the  goddess  of  truth  ;  and  he  pro- 
nounced sentence  by  touching  wiih  this  image  the  plaintift*'s 
or  defendant's  pleadings.  We  are  not  told  how  the  facts 
were  established,  and  indeed  the  whole  account  suggests 
the  idea  of  a  Court  of  Appeal,  i-ather  than  of  primar/Juris- 
diction.'"'  Ordinary  suits  were  probably  judged  by  the 
Nomarchs  and  Toparchs  on  the  spot.  We  possess  papyri 
containing  the  ofticial  records  of  two  criminal  trials.  The 
one,  under  Rameses  II.,  has  been  already  mentioned.'"  The 
other,  under  Kameses  IV.,  relates  to  the  trial  of  a  band  of 
thieves,  who  had  carried  on  a  systematic  pillage  of  the  The- 
baii  tombs.  We  have  no  similar  record  of  any  civil  process. 
§  12.  The  Adrnmistration  was  conducted  by  an  army  of 
officials,  unsurpassed  in  number  and  organization  by  the 
most  bureaucratic  of  modern  governments.  It  was  intrust- 
ed to  the  great  corporation  of  Scribes— n  branch  of  the  sac- 
erdotal order— and  Avas  carried  on  by  means  of  written  or- 
ders and  reports  passing  between  the  superior  and  inferi- 
or officers.  "Papyrus,"  in  ancient  Eofypt,  mi^ht  have  fur- 
nished the  same  by-word  as  our  "red-tape."  Many  of  these 
reports,  and  fragments  of  public  accounts,  are  extant.  We 
have  already  given  an  example,  relating  to  the  captive  He- 
brews. The  elaborate  phrases  of  respect,  and  the  general 
style  of  these  state  papers,  bear  a  resemblance  to  those  of 
the  Chinese. 

The  chief  departments  were  those  of  jmblic  icorks,  ica?-,  and 
Ji?icmce.  As  coined  money  appears  to  have  been  unknown, 
all  taxes  and  dues  were  collected  in  kind :  and  for  this  pur- 
pose the  land  was  divided  into  three  categories,  the  amble 
lands  (oitou),  the  marshes  {pehou),  and  the  canals  (jnaou), 
which  paid  their  respective  imposts  in  cor7i,  cattle,  and  fish. 
As  one-third  of  the  whole  land  of  Egypt  belonged  to'  the 

3s  Kenrick,  "  Hist,  of  Egypt,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  52,  53.  39  chap.  vi.  §  9. 

Q 


194    THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

king,  and  tlie  tenants  of  tlie  royal  demesne  paid  him  one-fifth 
of  the  jn'oduce;  and  as  the  land  of  the  priests,  and  a  part  at 
least  of  tliat  of  tlie  warriors,  was  exempt  from  taxation;  it 
would  appear  that  the  taxes  spoken  of  by  ancient  writers 
w^ere  for  the  most  part  the  same  thino-  as  the  rent  (or  double- 
tithe)  of  the  crown  lands.  Such  a  revenue  might  well  sup- 
port the  splendid  state  in  which  the  Pharaohs  lield  their 
court,  and  their  vast  outlay  on  building  and  sculptures,  es- 
pecially with  the  aid  of  forced  labor.  The  enormous  ex- 
penses of  their  foreign  wars  were  defrayed,  according  to  an- 
cient custom,  by  plunder  and  exaction  during  the  campaign, 
and  by  the  tributes  of  conquered  countries. 

§  13.  The  whole  territory  of  Egypt  was  divided,  for  ad- 
ministrative purposes,  into  nomes ;  of  which  some  of  the 
most  important,  at  least,  seem  to  have  been  originally  inde- 
pendent states.  To  the  latest  times  they  were  the  seats  of 
what  we  may  call  a  cantonal  \oorship^  each  nome  having  its 
own  local  deity,  whose  temple  marked  the  chief  city  of  the 
nome.  The  number  of  nomes  under  the  Pharaohs,  Ptolemies, 
and  early  Caesars  was  36  :  10  in  Upper  Egypt,  16  in  Middle 
Egy])t,'*"  and  10  in  Lower  Egypt:  but  these  numbers  were 
greatly  increased  by  the  later  Roman  emperors,  till  in  the 
time  of  Arcadius  there  were  58. ""  Each  nome  had  a  govern- 
or, whom  the  Greeks  call  nomarcJi,  and  under  him  were  local 
magistrates  called  topardis.'''^  There  was  (according  to  Stra- 
bo)  a  central  organization  of  these  nomes  for  common  pur- 
poses, by  delegations  composed  of  persons  of  station  and 
character  from  each  nome,  accomj)anied  by  the  priests  of  its 
chief  temple.  The  delegates  were  lodged  in  the  Labyrinth, 
the  27  halls  of  Avhich  corresponded  to  the  number  of  the 
nomes ;  they  made  offerings  to  the  gods,  and  settled  ques- 
tions of  doubtful  jurisdiction.^^ 

The  whole  of  this  system  was  in  the  hands  of  the  two 
privileged  orders.  "The  great  body  of  the  Egyptian  people 
ap])ear  to  have  had  no  pul)lic  duties  whatevei-,  neither  ])oliti- 
cal,  judicial,  nor  military  ;  the  idea  of  a  citizen  was  unknown 
among  them.  This  exclusion  of  all  but  priests  and  sol- 
diers from  political  functions  would  insure  revolution  in  any 
modern  government ;  but  the  privileged  orders  were  so  firm- 
ly established  by  th.e  thi-eefold  monopoly  of  knoAvledge,  sa- 

40  The  tlivisiou  between  Upper  and  Middle  Egypt  was  drawn  differently  at  differ- 
ent periods;  and  at  one  time  (Strabo  says  orijj^iually)  the  latter  only  contained  7 
nomes,  whence  its  Greek  name  of  Heptationu.'^.  Afterwards  the  Fijnvi  was  added  as 
an  eighth,  nuder  the  name  of  NomoH  Arfiinoitef<. 

4J  In  this  division  the  Oasis  of  Amnion  was  reckoned  as  one  of  the  35  nomes  of  the 
Delta. 

*''  The  correspouding  Egyptian  titles  are  iiukuowu.  ■'^  Strabo,  xvii.  p.  SU. 


TWO  SYSTEMS  OF  KELIGION.  195 

i^rerl  and  secular,  arms,  and  landed  property,  that  we  do  not 
read  even  of  an  attempt  to  disturb  them,  on  tlie  part  of  the 
excluded  millions,  till  the  last  centuiy  of  the  history  of  the 
Pharaohs."" 

Section  III. — Religious  Institutions. 

§  14.  The  gi-eat  bond  of  this  thoroughly  organized  system 
was  Religion.  Herodotus  says  that  the  Egyptians  are  relig- 
ious to  excess,  far  beyond  any  other  race  of  men  ;*^  and  even 
when  the  gross  excesses  of  a  degenerate  superstition  pro- 
voked the  ridicule  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  the  Greek  phi- 
losopher, who  makes  Mom  us  express  his  surprise  that  so 
many  persons  were  allowed  to  share  divine  honoi-s,  his  indig- 
nation at  the  Egyptian  crew  of  apes,  ibises,  bulls,  and  other 
ridiculous  creatures  who  intruded  themselves  into  heaven, 
and  his  wonder  how  Jove  could  allow  himself  to  be  carica- 
tured with  the  horns  of  a  ram — the  same  philosopher  makes 
Jove  reply,  that  these  were  mysteries,  not  to  be  derided  by 
the  uninitiated."^ 

Egypt  had,  in  fact,  two  religions :  one,  Avhich  Herodotus 
saw  captivating  the  eyes  of  the  people  with  pompous  cere- 
monies, and  governing  their  lives  by  minute  observances;  the 
other,  of  which  the  priests  barely  allowed  him  to  catch  a 
glimpse,  and  even  that  glimpse  he  was  too  reverent  to  re- 
peat."*' It  may  be  that  some  portions  of  the  esoteric  doctrine 
were  revealed  to  Pythagoras  and  Plato,  and  afterwards  in 
those  mysteries  of  Isis,  so  popular  under  the  Roman  empire, 
the  meaning  of  which  has  Ijeen  discussed  by  Plutarch  ;"'  but 
all  that  we  could  learn  with  certainty  from  these  sources  has 
been  either  lost  in  antiquit}^,  or  inextricably  involved  with 
the  speculations  of  the  Greeks  themselves.  At  length,  how- 
ever, modern  science  has,  in  the  language  of  the  ancients, 
"  lifted  the  veil  of  Isis  ;"  and  in  the  Egyptian  papyri  we  read 
the  secrets  of  Egyptian  theology. 

The  first  revelation  is  somewhat  startling.  Even  Herodo- 
tus liad  learned  that,  amidst  their  system  of  polytheism,  the 
Egyptians  of  Thebes  recognized  one  supreme  God,  who  had 
no  beginning,  and  would  have  no  end  ;  and  Jamblichus  quotes 
from  the  old  Hermetic  books  the  statement — "  Before  all  the 
things  that  actually  exist,  and  before  all  beginnings,  there  is 
one  God,  prior  even  to  the  first  god  and  king,  remaining  un- 
moved in  the  singleness  of  his  own  Unity.""    And  now  if,  like 

^^  Kenrick,  "Aucient  Egypt,"  vol.  ii.  p.  49. 

■•^  Herod,  ii.  37.  «  Lucian,  "Deor,  Cone."  10. 

4^  See  Herod,  ii.  02, 132, 171.  ^«  "  De  Iside  et  Osiride." 

■''*  Cory's  "Anc.  Frag."  p.  283. 


VJG     THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

the  prophet  on  his  mission  to  Egypt,  we  ask  ^y  what  name 
we  shall  announce  this  God,  the  sacred  books  of  Egypt  give 
the  very  same  answer — an  answer  w^hich  the  initiated  took 
with  them  to  the  grave,  inscribed  on  a  scroll  as  their  confes- 
sion of  faith  :— "  Nuk  pu  Nuk  "— "J«??^  that  I  amy"'  Other 
papyri  tell  us  "  that  He  is  the  sole  generator  in  heaven  and 
on  earth,  and  that  He  is  not  engendered — that  He  is  verily 
the  sole  living  God  who  has  engendered  Himself— He  who  is 
from  the  beginning — He  who  created  all,  but  is  Himself  un- 
created.'"' 

That  the  original  worship  of  Egypt  was  in  accordance  with 
this  theology  is  indicated  by  at  least  one  ancient  monument, 
the  temple  of  King  Shafre,  in  its  freedom  not  only  from  idols 
but  even  from  symbolic  decorations,  and  perhaps  by  the  old- 
est yjyramids." 

§  15.  Whence  then  the  outrageous  polytheism — the  gross 
superstition — which 

"With  monstrous  shapes  and  sorceries  abused 
Fanatic  E.2ypt  and  her  priests,  to  seek 
Their  wandering  gods  distingnished  in  brutish  forms 
Rather  than  human—        «        •       *        «        « 
Liliening  their  Maker  to  the  grazed  ox- 
Jehovah,  who  in  one  night,  when  he  passed 
From  Egypt  marching,  equalled  with  one  stroke 
Both  her  lirst-born  and  all  her  bleating  gods?" 

The  answer  is  not  difficult;  and  it  shows  one  oriirin  of 
])olytheism  and  idolatry.  The  unity  of  God  was  lost  in  the 
plurality  of  his  manifestations.  Each  of  these,  embodied  in  a 
per^^onal  form,  became  a  god  ;  while  the  allegoi'ical  represent- 
ations of  the  divine  qualities  gave  birth  to  the  monstrous  com- 
binations of  animal  and  human  forms,  and  to  the  worship  of 
animals  themselves.  All  these  were — so  to  speak — religious 
masks,  grotesque  allegorical  embodiments  of  the  originally 
pure  dogma  communicated  to  the  initiated  at  the  mysteries. 
When  once  invested  with  a  distinct  personality,  and  with  at- 
tributes which  were  regarded  as  their  own,  the  gods  became 
secondary  agents^  taking  their  part  in  the  organization  of 
the  w^orld  and  the  preservation  of  its  creatures ;  and  ihis 
polytheism  was  extended  to  embrace  all  nature. 

The  principle  of  anthropomorphism  w^as  carried  out,  as  in 
all  systems  of  polytheism,  to  the  length  of  ascribing  to  the 

si)  Brugsch,  "Aus  dcm  Orient."  It  is  evident  what  a  new  light  this  discovery 
throws  on  the  sublime  passage  in  Exodus  iii.  14;  where  Moses,  whom  we  may  sup- 
pose to  have  been  initiated  into  this  formula,  is  sent  both  to  his  people  and  to  Pha- 
raoh, to  proclaim  the  ti-ue  God  by  this  very  title,  and  to  declare  that  the  God  of  the 
highest  Egyptian  theology  was  also  the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob. 
The  case  is  parallel  to  that  of  Ppail  at  /vthens. 

61  Lenormaut,  "  Hist.  Aucienue,"  vol.  i.  p.  361.  ^^  gee  chap.  iii.  §  S. 


ORIGIN  OF  EGY]»TIAN  POLYTHEISM.  107 

deities  the  distinction  of  sex,  and  the  ordinary  family  rela- 
tions. Hence,  at  all  tlie  chief  religious  centres,  we  find,  not 
one  god  alone,  but  a  ^r^V/c/,  consisting  of  fat /wr,  mother,  nud 
son.  "  From  the  involved  character  of  this  system,  from  the 
numerous  centres  of  woa'ship,  and  from  the  many  forms  of 
symbolism  used  to  embody  the  same  idea,  we  find  in  these 
triads  an  extraordinary  mixture  and  repetition,  not  only  of 
attributes,  but  even  of  personalities. 

§  16.  Throughout  the  whole  system  there  is  a  constant 
reference  to  the  dogma  which,  next  to  the  divine  unity,  is 
the  one  most  characteristic  of  the  Egyptian  religion,  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul  and  a  future  state  of  existence  after 
death.  Of  this  truth  a  thousand  symbols  and  promises  were 
recognized  in  the  natural  world,  and  embodied  in  the  con- 
ceptions of  the  gods.  The  prevailing  emblem  was  furnisiied 
by  the  Sun's  daily  course,  as  it  passed  alternately  through 
the  abodes  of  darkness — or  death,  and  of  light — or  life ;  for, 
with  the  Egyptians,  as  with  the  Hebrews,  the  evening  and 
morning  were  the  day.  But  the  Sun  was  the  source  as  well 
as  the  sign  of  life,  the  vivifier  of  the  world,  the  universal  fa- 
ther; and,  as  it  shines  in  the  firmament  above  superior  to 
all  the  other  lights  of  heaven,  it  is  the  universal  lord.  These 
conceptions  Avere  embodied  in  diiferent  names — Ra,  the  Sun 
in  his  meridian  splendor ;  Atoum,  in  his  nocturnal  course ; 
Kheper,  as  the  giver  and  sustainer  of  life ; — and  we  may 
perhaps  go  so  far  as  to  say  that,  in  all  the  varied  combina- 
tions of  the  Egyptian  Pantheon,  the  supreme  god  has,  at 
least,  some  connection  Avith  the  Sun.  Correlative  to  this 
living,  active,  vivifying  principle  was  inert  matter,  the  uni- 
versal mother  {3Iauf) — one  form  under  many  names,  as  iEs- 
chylus  says  of  the  earth — nay,  in  one  aspect,  as  JVeith,  the 
mother  of  the  Sun  himself,  as  well  as  of  all  the  gods;  and  it- 
self a  creation  of  the  god  JVouni  (or  Knuphis),  the  divine 
breath  which  animates  matter,  and  the  first  creator,  or  derai- 
ziryus, whose  symbol  is  the  ram.  Thus,  in  the  Egyptian  doc- 
trine, inert  matter — the  receptacle  of  all  life — was  not  co- 
eternal  with  God,  but  was  created  by  his  breath :  and  here 
we  have  again  a  close  resemblance  to  the  cosmogony  of 
Moses. 

Another  set  of  symbols  was  suggested  by  the  general  idea 
of  the  solar  course.  The  lower  hemisphere,  or  more  vaguely 
the  Western  region,  into  which  the  Sun  sinks  to  rest,  was 
personified  in  Athor  (or  Atur),^^  the  mother  of  Ra,  whose 
symbol  is  the  covj.  As  springing  from  her,  when  he  resumes 
his  daily  course,  the  Sun  becomes  the  youthful  Horus  :  and 

63  The  Greeks  identified  this  goddess  with  Aphrodite. 


198    THE  IXSTITUTI0X8,  RELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

the  same  cow,  appearing  to  welcome  liim  in  the  upper  world, 
is  again  deified  under  the  name  oi  Nouh. 

In  accordance  with  the  usual  mode  of  travelling  in  Egypt, 
the  mystic  journey  of  the  Sun  is  made  in  a  boat  or  bark ; 
and  this  gives  rise  to  a  new  set  of  persoinfications.  This 
voyager  through  the  shades,  with  the  twelve  hours  of  the 
night  for  his  companion  deities,  was  distinguished  from  the 
other  personifications  of  the  Sun  by  the  famous  name  of  Osi- 
ris. This  god,  and  his  wife  Isis  (who  unites  the  characters 
of  Maut  and  Xelth  and  Athor),  were  the  children  of  the  god 
/Seb,  another  personification  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  goddess 
JVout,  the  firmament  of  heaven.  Their  son,  the  ever  youth- 
ful Horus,  the  chief  of  the  twelve  companions  of  his  father, 
and  the  lord  of  the  hour  of  dawn,  personified  the  rising  Sun, 
piercing  with  his  dart  the  serpent  Apap^  or  Apophis^  who 
represents  the  vapors  of  the  dawn.  This  contest  was  gen- 
eralized into  the  whole  conflict  between  good  and  evil,  in 
which  the  serpent,  or  evil  principle,  is  embodied  in  a  special 
deity,  Set  or  SoutekJi,t\\(i  Egyptian  name  for  the  Baal  of  the 
Syrians  and  Shepherds,  whom  the  Greeks  confounded  with 
Typhon."  The  fable,  which  became  the  most  popular  arti- 
cle of  faith  among  all  the  Egyptians,  and  the  most  mysteri- 
ous of  their  tenets  in  the  eyes  of  their  Greek  visitors,"  re- 
lated how^  Osiris  manifested  himself  among  men,  and  ruled 
Egypt  with  beneficent  sway  ;^^  how  he  was  killed  in  combat 
with  the  serpent  Typhon,  and  raised  to  liic  again  through 
the  prayers  and  invocations  of  Isis ;  and  how  his  son  Horus 
took  vengeance  upon  Typhon.  Tiie  substance  of  the  legend 
appears  in  all  the  Eastern  systems  of  nature-worship,  and 
especially  in  the  myths  of  Cybele  and  Atys,  and  of  Venus 
and  Adonis. 

§  17.  Osiris,  Isis,  and  Horus  formed  the  most  popular, 
though  the  last  in  order,  of  the  Egyptian  triads.  Their 
worship  was  common  to  all  Egy})t ;  but  the  other  chief 
triads  had  local  centres. 

(i.)  The  first  in  rank  was  that  of  Thebes,  headed  by 
Amun,  the  supreme  god  of  Egypt,  at  least  from  the  time 
when  Thebes  was  made  the  capital  by  the  twelfth  dynasty. 
Amun,  whose  name  means  Iiidden,  was  the  highest  personal 
embodiment  of  the  invisible  and  inconceivable  god,  the  cre- 
ator and  governor,  not  only  of  the  world,  but  of  all  the  other 
gods,  wlio  personify  his  attributes  :  thus  the  Ritual  of  the 

"1  As  Baal  was  also  a  snii-god,  the  fable  may  have  signified,  iu  part,  tlie  triumph 
of  the  gods  of  Egypt  over  those  of  her  enemies. 
^5  Hcrodotns  makes  it  a  rule  generally  to  suppress  the  name  of  Osiris. 
66  This  was  cue  reason  of  his  identification  with  Dionysus.     (See  Herod,  ii.  42.) 


TRIADS.— THREE  ORDERS  OF  DEITIES.  19'J 

Dead  says,  "Amun  creates  his  members,  and  tbey  become 
his  associate  gods."  Hence  the  Greeks  identified  him  Avith 
their  Jove,  "the  father  of  gods  and  men."  He  was  wor- 
sliipped  at  Thebes  as  Amun-Ra  (Amnion  the  Sun),  in  con- 
junction with  Maut  ("the  Mothei-,"  par  excellence)^  and 
C7io;?^,  who  is  at  once  the  son  of  Amun,  and  anotlier  form  of 
him;  Indeed,  in  all  these  triads  the  son  is  another  imperson- 
ation of  the  attributes  of  the  father. 

(ii.)  The  Triad  of  Memphis  consisted  oi PJitJia^  Pasht,  and 
Month.  In  the  time  of  Lower  Egypt's  supremacy,  Phtha 
might  dispute  with  Amun  the  first  place  among  the  Egyp- 
tian gods.  He  seems,  in  fact,  to  repi'csent  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent system  of  physico-theology,  based  on  the  secret  work- 
ing of  the  powers  of  nature.  Phtha  is  the  personification, 
not  of  the  sun,  but  of  the  all-working  power  of  fire;"  the 
second  deiniurgus^  an  emanation  from  the  first  creative  pnn- 
ciple,  Xouph  or  Knuphis.  His  spouse  was  Pasht^  tlie  lion- 
headed  goddess  of  Bubastis,  the  universal  mother  (like  J/cy/^^), 
and  specially  the  avenger  of  crimes.  From  them  sprang 
the  Sun-god,  whose  most  brilliant  and  terrible  form,  as  ho 
darts  abroad  liis  piercing  and  sometimes  pestilential  rays, 
like  sharp  arrows,  is  embodied  in  Month.,  with  the  symbol 
of  the  hawk. 

(iii.)  Month  himself,  with  his  con»jort  Pdtho^  and  their  son 
Ilarphre  [Horns  the  /Sun)  formed  the  T'riad  of  Hernionthis. 

(iv.)  The  triad  of  Osiris.,  Isis,  and  Horns  was,  as  we  have 
just  said,  revered  throughout  all  Egypt. 

Herodotus  was  perhaps  guided  by  the  system  of  triads 
in  liis  division  of  the  Egyptian  gods  into  three  orders :  "  the 
eight,''''  who  existed  before  the  rest,  and  of  wliom  Pan  (i.  e. 
Kheni)  was  one  ;  "  the  ticeive  "  of  the  second  order,  one  of 
whom  was  Hercules  (under  whose  name  he  seems  to  con- 
found Khons  and  Moui,  tlie  irod  of  Sebennytus)  ;  and  th^ 
gods  of  the  third  order,  whom  "the  twelve"  produced, 
among  whom  was  Dionysus  (i.  e.  Osiris).  Ancient  and  mod- 
ern writers  have  framed  very  difirerent  theories  to  illustrate 
or  confirm  or  refute  this  statement ;  and  we  must  abstain 
here  from  any  attempt  to  complete  the  Egyptian  PantheoUc^^ 

57^  Hence  the  Greeks  identified  him  with  Hephflestn.", 

5^  For  further  information  see  Kenrick's  "Ancient  Egypt,"  vol.  i.  chap,  xxi.,  and 
W^ilkinsou's  Appendix  to  Book  ii.  of  "Ilerodotng, '  ?hap.  iii.  (in  Rawliasoii't  ''He- 
rodotus").   Both  a^ree  in  making  up  the  list  of  the  "  eight "  by  4  deities  o.''  eeci^  sex ; 
but  with  slight  differences : 
Kenrick. 


Amun  and  Maut. 
Pthah  and  Pasht. 
Kneph  and  Neith. 
Khem  and  Athor. 


Wilkinson. 
Amun  and  Maut. 
Pthah.  and  Neith 
Noura  (K'lcoh'*  ;.'ul  Sar- 
Khem  nvi  Paslit. 


200     THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

§  18.  Tlic  spirit  of  symhoUsm  ran  through  the  whole  re- 
ligion of  Kgypt ;  and  never  was  there  a  stronger  case  of  the 
abuses  to  which  that  lascinating  principle  may  sink,  than  in 
the  animal  icors/dp  of  the  Egy])tians.  Many  fanciful  theories 
have  been  devised  to  account  for  this  strange  religious  aber- 
ration. Herodotus,  after  stating  that  Egypt  does  not  abound 
in  wild  animals,  but  that  its  animals  (whether  domesticated 
or  not)  are  all  regarded  as  sacred,  adds,  "If  I  were  to  explain 
why  they  are  consecrated  to  the  several  gods,  I  should  be 
led  to  speak  of  religious  matters,  which  I  particularly  shrink 
from  mentioning.'"'  Diodorus  quotes  three  reasons  which 
were  commonly  given  by  the  Egyptians.'"  The  first  is  a  fa- 
ble which  tells  how  the  originat  gods,  being  few  in  number, 
and  no  match  for  the  iniquities  and  violence  of  men,  took 
the  shape  of  animals,  in  order  to  escape  from  them ;  and  af- 
terwards, when  they  became  masters  of  the  whole  world,  they 
consecrated  and  appropriated  these  animals  to  themselves,  as 
an  act  of  gratitude.'''  The  second  story  ascribed  the  custom 
to  victories  obtained  by  the  army  under  standards  bearing 
the  heads  of  animals ;  an  obvious  inversion  of  the  natural 
order;  nor  are  such  standards  seen  on  the  monuments. 

The  third  reason  is  plausible  enough  to  have  been  gener- 
ally accepted  by  the  ancient  writers,"'  as  well  as  by  modern 
utilitarians — that  the  animals  were  consecrated  on  account 
of  the  benefits  which  mankind  derived  from  them  ;"'  the  bull 
and  cow,  from  their  services  in  agriculture  and  in  supplying 
man  with  nourishment ;  the  sheep,  from  its  rapid  multipli- 
cation and  the  utility  of  its  fleece,  its  milk,  and  its  cheese; 
the  dog,  for  its  use  in  hunting ;  the  cat,  because  it  destroys 
asps  and  other  venomous  reptiles ;  the  ichneumon,  because 
it  sucks  the  eggs  of  the  crocodile,  and  even  destroys  the  ani- 
mal itself  by  creeping  into  its  month  and  gnawing  its  intes- 
tines ;  the  ibis  and  hawk,  because  they  destroy  snakes  and 
vermin. 

This  theory  may  contain  a  germ  of  truth  ;  the  general 
practice  being  once  established,  some  animals  may  have  been 
consecrated  through  gratitude,  as  the  ichneumon  and  the 
ibis;  but  even  in  these  cases  a  better  reason  might  perhaps 
be  found.  Besides,  the  theory  is  inadequate  :  as  Ken  rick 
well  asks—"  If  the  ichneumon  or  the  hawk  Avere  worshipped 
because  they  destroyed  crocodiles  and    serpents,  why    the 

59  Herod,  ii.  C5.  «"  Diof^-  i-  S5,  8G. 

81  Herodotus  relates  a  somewhat  similar  fable  to  account  both  for  the  ram's  head 
of  Ammon,  and  for  his  name  of  "the  hidden  one."    Herod,  ii.  42. 

62  Comp.  Cic.  "N.  D."i.  21>,  36,  "Tusc.  Q,u8est."v.  27;  Porphyr.  "De  Sacrificiis." 

63  Some  writers  add  that  it  was  a  wise  measure  of  police  to  preserve  the  animals, 
which,  as  Herodotus  says,  were  few. 


SYMBOLIS.AI ;   ITS  THREE  STAGES.  201 

serpent  and  tlie  crocodile?  Or  if  the  ibis  was  worshipped 
because  it  devours  snakes  and  vermin,  why  was  it  specially 
consecrated  to  Thoth,  the  god  of  letters  V"  Nor  were  the 
wants  of  the  Egyptians  so  opposite  in  various  nomes,  as  to 
account  for  their  extirpating  as  noxious,  in  one,  the  very 
animals  that  were  consecrated  as  useful  in  the  next ! 

§  19.  Without  naming  many  other  reasons  which  are  man- 
ifest inventions,  or  discussing  mere  philosophic  theories — 
such  as  those  which  connect  the  practice  Avith  a  Pantheistic 
creed,  or  with  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis — tliere  re- 
mains the  one  explanation  from  the  universal  tendency  of 
mankind  to  find  in  the  peculiar  qualities  of  animals  figures 
of  the  characters  of  rational  beings,  a  tendency  which  sur- 
vives in  poetry  and  heraldry,  and  which  may  be  traced  in 
the  symbolisms  of  other  religions,  though  no  people  have 
carried  it  to  the  same  length  as  the  Egyptians.  The  appli- 
cation of  this  principle  is  admirably  stated  by  Mr.  Kenrick  : 
"  What  those  analogies  were  which  the  Egyptians  found  or 
fancied  between  the  attributes  of  the  gods  and  the  specific 
qualities  of  the  animals  consecrated  to  them,  we  can  in  gen- 
eral only  guess.  The  lordly  biiU,^s  a  type  at  once  of  power 
and  of  production,  seems  a  natural  symbol  of  the  mighty  god 
Osiris,  who — whether  he  represented  originally  the  Earth, 
the  Sun,  or  tJie  Nile — was  certainly  revered  as  the  great 
source  of  life.  The  god  of  Mendes,  for  a  similar  reason,  was 
fitly  represented  by  the  goat.  The  bright  and  piercing  eye 
of  the  hawk  made  it  an  appropriate  emblem  of  Horus,  who 
was  also  the  sun ;  the  crocodile  might  naturally  be  adopted 
as  a  symbol  of  the  Nile  which  it  inhabits,"  or,  from  its  vo- 
racious habits  and  hostility  to  man,  might,  on  the  other 
hand,  symbolize  Typhon,  the  principle  of  evil.  W^e  may  fan- 
cy that  the  Cynocejyhalus  was  chosen  to  represent  Thoth, 
the  god  of  letters  and  science,  from  the  near  approach  which 
this  animal  makes  to  human  reason."  But  we  can  not  ex- 
pect to  explain  every  example;  and  it  is  pi'obably  from  our 
limited  acquaintance  with  the  Egyptian  mythology  that  we 
have  to  leave  some  questions  unanswered,  as  "  Why  was  the 
ibis  appropi-iated  to  Osiris  ?  or  the  cat  to  Pasht  ?  or  the  ram 
to  Kneph  ?  or  the  vulture  to  Isis  ?  or  what  made  the  scara- 
hmus  one  of  the  most  sacred  of  all  the  animal  types  of 
Egypt  ?" 

We  may  trace  three  stages  of  this  symbolism.  First,  the 
placing  the  head  of  the  animal  on  the  human  form  of  the  god, 

**  We  have  this  very  symbolism  in  the  Bible  (Ezek.  xxix.  3;  Isaiah  xxvii.  1)  as 
well  as  in  the  hieroglyphics,  from  which  indeed  many  other  confirmatory  examples 
■might  be  drawn. 

9* 


202    THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

the  almost  universal  type  of  the  Egyptian  idols.*"  Next,  the 
consecration  of  living  animals  as  types  of  the  deities  :  a  sym- 
bolism which  degenerated  into  actual  worship.  Lastly,  the 
animal  was  believed  to  be  the  positive  incarnation  of  the 
god  in  three  cases  only  :  the  bull  Apis,  who  was  worshipped 
at  Memphis  as  the  incarnation  of  Phtha;  the  bull  Mnevls,  at 
Heliopolis,  the  incarnation  of  Osiris;  and  the  goat  at  Mendes, 
the  incarnation  of  Khem.  The  most  revered  was  Apis  (in 
Ef^yptian,  Ilap'i),  who  was  revealed  by  certain  marks  :  his 
color  was  black,  with  a  white  triangular  spot  on  the  fore- 
head, a  half-moon  upon  the  back,  and  a  swelling  in  the  shape 
of  a  scarabseus  on  the  tongue.  He  was  kept  in  great  pomp, 
ill  a  splendid  building,  and  it  was  esteemed  the  highest  hon- 
or to  be  one  of  his  ministering  priests.  When  he  died,  all 
Egypt  went  into  mourning;  aiui  when  a  new  Apis  was  mani- 
fested, the  land  gave  itself  up  to  rejoicing.  His  term  of  life 
was  limited  :  if  he  did  not  then  die  naturally,  the  priests 
killed  him,  and  then  mourned  for  him.  His  body  was  em- 
balmed, and  buried  in  the  sepulchre  which  we  have  already 
mentioned  as  discovered  by  M.  Mariette  with  its  invaluable 
records.''  The  Greeks  called  the  temple  of  Apis  the  ^era- 
peum,  a  curious  misnomer,  which  originated  as  follows.  _  The 
soul  of  the  deceased  Apis  was  supposed  to  become  assimila- 
ted, in  the  lower  world,  to  another  manifestation  of  Osiris, 
and  was  worshipped  under  the  name  of  Osir-Hapi,  which 
the  Greeks  made  Serapis  :  and,  in  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies, 
the  worship  of  Serapis  became  the  religious  bond  between 
'the  old  Egyptians  and  the  Greek  colonists. 

§  20.  The  other  sacred  animals  had  likewise  their  temples, 
where  they  were  splendidly  Uiaintained.  Besides  the  land 
assigned  to  them,  they  received  the  produce  of  vows,  espe- 
cialfy  those  made  by  "^parents  for  the  recovery  of  their  chil- 
dren, and  at  death  they  were  embalmed.  Some,  that  were 
held  in  peculiar  honor,  liad  th.eir  special  burial-places,  as  the 
cat  at  Bubastis,  the  hawk  at  Buto,  the  il)is  at  Hermopolis. 
The  reverence  paid  to  some  was  purely  local :  thus  the  hijv 
popotamus  was  worshipped  only  at  Papremis  ;  the  sheep  in 
the  Theban  and  Saitic  nomes  ;  the  wolf  at  Lycopolis  ;  the 
lion  at  Leontopolis;  and  others  in  other  places:  the  croco- 
dile was  held  sacred  in  the  Thebaid,but  was  hunted  down 
elsewhere.  The  kdling  of  a  sacred  animal  was  a  sacrilege 
punished  with  death,  if  willful ;  if  involuntary,  by  such  a  fine 
as  the  priests  might  impose:  but  the  slayer  of  an  ibis  or 
hawk  was  in  all  cases  put  to  death.     It  is  said  that  v/hen 

«6  The  couverse  symbolism  represents  a  kiug  by  a  human  head  on  the  body  of  tli« 
animal  whose  qualities  are  ascribed  to  him.  ^*  See  chap.  ii.  5  6. 


EMBALMMENT.— JUDGMENT  OF  THE  DEAD. 


203 


Canibyses  invaded  Egypt,  lie  placed  sacred  animals  in  his 
tront  line,  and  the  Egyptians  suffered  defeat  rather  than  harm 
thein.  The  same  conqueror  showed  a  Persian's  indignation 
for  idolatry  by  slaying  an  Apis,  over  whose  discovery  the 
Egyptians  were  rejoicing  ;  and  his  madness  was  held  to  be 
the  penalty  of  the  outrage.  Even  under  one  of  the  last 
Ptolemies,  when  the  late  of  Egypt  huno-  on  the  friendshij)  or 
anger  of  Rome,  the  intercessioii  of  the  king  himself  failed  to 
save  a  Roman  soldier,  who  had  killed  a  cat,  from  the  hands 
ot  the  enraged  people." 

The  superstition  lasted  till  it  gradually  yielded  to  Chris- 
tianity, and  Clemens  xVlexandrinus  describes  it  in  a  strikinor 
passage :  "Among  the  Egyptians,  the  temv^es  are  surrouiuf- 
ed  with  groves  and  conseci'ated  pastures;  they  are  furnished 
with  propylaea,  and  their  courts  are  encircled  with  an  intinito 
number  of  columns  ;  their  walls  glitter  with  foreign  marbles 
and  paintings  of  the  highest  art ;  the  ?iaos  is  resplendent 
with  gold  and  silver  and  electrum  and  variegated  stones 
from  India  and  Ethiopia  ;  the  adytum  is  veiled  by  a  curtain 
M-rought  with  gold.  But  if  you  pass  beyond,  into  the  re- 
motest part  of  the  inclosure,  hastening  to  behold  somethino- 
yet  more  excellent,  and  seek  for  the  image  which  dwells  in 
the  temple,  ^pastophorus,  or  some  one  else  of  those  who  min- 
ister in  sacred  things,  with  a  pompous  air,  sini^ing  a  pa?an  in 
the  Egyptian  tongue,  draws  aside  a  small  portio4?of  the  cur- 
tain, as  if  about  to  show  us  the  god,  and  makes  us  burst  into 
a  laugh.  For  no  god  is  found  within,  but  a  cat,  or  a  croco- 
dile, or  a  serpent  spruno-  from  the  soil,  or  some  such  brute  an- 
imal;  the  Egyptian  deity  appears  a  beast  rolling  himself  on 
a  purple  coverlet  !'"'** 

§  21.  It  is  unnecessary  to  describe  the  sacrifices  and  cere- 
monial worship  of  the  Egyptians,  which  differed  in  no  im- 
portant respect  from  those  of  other  nations  ;  but  it  should 
be  mentioned  that  they  had  the  rite  of  circumcision.  Their 
practice  (^'i  embalmment,  \X\e  various  forms  of  which  are  fully 
described  by  Herodotus,  arose  from  their  belief  in  a  future 
life  and  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body.  So  long  as  the 
body  was  preserved  from  corruption,  it  was  believed  to  re- 
tain a  germ  of  life,  and  mvstic  formula?  were  used  for  the 
preservation  of  the  vital  spark.  The  future  life  and  resur- 
rection are  often  depicted  on  the  coffins  by  symbols  con- 
nected with  the  course  of  the  sun.  The  soul  is 'represented 
by  a  hawk  (the  symbol  of  Ra)  with  a  human  head,  holding 
in  its  claws  the  two  rings  of  eternity,  and  surmounted  by 

«^  Diodorns  lelales  this  ns  an  eve-witness. 
«**  Clem.  Alex.  "Paedag."  iii.  2,  j).  253,  Potter 


204     THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

the  rising  sun,  with  Isis  and  Nephthys  for  its  attendants. 
Such  a  liawk  is  seen  in  a  vignette  of  the  Ritual  of  the  Dead^ 
carrying  the  ring-handled  cross  {crux  ansata) — the  emblem 
of  life — to  a  mummy  lying  on  its  bier.  When  its  subter- 
ranean pilgrimage  is  fulfilled,  the  soul  arrives  at  the  bark  of 
the  sun,  and  is  received  by  Ra  under  the  emblem  of  a  scara- 
bseus. 

But  this  was  not  the  portion  of  all  souls.  The  doctrine 
of  rewards  and  punishments  was  inseparably  linked  with 
ihat  of  a  future  life.  All  the  deceased  went  down  to  Ker- 
neter  (the  Egyptian  Hades) ;  but  resurrection  was  the  por- 
tion of  those  only  who  had  committed  no  mortal  sin,  either 
in  action  or  in  thought.  ThQ  judgment  of  the  dead  is  often 
represented  on  coffins  and  in  the  Ritual^  under  the  figure 
of  weighing  the  souls  {psychostasy)!'''  This  awful  ceremony 
is  conducted  by  Osiris  and  his  forty-four  assessors  in  the 
"hall  of  twofold  justice:"  the  balances  are  held  by  Horus 
and  Anubis :  a  figure,  or  sometimes  the  heart,  of  the  de- 
ceased is  placed  in  one  scale,  to  be  weighed  against  an  im- 
age of  Thot/i^thQ  god  of  justice,  in  the  other,  and  the  same 
deity  registers  the  result.  The  reprobate  is  cond'emned  to 
annihilation  :  he  is  beheaded  by  Horus  or  by  Smou  (another 
form  of  aS'^^)  on  the  nenmia,  or  mfernaX  scaffold,  and  devoured 
by  a  monster  with  the  head  of  a  hippopotamus.  But  before 
his  annihilation  he  is  subjected  to  a  long  course  of  torments, 
and  returns  to  act  as  an  evil  genius  upon  earth,  where  his 
abode  is  in  the  bodies  of  unclean  animals. 

The  just,  on  the  contrary,  purified  by  a  fire  guarded  by 
four  ape-headed  genii,  shares  the  bliss  of  Osiris,  the  "good 
being"  { 0 umiof r e),  und  feasts  with  him  on  delicious  food. 
But  he  has  first  to  expiate  his  venial  sins  by  a  long  series 
of  trials,  which  occupy  several  chapters  in  the  Ritual  of  the 
Dead.  On  his  descent  into  Ker-neter  he  has  to  pass  through 
fifteen  gates,  guarded  by  genii  with  swords,  at  each  of 
which  he  has  to  prove  his  good  deeds  and  his  knowledge  of 
divine  things:  this  constitutes  his  initiation.  He  has  then 
to  work  hard  in  tilling  the  vast  fields  intersected  with  rivers 
and  canals — an  Egypt  in  the  world  below :  the  harvest  he 
reaps  is  knowledge.  Next,  he  sustains  terrible  combats 
with  monsters  of  fantastic  shapes,  among  which  the  great 
serpent  Refrof  or  Apap  is  the  one  most  bent  on  his  destruc- 
tion;  and  his  triumph  depends  on  the  use  of  a  long  series 
of  exorcisms  or  on  the  last  resource  of  assimilating  each  of 
his  members  to  those  of  difterent  deities.  At  length  his 
whole  being  is  absorbed  in  that  of  Osiris,  who  has  himself 

*'•'  Compare  Dau.  v.  27  :  "Thon  art  \vei<j;hed  iu  the  balances  and  foimd  wantinqr." 


ARCHITECTURE:  PYRAMIDS.  205 

borne  the  same  trials  and  accompanies  the  soul  through  all. 
The  god  who  was  the  giver  of  life  becomes  its  redeemer  and 
saviour:  having  himself  been  raised  from  death,  he  conducts 
the  just  to  resurrection.  The  final  state  of  identification 
with  this  deity  is  signified  by  i3refixing  the  name  of  Osiris 
to  that  of  the  deceased. 

Section  IV. — Egyptian  Art. 

§  22.  Egypt,  as  we  began  by  saying,  not  only  possessed, 
but  has  handed  down  in  forms  as  lasting  as  the  world,  the 
oldest  monuments  of  building  and  sculpture,  the  oldest  pic- 
tures, the  oldest  writing,  literature,  and  science.  In  the  form- 
ative arts  she  has  had  no  superior  except  her  pupil,  Greece, 
and  in  majestic  grandeur  no  rival :  there  is  even  a  delicate 
beauty  in  her  best  colossi,  partly  concealed  by  their  vast 
size  and  their  attitudes  of  repose ;  and  it  has  been  said  by 
no  mean  judge,  "Give  motion  to  these  rocks,  and  Greek  art 
would  be  surpassed." 

The  art  of  Egy})t  Avas  consecrated  to  the  service  of  her  re- 
ligion, and  bears  the  impress  of  its  character.  In  Architect- 
ure^ taking  little  care  for  the  abodes  of  the  living,  the  build- 
ers lavished  toil  and  skill  on  the  tombs  of  the  dead  and  the 
temples  of  the  gods.  The  great  palaces  of  the  Theban 
kings,  indeed,  were  the  ostentatious  works  of  desjiots ;  but 
these  also  partook  of  the  character  of  temples.  All  their 
edifices  look  like  the  work  of  men  who,  believing  in  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul  and  of  the  body  too,  sought  to  give 
eternity  to  matter.  Their  endurance  for  periods  reaching 
up  to  4000  years  is  the  result,  not  so  much  of  their  materi- 
als, as  of  their  form  and  structure.  The  pyramid,  in  itself 
the  most  stable  of  all  forms,  has  its  stability  enhanced,  in  the 
best  examples,  by  a  breadth  greater  than  the  height;  and 
yet  the  Great  Pyramid  is  the  highest  building  in  the  world. 
The  walls  of  the  propylcMa  of  the  temples,  besides  theii*  enor- 
mous thickness,  have  a  pyramidal  form.  The  columns  have 
a  great  diameter  in  proportion  to  their  height ;  the  interco- 
lumniations  are  close ;  and,  in  all  cases,  the  immense  width 
of  base  gives  the  impression  of  imperishable  stability.  Nor 
does  this  grandeur  exclude  grace ;  many  of  the  columns 
have  capitals  as  beautiful  in  their  style  as  the  Greek  "  or- 
ders "  in  theirs ;  and  all  travellers  agree  that  the  architect- 
ure of  Egypt  has  that  peculiar  adai)tation  to  its  vertical 
sun,  its  clear  atmosphere,  and  its  wide  plains,  which  stamps 
it  as  perfect  in  its  kind. 

§  23.  The  buildings  may  be  divided  into  four  great  classes : 
the  Py>-«m?V?s,  characteristic  of  the  early  age,  from  the  IVth 


200    THE  INSTITUTION-,  KELKilON,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

(perliaps  the  1st)  to  tiic  Xllth  dynasty  ;  tl)e  Temples^  belong- 
iiiii'  chieily  to  tlie  Thebuii  and  later  nioiiarcliies,  from  the 
Xlltli  dynasty  downward,  though  we  have  an  earlier  ex- 
ample, of  a  peculiar  type,  in  the  temple  of  Shafre,  near  the 
pyramids ;  the  Palaces^  l3elonging  chiefly  to  the  Theban 
kings,  but  with  one  great  example  of  earlier  times  in  the 
Labyrinth  of  the  Xllth  dynasty  ;  and  the  rock-hewn  or  sub- 
terranean 7b??i^.9,  belonging  to  all  periods.  The  detailed  de- 
scription of  these  buildings,  so  far  as  they  have  not  been  al- 
ready mentioned,  must  be  left  to  the  special  works  on  Egyp- 
tian antiquities.^"  Of  the  general  character  of  the  pyramids 
and  tombs  we  liave  had  occasion  to  speak ;  and  of  the  pal- 
aces it  will  be  enough  to  add  here  that  they  consist  of  vast 
courts,  halls,  and  corridors,  the  walls  being  adorned  with 
paintings  or  colored  bas-reliefs  of  the  exploits  of  the  kings, 
whose  colossal  statues  were  placed  in  the  courts. 

The  temples  are  of  two  classes;  those  hewn  in  t]>e  living 
rock,  and  tliose  erected  on  the  plain.  The  former  are  usually 
considered  the  oldest ;  but  the  true  distinction  seems  rather 
one  of  place  than  of  time — the  rock-hewn  temples  belonging 
almost  entirely  to  the  narrow  valley  of  Upper  Egypt  and 
Nubia.  Certainly  none  of  them  is  so  old  as  the  temple  of 
Shafre;  and  the  whole  style  of  Egyptian  architecture,  in  its 
clustered  columns  and  other  details,  points  back  to  an  original 
structure  of  wood  :  besides,  the  construction  of  tlie  rock- 
hewn  temples,  in  their  internal  columns,  architraves,  etc.,  and 
their  external  porticoes,  is  assimilated  to  that  of  an  independ- 
ent edifice.  The  general  form  of  an  Egyptian  temple^'  con- 
sists of  a  large  oblong  area,  inclosed  on  the  sides  and  back 
by  a  massive  wall,  faced  with  gigantic  propylma  (literally 
front-gateway')^  which  not  oidy  fill  up  the  front  but  project 
beyond  it  on  the  two  sides.  The  edifice  thus  named  by  the 
Greeks  consists  of  a  gate-way,  flanked  by  a  pair  of  wide  and 
lofty  masses  (not  towers,  for  they  are  of  solid  masonry  or 
brick-work,  faced  with  stone),  in  the  form  of  tall  ti-uncated 
pyramids,  covered  on  all  their  outward  faces  with  three  or 
more  rows  of  gigantic  figures  in  relief,  painted  with  bright 
colors,  and  hieroglyphic  inscriptions.  The  propyl?ea  of  Ed- 
fou  (which  is  an  excellent  type  of  a  temple)  are  each  above 
104  leet  wide  and  37  deep  at  the  base,  diminishing  to  an 
area  of  84  feet  x  20  feet  at  the  summit,  which  is  about  114 
feet  high,  the  total  width  of  frontage  being  a  little  over  226 
feet  (the  gate-way  occupying  above  17  feet  clear).     The  area 

'0  See,  besides  the  works  of  Wilkinsou,  and  the  larger  collections  of  plates,  the  ad- 
mirable popr.iar  summary  by  Mr.  George  'Lov.g,  "Egyptian  Antiquities,"  2  vols. 
'' See  Fror!ti.?piece. 


TEMPLES.  207 

was  divided,  about  equally,  into  a  front  court,  surrounded  by 
a  colonnade,  and  the  temple  itself,  the  latter  being  inclosed 
by  its  own  wall,  distinct  from  the  outer  wall  of  the  area. 
VVithin  this  were  three  chief  parts  :  in  front  the  2>i'onaos,  a 
portico,  or  rather  columnar  hall,  with  the  intercolumniations 
of  the  front  row  built  up  to  a  certain  height,  to  form  a  screen 
on  each  side  of  the  entrance  ;  then  the  naos,  sekos,  or  cell,  form- 
ing the  first  sanctuary,  which  is  also  columnar ;  and  behind 
this,  but  with  some  smaller  cliambers  between,  the  adytum, 
or  most  holy  place,  in  which  was  the  image  of  the  god.  The 
gate-way  of  the  adytum  was  covered  with  a  curtain.'^  Tlie 
naos  was  smaller  than  the  pronaos,  and  the  adytum  much 
smaller  still,  each  having  its  distinct  wall,  and  the  last  (at 
least  at  Edfou)  having  two;  so  that  there  was  ample  space 
for  treasuries,  vestries,  and  other  chambers  for  the  priests,  as 
well  as  ambulatories  between  the  walls,  from  which  stair 
cases  led  up  to  the  roof;  for  the  whole  sanctuary  was  roofed 
in,  and  there  were  no  windows.  In  spite  of  the  darkness, 
the  inner  as  well  as  outer  walls  of  the  sanctuary  were  ])aint- 
ed  in  brilliant  colors.  How  these  chambers  were  lighted  up 
we  are  not  told. 

This,  which  may  be  considered  the  complete  form  of  an 
Egyptian  temple,  at  least  in  its  essential  pai'ts,  was  an  aggre- 
gation of  parts  round  the  central  sanctuary  ;  and  we  know 
that  most  of  the  great  temples,  like  our  own  cathedrals,  were 
the  work  of  age  after  age.  The  com])arison  may  be  extend- 
ed ;  for,  just  as  most  of  our  cathedrals  and  ministers  are  or 
were  surrounded  by  a  mass  of  conventual  or  other  buildings, 
so,  in  connection  with  an  Egyptian  temple,  there  would  be 
buildings  required  for  all  purposes  of  the  colleges  of  priests. 
There  were  also  some  exterior  appendages,  which  seem  to 
have  been  essential  to  the  temple — sj^hinxes,  generally  ar- 
ranged in  avenues ;  obelisks,  which  were  memorial  pillars ; 
and  colosscd  statues. 

§  24.  The  S<?ulpture  of  Egypt  is  as  entirely  the  product 
of  religion  as  its  architecture,  of  which  it  is.  essentially  the 
development.  Its  origin  was  in  the  temple,  the  plain  walls 
of  which  furnished  surfaces  for  the  delineation,  at  first  in 
mere  outline,  of  subjects  connected  with  religion  or  the  ex- 
ploits of  the  builders  of  the  edifice.  The  figures  were  made 
more  efiective  and  permanent  by  being  sculptured  in  relief 
or  sunk  into  the  surface,  the  former  being  more  usual  on  the 
exterior,  the  latter- on  the  interior  walls.  The  relief  became 
liiglier  and  bolder,  till  the  figures  were  isolated,  or  nearly 

'■2' See  the- passage  qnotecl  aOove  from  Clemens  Alexandriiuis,  wiiicii  illustrates  the 
use  of  the  two  chambers.    No  traces  have  been  found  of  gates  or  their  supports. 


208    THE  INSTITUTIONS,  KELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

SO ;  for  sculptures  absolutely  detached  are  rare  ;  even  when 
they  stand  alone  there  is  generally  a  sort  of  pilaster  down 
the  back. 

The  whole  spirit  of  Egyptian  sculpture  is  symbolism^  V2il\\- 
er  than  the  direct  imitation  of  nature;  and  an  attitude  of  re- 
2)0se^  expressive  of  religious  peace."  In  these  two  princi- 
ples we  have  the  simple  answer  to  many  faults  ignorantly 
charged  upon  the  knowledge  and  power  of  the  artists.  The 
absence  of  anatomical  disphiy  is  not  due  to  the  want  of  that 
knowledge  of  the  human  figure  which  the  Greeks  acquired 
ni  the  palaestra ;  for  in  Egypt  the  common  people  went  all 
but,  and  often  absolutely,  naked.  Details  were  designedly 
suppi-essed  for  the  sake  of  simple  majesty.  Both  in  archi- 
tecture and  sculpture,  the  Egyptian  artist  had  learned  that 
great  lesson — the  ignorance  or  neglect  of  which  is  the  ruin 
of  the  best  technical  skill,  and  never  more  so  than  in  our 
own  day — lohen,  to  let  things  alone.  He  also  adapted  his 
workmanship  to  iiis  material ;  and  knew  better  than  to  make 
mouldings  of  hard  stone  like  cabinet  work^  or  a  granite  co- 
lossus like  a  figure  carved  in  wood  or  cast  in  metal.  All 
the  curves  are  gentle  ;  the  features  broadly  moulded ;  the 
arms  (in  a  sitting  statue)  hang  down  from  the  shoulders, 
with  the  hands  resting  on  the  thighs,  or  supporting  some 
shrine  or  sacred  image  on  the  knees — or  (when  the  statue 
is  erect)  they  are  generally  crossed  over  the  breast,  except 
when  either  hand  has  to  hold  out  the  emblem  which  is  near- 
ly always  j)laced  in  it,  as  a  sceptre  or  whip,  a  ring-handled 
cross  or  a  lotus-flower;  the  legs  are  generally  joined,  or,  if 
one  is  a<lvanced,  the  body  rests  uj)on  the  othei,  and  both  are 
often  attached  to  supporting  pilasters,  the  feet  being  paral- 
lel and  fully  resting  on  the  ground — indicating  rather  an  at- 
titude than  a  forward  motion. 

But,  where  detail  is  appropriate,  the  execution  is  often 
most  perfect,  as  in  figures  of  animals,  Avhcre  the  artist  was 
not  bound  by  hieratic  rules;  and  even  the  hieroglyphics,  in 
which  we  might  have  expected  mei-e  indications  of  the  ob- 
jects, are  often  carved  with  the  exactest  trAith.  But  also  in 
the  hugest  works  of  the  best  ages  rtiere  is  an  exquisite  delica- 
cy of  work,  besides  the  wonderful  finish  which  must  have  cost 
untold  labor  \'^  and  perhaps  the  greatest  triumph  of  Egyp- 
tian art  is  in  the  wonderful  expression  given  to  the  hugest 
colossi,  in  spite  of — unless  we  rather  say  because  of — the  ab- 

'3  The  prevalence  of  pymbolism  is  especially  seen  in  those  compound  fignres  of 
which  we  have  lately  spoken.    See  §  19. 

^•»  Among  the  representations  of  their  various  works,  we  have  the  process  of  polish- 
ing a  granite  colossus,  and  also  its  transport  on  a  sled<,'«. 


EGYPTIAN  PAINTING.  209 

gtinence  from  effects  gained  by  detail  or  (if  the  phrase  is 
permitted)  by  "  sensational  "  action.  If  we  miss  the  varie- 
ty of  real  life,  whicli  pleases  by  its  truthful  rendering  of 
what  is  familiar  and  by  its  appeal  to  human  sympathies,  we 
have  in  its  place  an  appeal  to  what  the  Egyptian  artist  con- 
sidered the  far  higher  emotions  of  religious  reverence  in  the 
symmetrical  arrangement  of  all  the  members  of  the  same 
figure,  the  general  likeness  of  attitude  in  all,  and  a  sort  of 
harmonious  rhythm  of  like  postures  where  several  figures 
are  combined  in  one  composition.  In  the  same  spirit  the 
head  is  finished  more  carefully  than  the  body.  The  power 
of  portraiture  is  conspicuous  in  the  physiognomies  of  the  for- 
eigners constantly  represented  in  the  bas-reliefs ;  we  may 
venture  to  say,  with  literal  etymological  truth,  that  the 
Egyptian  artist  was  an  ethnographer. 

§  25.  These  general  principles  are  common  to  all  Egyptian 
sculpture  ;  but  there  are  difterences  of  style,  which  mark  out 
five  different  periods  of  the  art.  First,  the  grand  simjjlicity 
of  the  earliest  age,  as  seen  in  the  Memphite  tombs  of  the 
pyramid  period,  keeps  nearer  to  nature  than  was  permitted 
by  the  liieratic  canon  of  the  human  figure,  which  makes  its 
appearance  about  the  Twelfth  Dynasty.  The  grand  climax 
of  the  Eighteenth  and  Xineteentli  Dynasties,  as  seen  in  the 
wo;  ks  of  the  Thothmes,  the  Amunophs,  Seti,  and  Rameses  II., 
is  followed  by  a  sudden  decline,  some  of  the  later  works  of 
the  last-named  great  patron  of  art  being  extremely  rude  and 
careless.  The  fifth  and  last  age  is  that  of  the  renaissance 
under  the  Saite  kings,  in  which  we  have  already  traced  the 
influence  of  the  Greeks. 

§  26.  Painting  was  chiefly  used  by  the  Egyptians  as  a 
decorative  art,  and  very  little  for  ideal  compositions.  They 
colored  the  columns  and  the  architectural  details  of  their 
buildings,  and  the  bas-reliefs  upon  their  walls.  The  plane 
surfaces,  esjoecially  in  the  interior  of  the  tombs,  were  covered 
Avith  those  painted  scenes  from  which  we  dei-ive  such  abun- 
dant knowledge  of  their  life.  On  the  wrappings  of  the 
mummies  they  painted  efligies  of  the  deceased,  and  the  cof- 
fins were  lined  with  painted  hieroglyphics.  They  used  pii- 
mary  colors  almost  exclusively,  and,  among  the  secondary, 
green  only ;  never  attempting  to  compound  colors  so  as  to 
produce  a  variety  of  tints.  Their  pigments,  some  mineral 
and  some  vegetable,  were  mostly  the  natural  products  of  the 
country;'^  and  the  list  is  *pretty  well  exhausted  by  these 
six:  white,  black,  red,  blue,  yellow,  and  green — remarkable 

"  They  manufactured  indigo  by  a  process  tbe  imperfection  of  \Thich  is  shown  by 
the  sand  which  glitters  on  the  painted  surface. 


210    THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

for  tlieir  purity  and  pernianence.  The  colors  are  laid  on  in 
distinct  patclies,  as  a  child  paints  a  picture,  especially  in  hu- 
man tigures  ;  in  tliose  of  animals  there  is  some  little  attempt 
at  blending  and  softening  the  contiguous  parts.  Red  is 
their  tiesli  color;  but  in  the  representation  of  conquered 
races  they  evidently  used  colors  as  conventional  distinctions. 
Thus,  in  one  picture,  the  people  have  yellow  bodies  and  black 
beards  :  in  another  the  men  are  red  and  the  women  yellow.^^ 
Of  their  use  of  painting  for  otlier  than  merely  decora- 
tive purposes  we  have  examples  in  a  few  tablets  of  wood; 
and  the  Ritual  of  the  Dead  is  illustrated  with  vignettes 
drawn  by  the  pen  with  a  freedom,  firmness,  and  purity,  not 
far  short  of  the  Greek  painted  vases.  One  striking  peculiar- 
ity of  their  pictures,  in  our  eyes,  is  the  total  absence  of  per- 
spective, as  well  as  the  curious  substitutes  for  it  in  the  mode 
of  placing  files  of  soldiers,  or  captives,  or  laborers,  over  one 
another's  heads,  rows  of  trees  around  a  rectangulai'  tank,  and 
so  forth.  In  some  of  the  pictures  of  entertainments  the 
seated  figures  overlap  one  another  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
suogest  a  receding  line,  though  the  heads  and  feet  range  in 
h(Wizontal  lines ;  and  pairs  of  horses  or  rows  of  cattle  are  in- 
dicated by  a  portion  of  the  outline  of  the  farther  figure  or 
figures  projecting  beyond  that  of  the  forwarder  with  some- 
times a  different  color  or  shading. 

Sectiox  V. — -Writixg,  Literatuee,  and  Science. 

§  27.  As  the  pictorial  art  of  the  Egyptians,  in  its  sym- 
bolical expression  of  ideas,  approached  to  the  significance  of 
writing,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  their  writing  was  founded  on 
a  pictorial  representation  of  the  ideas  to  be  expressed,  though 
it  went  far  beyond  a  mere  system  of  picture-writing.  The 
antiquity  of  the  art  in  Egypt  is  attested  by  the  symbol  of 
the  scribe's  implements— the  ink-pot,  reed,  and  palette — on 
the  monuments  of  the  pyramid  period;  its  universal  ejiiploy- 
ment  by  the  registration  scenes,  the  method  of  legal  proced- 
ure, the  official  correspondence,  and  the  multitude  of  written 
documents,  to  which  we  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  refer. 

It  would  almost  seem  as  if  nature  had  assigned  to  Egypt 
the  invention  of  writing  by  the  gift  of  the  papyrus  reed  {cy- 
2:>eri(spa2)i/rus).'''  Unlike  the  pa2Mr  named  after  it,  which  is 
a  manufactured  tissue,  the  inner  pellicles  of  the  reed  were 

'■s  In  some  cases  the  colors  maybe  tho£^3  with  which  the  people  used  to  paint  them- 
selves ;  as  Herodotus  (vii.  G9)  describes  certain  Ethiopian  tribes  as  haviiiii  one-haif 
of  their  bodies  painted  with  gypsum,  and  the  other  half  with  vermilion. 

-^  The  Egyptian  name  was  (in  its  Greek  form)  bi/hlm^  (Herod,  ii.  93),  whence  the 
Greek  /3if3\ioi>  (book) ;  so  that  the  very  name  of  our  nible  jjoints  to  the  country  where 
Moses,  and  perhaps  Abraham  before  him,  learnt  the  art  of  writing. 


WHITING  Ax\I)  LITKHATLRE.  211 

used  in  their  natural  state,  being  spread  out  flat,  and  the 
slips  Joined  together  (Pliny  says)  with  Nile  water,'"  but  prob- 
ably also  Vv'ith  some  gluten.  The  breadth  of  the  pellicle  de- 
termined that  of  the  leaf  of  paper,  which  reaches  about  13 
fingers'  breadth  ;  but  it  might  be  made  of  any  length  by  join- 
ing pieces  together ;  and  the  book  so  formed  could  and  still 
can,  from  the  toughness  of  the  thin  substance,  be  rolled  up 
and  unrolled  without  cracks  or  creasing.  Writing  was  per- 
formed with  a  reed  or  goose-quill,  and  a  carbonaceous  ink, 
which  has  remained  unchanged  for  centuries.  The  lines 
were  in  the  direction  of  the  length  of  the  leaf,  from  right  to 
left,  in  columns  of  convenient  width  (generally  about  six  or 
eight  inches),  which  also  succeeded  each  other  from  right  to 
left.'^  The  writing  engraved  on  the  monuments  is  some- 
times in  horizontal  lines,  either  from  right  to  left  or  vice 
versa  ;  but  more  frequently  the  characters  are  arranged  in 
vertical  columns. 

§  28.  Tiie  Greeks  distinguished  three  forms  of  Egyptian 
writing,  which  they  called  the  Jileror/lypJiic  (sacred  carving), 
A/er«?/c*  (priestly),  and  demotic  (popular)  or  enchorial  (of  the 
country).  The  first  two  names  are  apt  to  convey  a  wrong 
impression,  as  if  the  knowledge  of  these  characters  had  been 
confined  to  the  sacerdotal  class  ;  whereas,  in  fact,  they  were 
employed  in  public  monuments  and  in  ordinary  documents 
intended  for  universal  reading,  and  on  objects  of  every-day 
use.  The  last  form  is  distinguished  from  the  other  two,  not 
by  its  origin  and  its  more  popular  use,  but  simply  in  respect 
of  time.  The  hierogli/jyhic  is  an  imcial^  or  fully-formed  char- 
acter, particularly  suited  to  monumental  inscriptions  :  the  hi- 
eratic is  a  cursive^  or  more  abbreviated  form  of  tlie  same 
characters,  adapted  to  the  flowing  movement  of  the  pen  :  the 
demotic  is  a  further  simplification  of  the  hiei-oglyphic  writ- 
ing, which  was  introduced,  about  the  beginning  of  the  Vth 
century  B.c.,for  civil  documents  in  the  vulgar  dialect,  which 
had  by  that  time  departed  considerably  from  the  ancient 
language.  The  continued  use  of  the  older  forms  in  the  mon- 
uments and  in  the  books  of  the  priests  gave  the  Greeks  occa- 
sion to  describe  them  b}^  names  implying  sacredness. 

§  29.  All  three  forms  were  alike  unintelligible  to  the  Greek 
travellers  in  Egypt,  but  they  had  the  priests  for  interpreters. 
This  key  lost,  the  treasures  of  Egyptian  learning — "  a  libra- 
ry of  stones  and  papyri  in  myriads  of  volumes" — appeared 
to  be  sealed  forever,  till,  early  in  the  19th  century,  the  key 

'spiin."!!.  N."xiii.  n,12. 

^9  The  factthiit  the  E<j:yptians  wrote  from  right  to  left  is  distiuctly  stated  by  Herod- 
otus, and  abundantly  proved  by  the  papyri. 


212     THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

was  found  by  Dr.  Young,  and  successfully  applied  "by  M. 
Champollion-Figeae.'"  The  discovery  was  first  made  from 
the  "  Ivosetta  Stone,"  one  of  the  gatlierings  of  Napoleon's  ex- 
pedition to  Egypt,  and  now  in  the  British  Museum.  It  is  a 
piece  of  black  basalt,  engraved  with  a  trilingual  inscription 
in  honor  of  King  Ptolemy  V.  Epiphanes,  about  the  beginning 
of  the  second  century  B.C.  The  same  text  (as  was  first  as- 
sumed, and  then  proved  by  the  result)  is  repeated,  first  in 
hieroglyphics,  secondly  in  enchorial  characters,  lastly  in 
Greek ;  but  the  stone  is  so  mutilated  at  the  corners  and  one 
edge  that  the  first  part  of  the  hieroglyphic  text  and  the  last 
part  of  the  Greek  are  lost,  as  well  as' the  beginning  of  several 
lines  of  the  enchorial.  The  first  comparison  made  was  that 
of  certain  names  and  titles,  which  occur  frequently  in  the 
Greek  text,  with  groups  of  characters  similarly  repeated  in 
the  coi-responding  parts  of  the  enchorial.  Conspicuous 
among  these  was^  the  name  of  Ptolemy^  which  Dr.  Young 
next  found  in  the  hieroglyphic  text,  guided, by  a  suggestion, 
previously  made,  that  the  ovcthinf/s,  or  cartouches,  constantly 
seen  in  hieroglyphic  inscriptions,  formed  the  inclosure  of  set- 
ting of  royal  names.  Hence  he  determined  the  phonetic  or 
alphabetic  value  of  the  characters  which  he  supposed  to  spell 
Plohmaios,  or  Ptolemeos^  and  then  those  of  Berenice.^'  In 
1822,  the  publication  of  the  bilingual  inscription  on  the  obe- 
lisk at  Philie  enabled  Champollion  (who  was  novv^  a  convert 
to  Dr.  Young's  2^hijnetic  method)  to  decipher  the  name  of 
Cleopatra.  The  subsequent  discovery  of  many  other  Greek 
and  Roman  names  led  him  on  to  the  deciphering  of  the  let- 
ters of  common  words. 

Thus  far,  it  will  be  observed,  nothing  had  been  made  out 
of  the  meanings  of  the  words  whose  letters  were  beginning 
to  be  identified.  This  step  was  taken  by  aid  of  the  princi- 
ple that  the  old  Egyptian  language  was  kindred  to  the 
Coptic.  At  length,  Champollion  succeeded  in  constructing 
an  Egyptian  grammar  and  vocabulary,  which  has  been  since 
continually  enlarged  by  the  labors  of  Lepsius  and  Brugsch, 
Ampere,  Mariette,  De  Rouge  and  Lenormant,  Gliddon,  Birch, 

^^  We  believe  that  this  somewhat  figurative  phrase  fairly  describes  the  respective 
claims  of  the  English  and  French  discoverers.  It  is  trne  that  Dr.  Young's  discoveries 
were  only  published  in  the  Supplement  to  the  "  Encyclopjedia  Britannica"  in  1819, 
whereas  Champollion's  essay  "  De  I'Ecriture  hieratique  des  Anciens  Eg5'ptiens  "  ap- 
peared in  1S12 ;  but  this  work  was  based  on  the  fundamental  error,  that  the  hieratic 
characters  arc  entirely  ideographic  and  wot  phoiutie,  signs  o{  things  and  not  of  .smmrfs. 
Still  Champollion  had  already  got  hold  of  two  important  truths,  that  some  of  the 
characters  are  ideographic,  and  that  the  hieratic  character  is  an  abridgment  of  the 
hieroglyphics. 

"1  From  si>  narrow  an  induction  the  result  could  of  course  be  but  imperfect :  but  it 
is  wonderful  how  nearly  this  first  attempt  gave  the  true  value  of  the  characters. 


THE  HIEROGLYPHICS  DECIPHERED.  218 

Osburn,  and  others.  Notwithstanding  the  ultra-skepticism 
of  such  a  critic  as  Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis,  we  may  safe- 
ly say  with  Brugscli  that  ''  the  rules  of  hieroglyphic  gram- 
mar liave  now  become  the  common  property  of  science." 
De  Rouge,  one  of  the  most  successful  decipherers,  affirms 
that  we  can  now  translate  three-quarters  of  the  longest  doc- 
uments, sometimes  more  and  sometimes  less,  according  to 
the  difficulty  of  the  subject.  It  is  evident,  for  instance,'that 
a  text  on  mythological  mysteries,  or  the  metaphors  of  poet- 
ry, will  be  far  more  obscure  than  a-  simple  narrative  or  a 
geiie.-ilogy /'  and  yet  many  of  the  former  kinds  have  been 
satisfactorily  translated. 

§  30.  The  hieroglyphic  characters  (using  the  word  now 
for  all  three  kinds  of  writing)  are  i^nrtly  phonetic  and  partly 
ideographic :  the  former  representing  alphabetic  letters  or 
syllabic  soimcls ;  the  latter  standing  Ifor  the  actiial  objects 
signified  The  latter  are  probably ^the  oldest,  but  the  for- 
mer are  by  far  the  most  numerous,  and  the  two  are  inter- 
mixed in  all  Egyptian  texts.  Both  ava  jnctorial  in  their  ori- 
gin. The  picture  w^hich  makes  xi  phonetic  character  is  that 
of  an  object  whose  name  begins  with  the  letter,  or  forms  the 
syllable,  to  be  represented ;  as  if,  for  example,  we  made  a  Uo7i 

^^  stand  for  the  letter  L,  or  the  pictures  of  a  man  ^^ 

and  a  elraJce  yf^  for  the  two  syllables  of  the  w^ord  man- 

drake. '^'^ 

The  ideographic  characters  are  of  two  classes, ^^^^ra^^^?e 
and  symbolic.  In  the  first,  the  name  of  the  object  is  ex- 
pressed by  its  own  figure,  either  real  or  conventional,  as  TJb 
for  the  word  man,  @  for  sun,    ^^\.  for  7noon,  '^{My  for  ox, 

jqpfc  for  road,  L.  ^^  for  house :  all  of  this  class  are  necessa- 
rily nouns.  'The  characters  are  sometimes  abbreviated,  as 
when  the  head  of  an  ox  is  put  for  the  whole,^*  or  a  pair  of 
dots  (•*)  representing  the  pupils,  for  the  eyes.     In  the  sec- 

•s^  De  Rongc,  "Notice  des  Monuments  Ejryptiens  du  Musee  dii  Louvre,"  Paris, 
18C0:  a  work  invaluable  for  the  amount  of  information  iu  a  very  small  compass.  It 
Is  perhaps  hardly  necessary  to  observe  that  great  use  has  to  be  made  of  the  principle, 
that  satisfactory  results  are  an  argument  (we  don't  say  more)  for  the  truth  of  the 
method  that  led  to  them.  The  argimientum  in  circulo  is  often  the  very  reverse  of  a 
fallacy  ;  just  as  every  brick  in  a  circular  tunnel  helps  to  support  every  other. 

*'3  We  are  quite  familiar,  at  this  day,  with  similar  combinations  in  the  riddle  called 
a  rebus,  and  in  "  punning  or  canting  heraldry." 

«•»  As  in  our  letter  A,  y^  passing  into  \^,  '^,  or  /^,  the  initi;il  of  the  He- 
brew and  Phoenician  Alcph,  an  ox. 


214    THE  INSTITUTION'?'",  TtELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

ond  class,  the  concrete  figure  stands  for  a  iiomi  or  verb  of  ab- 
stract ineaning :  and  tlie  variations  of  these  symbolic  forms 
show  a  wonderful  fertility.  The  following  are  the  chief 
heads:  (i.)  By  synecdocJie  —  a  figurative  abbreviation,  in 
which  ^ part  is  put  for  the  wliole^^^  tioo  arms  holding  iceap- 
ons  for  a  battle.  (2.)  By  metonymy — the  cause  for  the  effect^ 
and  vice  versa,  or  tlie  instrument  for  the  vjork,  as  the  sun  {j 
for  day,  the  moon  /=^  for  month,  a  ^xwV  of  eyes  (**^)  or  jyu- 
pils  4  *»  -  J  for  seeing,  and  the  set  of  materials  formerly 
mentioned   ( ■^jy  for  writing.     (3.)  By  metaphor — as  a  bee 

for  a  king,  from  the  monarchical  1'onstitution  of  the  hive ; 
the  anterior  members  of  a  lion,  fov  jyriority  or  jyre-eminence, 
and  its  head  for  valo.-  and  vigilance,  as  it  was  believed  to 
sleep  with  open  eyes.  (4.)  By  enigma — where  the  object 
depicted  has  only  some  remote  or  fanciful  connection  with 
the  idea  to  be  expressed.  Thus,  an  ostrich-feather  signifies 
justice;'^^  a /j«//>^/^/ wi<:^  tyjdfied  the  year,i\'om  the  belief  that 
the  tree  bore  twelve  fronds,  one  for  each  month.  Another 
important  symbol  of  this  class  is  the  serpent  urceus,  for  di- 
vinity and  royalty,  as  wliich  it  api)ears  also  in  the  head-dress 
of  gods  and  kings.  ^^ 

§  31.  The  wide  field  o^  JEgyp/ian  Literature  laid  open  by 
these  discoveries  is  as  yet  but  very  partially  explored  ;  and 
the  treasures  we  possess  are  but  a  gleaning  of  those  that  are 
lost.  The  Books  of  Egypt  are  spoken  of  by  the  classical 
authors ;  and  the  "  sacred  library "  which  Diodorus  men- 
tions at  Thebes,  with  the  inscription  "Dispensary  of  the 
Soul,""  has  been  discovered  in  the  Rameseuni  at  Karnak. 
The  jambs  of  the  door-way  leading  from  the  great  hall  to  a 
suite  of  nine  small  rooms  are  sculptured  with  figures  of 
T/ioth,  the  great  god  of  letters,  and  his  companion  goddess 
lSaf—\\\Q  former  with  the  emblem  of  sight,  the  latter  v»  ith 
that  o^  hearing — and  with  the  titles  of  "  Lady  of  Letters  " 
and  "President  of  the  Hall  of  Books."  \Ye  can  hardly 
doubt  that  libraries  were  attached  to  all  the  principal  tem- 
ples, especially  to  those  of  the  three  great  colleges  of  priests. 

Tlie  contents  of  these  Pharaonic  Libraries  anticipated  the 
fate  of  the  treasures  of  Greek  learning  which  the  Ptolemies 
long  after  accumulated  at  Alexandria;  and  the  later  Egyp- 

85  The  reason  allet;ecl,  that  all  the  feathers  of  the  bird  were  believed  to  be  equal, 
seems  hardly  satisfactory. 

66  We  are  necessarily  content  to  indicate  the  general  principles  of  hieroglyphic  in- 
terpretation.  For  further  details,  see  the  works  of  Champollion  and  Gliddon  on  Hi- 
eroglyphics, Sir  G.  Wilkinson's  Appendix  to  Book  ii.  of  "  Herodotus,"  chap.  v. ;  and 
Mr.  Poole's  article  HierofiJiijihics  in  the  Dth  edition  of  the  "  Encyclopffidia  Britaunicu." 

^7  ^I'xn^  \aTf}€ton  :  Diod.  i.  49. 


LITERATURE.  —LIBRARIES.  2ir, 

ti.in  books  sliJired  tbcat  fate.  The  papyri  that  remain  liave 
been  for  the  most  part  jjreserved  in  the  closed  tombs  and 
mummy-cases  of  tlie  dead.  As  miglit  have  been  expected, 
their  subjects  are  mainly  religious,  and  by  far  the  most  im- 
portant of  this  class  is  the  often  mentioned  liitual  of  the 
Dead,  or  more  properly  the  Book  of  Manifestation,  to  the 
Light,  which  we  may  venture  to  call  the  Egyptian  Bible. 
Like  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  it  is  the  product  of  every  age  of 
the  national  religion.  To  say  nothing  of  the  traditions  wdiich 
ascribed  its  oldest  parts  to  such  kings  as  Hesepti  of  the  1st 
Dynasty,  and  Menkera  of  the  IVth,  chapters  of  it  are  found 
on  monuments  earlier  than  the  Hyksos ;  but  its  final  form 
was  settled  by  an  authoritative  revision  under  the  Saite  kings 
of  the  XXVlth  Dynasty.  It  contains  a  complete  account  of 
the  Egyptian  doctrine  of  the  Future  Life;  the  pilgrimages 
of  the  soul  through  the  infernal  hemisphere;  and  the  hymns, 
prayers,  and  manifold  formularies  and  ceremonies,  belonging 
to  funerals  and  the  worship  of  the  dead.  Incidentally  to  its 
main  subject,  it  supplies  a  code  of  Egyptian  morals,  in  the 
declarations  made  by  the  soul  before  its  judges  of  the  sins  it 
has  abstained  fi'om,  and  the  good  deeds  it  has  done.  It  is 
striking  to  read  among  the  latter — "  I  have  given  food  to 
the  hungry;  I  have  given  the  thirsty  to  drink;  I  have  fur- 
nished clothing  to  the  naked  :"  but  the  parallel  is  not  com- 
plete till  we  remember  that  what  the  judge  will  say,  to  the 
surprise  of  those  on  His  right  hand,  is  said  by  the  self-right- 
eous Egyptian  of  himself  Of  the  same  class,  a  short  treatise 
on  the  Migrations  of  the  Soul  is  sometimes  found  in  tombs 
of  a  late  age;  and  we  have  also  copies  of  a  picture-book  on 
the  voyages  of  the  Sun  through  the  lower  world,  and  many 
fragments  of  I'eligious  hymns,  which  are  often  highly  poetical. 
The  priests  traced  up  the  origin  of  all  this  religious  litera- 
ture to  the  first  or  celestial  Thoth,  the  Hermes  Trismegistus 
of  the  Greeks,  who  was  inspired  to  write  his  books  by  the 
supreme  god.  lie  was,  in  fact,  a  personification  of  the 
divine  intelligence.  His  earthly  counterpart,  the  Second 
Thoth,  was  the  author  of  all  the  social  institutions  of  the 
land.  It  was  he  that  organized  the  Egyptian  nation  ;  es- 
tablished religion,  and  regulated  worship  ;  taught  men  all 
the  sciences  ;  astronomy,  geometry,  arithmetic,  weights  and 
measures,  language,  writing,  and  the  fine  arts  ;  in  a  word, 
all  the  elements  of  civilization.  This  knowledge  was  em- 
bodied in  the  ibrty-tvvo  sacred  ^'■liermetic  hooks  "  of  which 
the  priests  were  the  custodians,  and  the  contents  of  which 
they  were  bound  to  master,  in  whole  or  in  part,  according 
to  their  rank  in  th.e  sacerdotal  hierarchy.     In  fact,  their  ex- 


210    THE  INSTITUTIONS,  RELIGION,  AND  AkTS  OF  EGYPT. 

elusive  possession  of  this  knowledge  was  guarded  by  the 
name  of  Thoth,  who  was  the  institutor  of  the  priesthood, 
and  the  personified  type  of  the  learned  class,  just  as  Osiris 
typified  the  king. 

We  have  spoken  suificiently  of  the  historical  literature 
engraved  upon  the  monuments :  of  that  written  in  books, 
though  doubtless  very  extensive,  the  Turin  j)apyrus  of  the 
Kings  is  our  chief  extant  specimen.  The  Turin  Museum 
also'^con tains  a  fragment  of  a  map  of  the  time  of  Seti  I.,  rep- 
resenting the  region  of  the  Nubian  gold  mines.  Of.metrical 
chronicles,  or  epic  poems,  we  have  cited  an  example  from 
the  account  of  the  war  of  Rameses  II.  against  the  Kheta  by 
Pentaour.  Our  own  Museum  is  very  rich  in  works  com- 
posed by  scribes  in  the  form  of  letters  as  models  of  style, 
like  the  'declamations  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  rhetoricians, 
or  the  Makamat  of  the  Arabian  poets.  One  written  during 
the  w\ars  of  the  XlXth  dynasty  describes,  in  a  series  of  verses 
in  accentuated  prose,  the  hardships  of  the  soldier's  life.  The 
oldest  Eomances  in  the  world  are  found  among  these  Egyp- 
tian books ;  but  they  all  have  a  moral  and  religious  bearing. 
We  have  already  had  occasion  to  mention  one  such — the 
oldest  fairy-tale  in  the  world— composed  for  the  use  of  Men- 
ephtha,  the  son  of  Rameses  II.®* 

§  32.  We  possess  but  few  fragments  of  the  great  mass  of 
scientijic  literature  accumulated  by  the  priests.  Two  trea- 
tises on  medicine  in  the  Berlin  Museum  show  that  the  reme- 
dies used  were  altogether  empirical  and  often  very  absurd. 
With  some  good  points  of  diagnosis,  and  a  certain  knowl- 
edge of  anatomy,  they  combine  the  most  fanciful  theories  of 
physiology.  The  exact  position  of  Egyptian  physicians  is 
obscure  f  but  most  probably  they  belonged  to  the  sacerdotal 
order.  Herodotus  tells  us  that  there  were  special  physicians 
for  the  diseases  of  each  member  of  the  human  body. 

The  Greek  historian  reckons  geometry  among  the  sciences 
invented  by  the  Egyptians  from  the  necessity  of  marking 
out  the  boundaries  of  their  lands  afresh  every  year  after  the 
inundation.  A  papyrus  in  the  British  Museum  contains  a 
dozen  theorems  in  practical  geometry. 

The  Egyptian  knowledge  of  astronomy  has  been  exagger- 
ated. The  priests  were  diligent  observers  and  recorders  of 
2jhenome?ia ;^'  and  they  applied  their  observations  to  the 
practical  purpose  of  settling  the  sacred  calendar  with  the 
same  degree  of  accuracy  which  was  long  after  attained  by 

«8  See  chap.  ii.  §  7. 

«9  Ilerod.  ii.  82.  We  have  already  explained  their  Vagiie  Year  of  305  days,  and 
their  Sothic  Year  of  365i,  aud  the  Sothic  Period  of  1461  years,  which  reconciled  the 
two. 


EGYPTIAN  SCIENCE.  217 

Uie  Julian  Reformation.  But  neither  in  tliis,  nor  in  any 
other  branch  of  physical  science,  did  they  generalize  flicts 
into  laws,  or  establish  them  by  proof.  Of  tlieir  addiction  to 
astrology  we  have  an  example  in  the  British  Museum,  a  cal- 
endar of  tlie  time  of  the  XlXth  dynasty,  specifying  for  each 
day  the  acts  which   were  rendered  lucky  or  nn^hicky  by  the 


Tomb  at  Sakhara,  arched  with  stone,  inscribed  with  the  name  (if  Psamatic  II 


influence  of  the  stars.  There  is  a  papyrus  containing  some 
observations  on  the  planets  :  but  these  are  diflicult  to  inter- 
pret, from  our  ignorance  of  the  Egjqjtian  names  for  the  stars. 
The  received  system  of  constellations  was  first  introduced 
nito  Egypt  by  the  Greeks  ;  and  the  famous  Zodiac  on  the 
ceihng  of  the  temple  of  Tentyra  {Bendem)  is  now  well  known 
to  belong  to  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies. 

10 


218    THE  I^8TITLTION8,  KELIGION,  AND  ARTS  OF  EGYPT. 

Their  system  of  numerals  resembled  the  Roman  in  the  ex- 
pression oi  units  by  strokes,  and  oi  t€7is,  and  2yoicers  of  10,  by 
91610  symbols.  They  placed  the  units  to  the  left,  that  is,  last, 
according  to  their  mode  of  writing ;  so  as  to  read  (as  we  do 
in  our  system)  from  the  highest  denomination  to  the  lowest. 
In  the  demotic  and  hieratic  characters,  the  strokes  for  the 
units  are  sometimes  combined,  so  as  to  look  curiously  like 
the  Indian  (or,  as  we  call  them,  Arabic)  numerals."" 

»"  For  farther  information  on  the  science  and  calendar  of  the  Egyptians,  see  Ken. 
rick's  "Ancient  Egypt,"  vol.  i.  chap.  xx. ;  and  Wilkinson's  Appendix  to  Book  ii.  of 
Herodotus,  chaps,  ii.  and  vii.  We  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  enter  into  those 
details  of  manners  and  customs  -which  are  fully  described  by  Sir  G.  Wilkinson,  and 
which  would  require  much  more  space  than  we  can  afford,  and  a  large  number  of 
pictorial  illustrations.  The  student  who  wishes  to  pursue  the  whole  subject  must 
not  omit  to  frequent  the  Egyptian  department  of  the  British  Museum,  with  Mr. 
Birch's  descriptions  for  his  guide. 


The  Muuud  of  Birs-NimnicL 

BOOK  II 

ASSYRIA  AND  BABYLON. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    EEGION    OF   THE    EUPHRATES    AND   TIGRIS. PRIMITIVE 

KINGDOMS. 

1.  The  Valley  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris.  Points  of  resemblauce  aud  contrast 
with  Egypt.  Mixture  of  races  ;  and  instability  of  political  poAver.  §2.  Meso]}ota- 
mia  in  the  widest  sense.  Its  position  in  Western  Asia.  §  3.  The  Exqyhrates  and 
the  Tigris.  §  4.  Divisions  of  Mesopotamia.  The  alluvial  plain  of  Babylonia,  Chal- 
dcea,  or  Shinar.  Upper  Mesopotamia,  Padan-Aram.  Assyria.  Physical  charac- 
ter, climate,  and  productions  of  Mesopotamia.  §5.  Canals  of  Babylonia.  Sea  of 
Nedjef.  Chaldaean  Marshes.  Climate,  fertility,  and  productions  of  Babylonia.  Its 
present  desolation.  §  6.  The  City  and  Tower  of  Babel.  Inscription  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar v.'hich  seems  to  identify  it  with  the  site  of  his  temple  to  Bel-Merodnch  at 
Borsip])a.  Historic  gap  after  its  building.  5  7.  The  early  ethnography  of  Meso- 
potamia. Mixture  of  populations.  The  kingdoms  of  Amirod  and  Asshur.  Evi- 
dence of  a  Semitic  population  and  a  dominant  Cushite  race.    §  S.  Native  tradi- 


220       THE  REGION  OF  THE  EUPHRATES  AND  TIGRIS. 

tions  audi  monuments.  Berosus  and  his  scheme  of  dyuasties.  His  First  DijimMi) 
mythical.  §9.  The  earliest  mouuraeuts  of  Babylonia.  Evidences  of  civilization. 
Astronomy,  aud  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  Cuneiform  Writing.  §  l(i.  The 
earliest  cities  of  Babylouia.  The  northern  tctrapolis—WAhaX,  Borsippa,  Cutlui,  aud 
Sippara:  and  the  souther n—E^xach,  Calneh,  Larsa,  and  Hiir.  Greater  antiquity  ol 
the  latter.  §  11.  Their  relation  to  the  original  Babel.  Probable  interval  of  a 
Scytho-Aryan  dominion,  the  Second  Dunastij  of  Manetho.  §  V2.  The  Third  {Chal- 
da'an)  Dmiasty  of  Berosus,  probably  represented  l)y  the  Cushite  kingdom  of  Nim- 
rod.  Its  capital  at  Hur.  Inscriptions  of  Urukh  aud  llgi.  §  13.  The  Fourth  Dij- 
nasUj  of  Berosus,  probably  Cushite  conquerors  from  Susiaua.  Ktiudur-Mabuk. 
Chedorlaomer— his  allies,  indicating  the  diflerent  races  of  Babylouia.  The  "  Four 
Races."  §  14.  Extension  of  Babylonian  pov^-er  over  Assyria.  Ismidagon  aud  his 
sons.  Xaramsin.  Merodach-JS'amana,  "  King  of  Babylon."  Succeeding  kiugs. 
Canal  of  Khammarnbi.  §  15.  Egyptian  conquests  in  Mesopotamia.  Assyria  in- 
dependent of  the  Babylonian  kingdom.  Its  overthrow.  The  Fifth  or  Arabian 
Di/nastij  of  Berosus.  Power  returns  to  the  Semitic  race.  §  IG.  The  name  Chal- 
dcean  never  used  on  the  monuments  of  these  early  kings.  Its  earliest  application 
to  Babylonia.     Used  by  Berosus  as  a  gcograi)hical  term. 

§  1.  FoLLOAVixG  the  curve  of  the  great  desert  zone,  from 
its  interruption  by  the  valley  of  the  Nile  and  its  second 
break  at  the  Red  Sea,  across  the  deserts  of  Arabia  and 
Syria,  we  come  to  the  wide  valley  watered  by  the  Euphrates 
and  the  Tigris,  and  ending  in  the  great  bay  of  the  Persian 
Gulf  Beyond  this  the  desert  region,  which  in  Africa  is  a 
low  plain,  sometimes  even  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  rises 
into  the  table-land  of  Iran.  The  division  is  formed  by  the 
mountains  of  Iv'urdistan  and  Z/uristcoi^  whose  chains  run  in 
a  south-easterly  direction  from  the  great  highland  region  of 
Armenia.  This  central  knot  gives  birth  to  the  two  great 
rivers  which,  with  their  confluents  from  the  eastern  range, 
after  watering  the  undulating  i-egion  of  foot-hills  (the  j';/(?<r^- 
riiont  of  Western  Asia),  flow  down  into  the  plain,  and  redeem 
a  large  portion  of  it  from  the  desert,  before  they  pour  their 
united  stream  into  the  Persian  Gulf 

The  formation  of  this  region  has  a  certain  resemblance  to 
the  valley  of  the  Nile ;  but  it  ofters  still  more  striking  con- 
trasts, the  eflects  of  which  are  marked  in  history.  In  both 
cases,  rich  alluvial  plains,  fertilized  by  great  rivers,  which 
formed  at  the  same  time  a  highway  of  intercourse,  presented 
the  fittest  field  for  early  civilization.  But  while  the  narrow 
chasm  of  Egypt  was  shut  in  by  its  bordering  hills  and  the 
deserts  beyond,  and  peopled  by  a  homogeneous  race,  Avhose 
fixed  institutions  endured  for  millennium  after  millennium  ; 
the  broad  valley  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  greatly  varied 
in  its  own  surface,  was  overhung  on  the  north  and  east  by 
hills,  whence  hardy  races  were  ever  ready  to  pour  npon  its 
fertile  plains,  which  lay  open  on  the  west  to  the  predatory 
tribes  of  the  Desert ;  besides  the  great  highway  through 
Syria,  which  exposed  its  unconsolidated  tribes  to  tlie  attacks 
of  the  great  Egyptian  monarchy.     The  foot-hills  which  di' 


MESOPOTAMIA.  221 

vicled  it  from  Upper  Asia  marked  also  roughly  the  division 
between  the  Hamitic  and  Semitic  races  on  the  one  side,  and 
the  Aryan  and  Turanian  races  on  the  other;  and  from  the 
earliest  times  we  find  a  remarkable  intermixture  of  popula- 
tions, especially  on  the  lower  course  of  the  two  i-ivers. 

We  have  seen  that  the  political  stability  of  Eg-yj^t  was  not 
altogether  uninterrupted,  and  that  considerable  foreign  pop- 
ulations were  always  settled  in  the  Delta.  But  the  mon- 
archy retained  a  permanent  character  under  all  dynastic 
changes  ;  and  those  changes  were  as  nothing  compared  with 
the  waves  of  conquest  which  have  swept  like  alternating 
tides  both  across  and  up  and  down  the  valley  of  tlie  Tigi-is 
and  Euphrates.  The  region  of  Meso])otamia  was  the  field 
on  which  all  the  races  of  the  ancient  world,  from  Nimrod  to 
the  successors  of  Mohammed,  contended  for  the  empire  of 
Western  Asia.  It  was  subject  in  turn  to  Cushites,  Aryans, 
and  Semites — Chaldieans,  Arabs,  and  Egyptians — Assyrians, 
and  Chaldasans  again — Medes,  Persians,  and  Greeks — Par- 
thians,  and  restored  Persians  —  Mohammedan  Arabs  and 
Turks,  and  Persians  again.  The  old  rivalry  of  Egypt  and 
Assyria  was  renewed  in  the  Middle  Ages,  when  Saladin 
marched  from  Cairo  to  the  conquest  of  Western  Asia;  and, 
in  our  time,  the  renewal  of  Egypt's  empire  on  the  Euphrates 
has  been  prevented  only  by  European  intervention.  The 
great  capitals  have  been  as  transitory  as  the  empires  them- 
selves. While  the  stone-built  pyramids  and  tombs,  palaces 
and  temples,  of  Memphis  and  Thebes  are  still  the  wonder 
of  the  world,  and  Alexandi-ia  remains  the  great  port  of  the 
Levant,  the  brick  towers  and  walls  and  palaces  of  Nineveh, 
Babylon,  and  Susa,  and  even  the  later  capitals  of  Seleucia 
and  Ctesiphon,  are  formless  mounds,  the  vague  landmarks 
of  vanished  empires.  But  here  comes  in  another  happy  re- 
semblance to  Egyi^t ;  for  those  mounds  liave  begun  in  our 
time  to  yield  up  their  long-hidden  contributions  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  East. 

§  2.  This  whole  region  is  included,  for  convenience,  under 
the  general  name  oi'  jllesojjotamia ;^  and  in  the  most  impor- 
tant periods  of  its  history  it  formed  the  single  empire,  first 
of  Assyria  and  afterwards  of  Babylon.  But  it  was  not  tlius 
united  in  the  earliest  times,  and  its  political  divisions  corre- 
spond to  marked  physical  diversities.  From  the  great  mass 
of  Asia,  its  south-western  portion  is  cut  off,  as  a  sort  of  pe- 

1  This  Greek  word  signifies  tlie  countrij  hcticeen  the  rivcrc,  and  is  used  loosely  for 
the  region  of  the  tiro  rivers  (Tigris  and  Euphrates).  It  is  the  exact  etj'mologicai 
equivalent  of  the  Semitic  dual,  Xaharaina  (or  in),  which  is  found  on  the  Egyptian 
monnments,  and  in  the  Aram-Xaharaini  of  Scripture. 


222       THE  KEGION  OF  TPIE  EUPHRATES  AND  TIGRIS. 

ninsula,  first  by  the  Caucasian  isthmus  between  the  Caspian 
and  the  Bhick  Sea.  From  the  southern  part  of  this  isthmus 
the  Armenian  mountains — which  the  valley  of  the  Cyrus 
(K'dr)  divides  from  the  chain  of  Caucasus— throw  out,  on 
the  one  side,  the  ranges  which  form  the  peninsula  of  Asia 
Minor,  with  a  southern  branch  down  the  sea-board  of  Syria, 
and,  on  the  other,  the  above-named  chains  o^^  Kurdistan  and 
Luristan^  reaching  to  the  Persian  Gulf  Thus,  between  this 
Gulf  and  the  Mediterranean  a  smaller  peninsula  is  cut  off, 
consisting  chiefly  of  the  desert  of  Arabia,  which  is  prolonged 
northward  in  a  w^edge-shape  form  between  Syria  on  the  west 
and  th(i  nortli-eastern  portion  which  forms  the  region  of  Mes- 
opotamia. 

§  3.  The  two  great  rivers  of  this  country  take  their  rise  in 
the  mountains  of  Armenia ;  but  they  start  on  very  different 
courses. 

The  Euphrates^  {Frat)  is  at  first  formed  by  tAvo  branch- 
es,^ both  of  which  rise  in  the  central  knot  of  the  Armenian 
highlands,  and  flow  westward  through  distinct  valleys,  till 
the  united  stream — already  120  feet  Avide,  and  very  deep — 
turns  the  western  end  of  the  chain  of  Mount  Niphates  (He- 
had,  the  Snowy  range),  and  flows  southward,  first  between 
the  chains  of  Taurus  and  Masius  {Karja  Baglar)  in  a  swift 
course,  with  many  rapids,  to  Samosata,  where  it  begins  to  be 
navigable ;  and  then  past  the  foot-hills  of  Upper  Mesopota- 
mia, till  (at  36°N.lat.)  it  reaches  the  level  of  the  Great  Syrian 
Desert,  through  which  it  flows  to  the  south-east.  Above 
the  latitude  of  35°  it  receives  the  Chaboras  (A7i«6?rr),  which 
flows  southward  from  Mount  Masius :  at  the  junction  stood 
the  celebrated  city  of  Circesium.  From  this  point  to  its 
junction  with  the  Tigris,  the  Euphrates  flows  in  a  slow  and 
winding  stream  for  800  miles,  Avithout  receiving  another 
tributary  ;  and  much  of  its  water  loses  itself  in  the  desert, 
or  passes  off"  into  the  Tigris.  It  is  widest  below  its  junction 
with  the  Khabur  (700  or  800  miles  above  its  mouth),  being 
about  400  yards  across:  at  Zemlo on,  some  100  miles  below 
Babylon,  its  width  has  diminished  to  120  yards,  and  its  depth 

2  The  word  is  probably  of  Aryan  origin,  the  Greek  prefix  ei'  having  the  same  force 
as  the  Sanskrit  su,  the  Zend  /*^f,  and  the  Teutonic  gut,  good;  and  the  second  element 
being  fra,  the  particle  of  abundance;  the  whole  thus  signifying  "the  good  and 
abounding  river."  The  Hebrew  is  just  like  the  modern  name ;  but  it  is  generally  de- 
noted in  the  Bible  by  han-nahar,  i.  e.  '■'the  river,"  in  grand  contrast  to  the  short-lived 
torrents  of  Palestine,  and  perhaps  also  as  the  boundary  of  the  promised  land— "the 
l)orderiug  flood  of  old  Euphrates"  (Milton).  In  Gen.  xv.  IS,  both  terms  are  nsed, 
"  the  great  river,  the  river  Euphrates." 

3  The  northern  branch,  which  rises  near  Mt.  Ararat  and  flows  past  Erzeroum,  is 
called  Frat  and  also  Kara-Su  (the  Black  River) ;  the  southern,  which  rises  to  the 
north  of  the  great  lake  Van,  and  flows  along  the  northern  foot  of  M.  Niphates,  is 
called  Murad-Chai :  but  the  latter  is  the  principal  stream. 


THE  EUPHRATES  AND  TIGRIS.  223 

from  18  feet  to  12.  The  same  cause  that  diminishes  its  vol- 
U'lie  is  coiitiimally  changing-  its  lower  course. 

The  Tigris  (the  Hlddekel  of  Kden)*  rises  on  the  south  side 
of  Mount  Niphates,  its  chief  source  being  a  small  lake,  called 
Goljik,  which  is  separated  by  an  intervening  hill  from  one 
of  the  bends  of  the  Euphrates,  at  a  distance  of  only  2  or  3 
miles.  It  skirts  the  southern  foot  of  Mount  Niphates,  as  the 
infant  Euphrates  its  northern  foot,  but  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion;  flowing  to  the  east  through  the  valley  of  Diarhekr  be- 
tween that  chain  and  Mount  Masius,  till  the  mountains  of 
Kurdistan  turn  it  in  a  direction  varying  between  S.E.  and  S., 
along  the  foot  of  the  chain  anciently  called  Zagrus.  Its  wa- 
ters, increased  by  many  tributaries  from  these  mountains, 
pour  through  a  deep  gorge  of  the  secondary  chain  near  Jezi- 
reh  down  to  the  upper  undulating  plain  of  Assyria  Proper, 
and  flow  past  the  ruins  of  Xineveh  opposite  Mosul.  Emerg- 
ing on  to  the  alluvial  plain  at  Samara^  the  Tigris  flows  S.E., 
and  then  bends  south  towards  the  Euphrates  till  the  rivers 
are  less  than  20  miles  apart  at  Bagdad.  A  little  lower,  the 
two  rivers  are  connected  by  the  Nahr  Mcdclia.,  or  Royal 
Canal ;  and  just  at  its  junction  with  the  Tigris  stood  the 
Greek  and  Parthian  capitals?,  Seleucia  and  Ctesiphon,  on  the 
opposite  banks  of  the  ri'^er.  After  a  parallel  course  for  many 
miles,  the  rivers  again  diverge ;  and,  about  half  way  to- 
wards their  final  junction,  the  Tigris  pours  a  large  portion 
of  its  waters  due  south  into  the  Euphrates  by  a  branch  called 
the  Shat-el-Hle ;  while  the  main  river,  keeping  its  south- 
easterly direction,  joins  the  Euphrates  in  the  same  latitude 
(31°  N.)  as  the  Shat-el-Hle.  The  united  stream  (now  called 
the  Shat-el-Arab)  kept  the  name  of  Tigris,  though  this  was 
the  narrower  and  shorter  of  the  two  rivers  ;  having  a  length 
of  1146  miles,  while  that  of  the  Euphrates  was  about  1780 
miles. 

Both  rivers  are  subject  to  inundations,  caused  by  the  melt- 

4  The  uarae  of  this  river,  under  forms  only  apjMrentltj  different,  has  been  as  per- 
manent as  that  of  the  Euphrate>s,  Perhaps  the  oldest  form  was  Difjla,  the  Diglath  of 
the  Targums,  etc.,  and  the  DvjM  of  Pliny  ("H.  N."  vi.  2T) ;  whence  Hiddekel  was 
formed  by  the  Semitic  prefix  Hi,  signifying  lively  (used  of  running  water  in  Gen. 
xxvi.  19).  This  name  occurs  in  the  Babylonian  cuneiform  inscriptions,  side  by  side 
with  the  Assyrian  form  Tiggar  or  Tigra  (in  Greek  and  Latin  Tigri.^),  which  is  said  to 
have  signified  an  arrow  in  Medo-Persian  (Strab.  xi.  14,  §  S:  Plin.  I.  c).  It  seems, 
therefore,  probable  that  there  was  in  early  Babylonian  a  root  clik  or  dig,  equivalent 
to  the  Aryan  tig  or  tij ;  and  that  from  these  two  roots  were  formed  independently 
the  two  names,  Dekel,  Dikla,  or  Digla,  and  Tiggnr,  Tigra,  or  Tigris.  The  Arab  con- 
querors of  Mesopotamia  revived  the  true  Semitic  title  in  the  modern  native  form  of 
Digleh.  The  name  (if  rightly  explained  by  Strabo  and  Pliny)  would  signify  the  na- 
ture of  its  rapid  course,  so  much  shorter  and  straighter,  and  therefore  swifter,  than 
the  Euphrates;  as  Byron  speaks  of  "the  arrowy  Rhone."  Bnt  what  seems  the  same 
word  in  the  royal  name  of  TiV/fct^/i-pileser  is  explained  by  cuneiform  scholars  as  adju- 
ration; and  thus  the  Tigris  might  be  the  sacred  river. 


224       THE  REGION  OF  THE  EUPHRATES  AND  TIGRIS. 

ing  of  the  snow  on  the  Armenian  mountains.  The  Tigris, 
having  its  sources  on  the  southern  slope  of  Mount  Niphates, 
begins  to  rise  earlier;  but  nearly  the  whole  inundation  of 
the  Babylonian  plain  is  due  to  the  Euphrates,  whose  im- 
mense alluvial  deposits  are  said  to  advance  the  exit  of  the 
united  stream  into  the  Persian  Gulf  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  in 
from  30  to  70  years.  The  mouth,  now  in  30°  North  latitude, 
is  estimated  to  have  been,  in  the  earliest  historic  age,  as  high 
as  31°,  so  that  the  two  rivers  flowed  separately  into  the  Gulf. 
In  ancient  history  the  Euphrates  is  pre-eminent  as  "  the  bor- 
dering flood"  which  has  generally  divided  the  rival  combat- 
ants for  the  empire  of  Western  Asia.  It  was  also  the  usual 
course  of  communication  between  the  Mediterranean  and  the 
Persian  Gulf  The  Tigris  was  used  for  little  more  than  local 
navigation,  from  the  force  of  the  stream  and  its  natural  ob- 
structions, to  which  the  Persians  added  dams,  probably  to 
regulate  the  inundation. 

§  4.  The  region  watered  by  these  great  rivers  is  divided 
into  two  parts,  which  are  physically  very  distinct,  by  a  line 
drawn  diagonally  across  the  34th  parallel  of  latitude,  from 
Hit  on  the  Euphrates  to  Samara  on  the  Tigris,  and  separa- 
ting Upper  Mesopotamia,  or  Assyria  in  the  wider  sense,  from 
Lower  Mesopotamia,  or  13abyloxia.  The  former  is  an  undu- 
lating country,  of  the  secondary  geological  formation,  slop- 
ing down  from  the  mountains  on  the  north  and  east  to  the 
Euphrates  and  the  desert  on  the  south-west;  and  suddenly 
falling,  at  the  boundary-line  named,  into  the  great  alluvial 
plain  of  Babylonia. 

The  latter" is  a  vast  flat,  about  100  miles  in  width,  and  ex- 
tending about  400  miles  along  the  rivers;  merging  on  the 
west  and  south  into  the  Arabian  desert,  whose  tertiary  sands 
and  gravel  reach  generally  within  20  or  30  miles  of  the  Eu- 
phrates, and  sometimes  cross  it;  while  on  the  east  it  reaches 
beyond  the  Tigris  to  the  foot-hills  of  Elam  (Elymais)  or 
Snsiana.  This  alluvial  plain  was  again  subdivided  into  f  y>- 
per  Babyloni(i^t\\Q  country  around  and  above  Babylon,  and 
Lower  Bahylonia^  or  (as  the  Greek  geographers  call  it) 
Chaldcea — a  name  which  we  only  use,  for  the  present,  as  a 
purely  geographical  term.^  The  name  of  Chalda3a  is  some- 
times applied  to  the  whole  plain,  which  is  also  designated  in 
Scripture  as  "  the  land  of  Shinar,^'"'  a  term  which  includes 

5  This  luinie  is  applied  by  the  Oreek  and  Latin  pengraphers  to  a  part  of  Babylonia, 
uear  the  head  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  on  the  confines  of  Arabia  (Strabo,  xvi.  pp.  739, 
rCT  :  Plin.  vi.  3T  :  Ptol.  v.  20,  §  3). 

*  Probably  Shin'-ar,  the  country  of  the,  two  river.<i.  from  the  Semitic  Shne  {two)  and 
'rtr,  the  Babylonian  equivalent  of  nahr  (a  river).  We  have  already  observed  that  the 
Ethiopian  Sennaar  has  the  same  meaning.  The  LXX.  render  Shin'ar  by  Sennaar  in 
Gen.  xi,  3,  and  by  Babylonia  in  Isaiah  xi.  11,  and  Zech.  v.  11. 


UPPER  MESOPOTAMIA.  225 

"Babel,"  in  Upper  Babylonia,  as  well  as  "  Erech,  Calneh,  and 
Accad,"  in  Lower  Babylonia. 

Upper  Mesopotamia  was  far  more  diversified,  both  in  its 
physical  character  and  its  geographical  subdivisioDS.  Mes- 
opotamia Proper  { Aram- Na  liar  din  i^  Heb. ;  iVY^Aarm/?,  Egypt. ; 
now  El-Jezlreh^  i.  e.  the  Island)^  between  the  two  rivers,  as 
far  south  as  the  beginning  of  the  all;ivial  plain,  was  divided 
into  an  upper  and  lower  part  by  the  Sinjar  Hills  (Singai-as 
Monf].),'  which  reach  from  the  Khahur  to  the  Tigris  below 
Nineveh.  The  Khabur  again  subdi\ides  the  upper  part  into 
the  hilly  region  about  the  foot  of  Mount  Masius  (the  ancient 
Mygdonia  or  Gauzanitis),  and  the  high  undulating  plain  of 
Paikui-Arain^  or  Osroene,  surrounded  by  the  upper  course 
of  the  Euphrates.  The  latter  is  intersectwl  from  N.  to  S.  by 
the  river  Bellas,  Balissus,  or  Belichus,  which  falls  into  the 
Euphrates  near  Callinicum :  on  its  banks  the  town  of  Ghar- 
ran  retains  the  name  of  Ilaran  (the  resting-place  of  Abra- 
ham, and  the  abode  of  Nahor  and  his  family),  and  the  mem- 
ory of  the  defeat  of  Crassus  by  the  Parthians.  Lastly,  As- 
syria Proper  (the  land  of  AssJuir  both  in  the  vernacular  and 
in  Scripture)  lay  between  the  Tigris  and  the  mountains  of 
Kurdistan,  as  far  S.  as  the  river  Gyndes  (iJiala)^  which  di- 
vided it  from  Elam  or  Susiana.  In  its  northern  and  eastern 
parts,  the  fertile  foot-hills,  well  watered  by  the  tributaries 
of  the  Tigris,  rise  to  the  rich  pastures  and  wooded  heights 
of  the  mountains  of  Zagrus. 

From  above  Nineveh  downward,  the  country  becomes  a 
plain,  of  the  same  character  as  the  generRl  surface  of  Meso- 
potamia— a  beautiful  pasture-ground,  enamelled  with  flowers 
during  the  spring  and  early  summer,  but  afterward^  burned 
up,  except  along  the  courses  of  the  livers.  In  ancient  times 
its  fertility  and  verdure  were  better  preserved  by  artificial 
irrigation.  Wood  was  abundant,  as  it  still  is  on  the  higher 
hills ;  for  Trajan  and  Severus  *built  fleets  on  the  Euphrates. 
Among  its  mineral  products  were  naphtha,  ammomum,  and  a 
kind  of  anthracite  coal  called  gam/itis.  The  chief  animals 
are  the  gazelle,  the  wild  ass,  and  the  lion,  which  has  greatly 
multiplied  in  the  neglected  wastes.  Along  the  course  of 
the  Euphrates,  the  Arabian  desert  seems  always  to  have  en- 
croached on  Mesopotamia  Proper,  and  its  sands  now  occupy 
a  large  district  on  its  left  baidv." 

■^  This  name  is  derived  from  the  town  of  Shuiara,  a  frontier  fortress  of  the  Roman 
emperors  against  Persia,  and  seems  to  have  a  connection  with  Shmar. 

s  That  is,  either  the  table-land  of  Aram,  or  the  field  of  Araw,  or  vjiland  field  or  jxis- 
ture-f/round  (for  Aram  means  "high"). 

^  Hence  Xenophon  mentions  a  part  of  Arabia  as  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Euphra- 
tes :  and,  at  the  present  day,  the  prevalence  of  an  Arab  popnlation,  as  troublesome  as 
iu  old  times,  gives  to  the  country  round  Babylon  the  name  of  Irak-Arahi. 

10* 


226       THE  KEGION  OF  THE  EUPHKATES  AND  TIGRIS. 

§  5.  Descending  into  the  plain  of  Babylonia,  we  are  in  a 
part  of  the  "rainless  district;"  and  the  rich  alluvium  de- 
pends for  its  fertility  upon  the  rivers  and  canals.  Babylo- 
nia, like  Egypt,  is  "  the  gift  of  its  rivers  ;"  M'hich  have  inun- 
dations, but  not  with  the  periodic  regularity  oi'  the  Nile. 
Hence  the  waters  require  still  more  careful  distribution;  a 
work  w^hich  engaged  the  best  care  of  the  ancient  kings,  and 
in  a  lesser  degree  of  the  Arab  Caliphs ;  but  which  has  been 
totally  neglected  under  the  Turks.  The  wr.ters  of  the  Eu- 
phrates run  to  waste  in  the  desert,  forming  pestilential 
swamps,;  and  the  canals  are  little  cared  for.  In  ancient 
times,  besides  innunierable  culiS  for  irrigation,  there  w^ere 
three  chief  canals  connecting  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates:  the 
original  "  royal  river  "  {Ar-Malcha  of  Berosus),  in  the  line 
of  the  modern  Saklawayeh  Canal,  which  falls  into  the  Tigris 
at  Bagdad;  the  later  "royal  river"  {Nahr-Malcha  of  the 
Arabs),  which  fell  into  the  Tigris  at  Seleucia;  and  the  Xakr- 
Kutha,  which  joined  the  Tigris  20  miles  lower.  A  smaller 
canal,  the  Paliacopas  of  Arrian,  supplied  the  artificial  lake 
of  Borsippa,  from  which  the  land  south-west  of  Babylon  was 
irrigated.  But  the  greatest  of  these  works  was  the  canal  from 
the  Euphrates  at  Hit  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  passing  along  the 
line  dividing  the  alluvium  from  the  desert;  and,  while  regu- 
lating the  inundation,  preserving  the  fertility  of  a  large  ex- 
tent of  debatable  land,  on  which  the  desert  now  encroaches 
even  beyond  the  river.  South  of  Babylon  and  Borsippa  lies 
the  great  inland  fresh-water  sea  oi  Kedjef^  40  miles  in  length 
and  35  in  width,  and  about  20  miles  from  the  Euphrates. 
Part  of  the  water  of  the  river  flows  through  it  at  the  time 
of  the  inundation  ;  but  it  does  not  owe  its  origin  to  this 
cause:  it  is  a  permanent  lake  of  considerable  depth,  sur- 
rounded by  cliffs  of  a  reddish  sandstone,  in  places  40  feet 
high.  Above  and  below  this,  lake,  from  Blrs-  Nimrud  to 
Kufa^  and  from  the  south-eastern  extremity  of  the  lake  to 
SamaiKi^  extend  the  famous  "  Chaldjsan  marshes,"  where 
Alexander  was  nearly  lost;'"  but  they  are  entirely  distinct 
from  the  lake,  depending  on  the  state  of  the  Hindiyeh  canal, 
and  disappearing  when  it  is  closed. 

The  climate  of  this  vast  rainless  plain,  lying  under  a  burn- 
ing sun,  and  with  an  atmosphere  moistened  by  the  rivers  and 
marshes,  is  intolerably  hot  in  summer,  bu"  mild  and  pleasant 
in  winter.  The  ancient  writers  celebrate  its  unsurpassed  fer 
tility;  and  it  is  the  only  country  where  wheat  is  known  to 
be  indigenous.  The  native  historian,  Berosus,  notices  this 
Droduction,  and  also  the  spontaneous  growth  oi  barh^y,  ses* 

20  Strabo,  xvi.  1,  §  12  :  Aniau.  "Auab."  vii.  22. 


THE  PLAIN  OF  BABYLON.  227 

ame,  ochiys,  palms,  apples,  and  many  kinds  of  shelled  fruit. 
Herodotus"  declares  that  grain  commonly  returned  two 
hundredfold  to  the  sower,  and  occasionally  three  hundred- 
fold. Strabo'^  makes  nearly  the  same  assertion,  and  Pliny'^ 
says  that  the  wheat  was  cut  twice,  and  was  afterwards  good 
keep  for  beasts.  The  date-palm  was  one  of  the  principal  ob' 
jects  of  cultivation.  According  to  Strabo,  it  furnished  the 
natives  with  bread,  wine,  vinegar,  honey,  porridge,  and  ropes  ; 
with  a  fuel  equal  to  charcoal,  and  with  a  means  of  fattening 
cattle  and  sheep.  A  Persian  poem  celebrates  its  360  uses. 
Herodotus  says  that  the  whole  of  the  flat  country  was  plant- 
ed with  palms,  and  Ammianus  Marcellinus'*  observes  that, 
from  the  point  reached  by  Julian's  army  to  the  shores  of 
the  Persian  Gulf,  there  was  one  continuous  forest  of  verdure. 
At  present  palms  are  almost  confined  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
rivers,  and  even  there  they  do  not  grow  thickly,  except 
about  the  villages,  whose  inhabitants,  neglecting  the  rich 
virgin  soil,  subsist  chiefly  upon  dates. 

The  contrast  between  the  ancient  and  present  state  of 
Babylonia  is  thus  described  by  a  modern  traveller:  "The 
wants  of  a  teeming  population  were  supplied  by  a  rich  soil, 
not  less  bountiful  than  that  on  the  banks  of  the  Egyptian 
Nile.  Like  islands  rising  from  a  golden  sea  of  waving  corn, 
stood  frequent  groves  of  palm-trees  and  pleasant  gardens, 
aflbrding  to  the  idler  or  traveller  their  grateful  and  highly 
valued  shade.  Crowds  of  passengers  hurried  along  the  dusty 
road  to  and  from  the  busy  city.  The  land  was  rich  in  corn 
and  wine.  How  changed  is  the  aspect  of  that  region  at  the 
present  day  !  Long  lines  of  mounds,  it  is  true,  mark  the 
courses  of  those  main  arteries  which  formerly  diftused  life 
and  vegetation  along  their  banks;  but  their  channels  are 
now  bereft  of  moisture  and  choked  with  drifted  sand  ;  the 
smaller  offshoots  are  wholly  effaced.  All  that  remains  of 
that  ancient  civilization  —  that  'glory  of  kingdoms,'  '  the 
praise  of  the  whole  earth' — is  recognizable  in  the  numerous 
mouldering  heaps  of  brick  rubbish  which  overspread  the 
surface  of  the  plain.  Listead  of  the  luxuriant  fields,  the 
groves  and  .gardens,  nothing  now  meets  the  eye  but  an  arid 
waste — the  dense  population  of  the  former  times  has  vanish- 
ed, and  no  man  dwells  there.'"^  The  soil  is  still  rich,  but  more 
than  half  the  country  is  left  dry  and  waste  from  the  want 
of  a  proper  system  of  irrigation ;  while  the  remaining  half 
is  to  a  great  extent  covered  with  marshes  owing  to  the  same 
neglect.     Thus  the  prophecies,  which  to  an  ignorant  reader 

1'  Herod,  i.  19.T.  12  strab.  xvi.  1.  5  U.  '^  "  Hist.  Nat."  xviii.  17. 

14  xxiv.  3.  15  Loftus.  "  Chaldaea  aud  Siisiana,"  pp.  U,  15. 


228        THE  REGION  OF  THI<:  EUPHRATES  AND  TIGRIS. 

might  seem  contmdictory,  are  literally  fulfilled:  " A  droug-H 
is  upon  lier  waters,  and  they  are  dried  up:"  "The  sea  is 
come  up  upon  Babylon,  and  she  is  covered  with  the  waves 
thereof.""  She  is  made  "  a  possession  for  the  bittern,  and 
pools  of  water:"  she  is  "  wholly  desolate" — "the  hindermost 
of  the  nations,  a  wilderness,  a  dry  land,  and  a  desert."" 

§  6.  This  alluvial  plain  is  entirely  destitute  of  rocks  and 
minerals,  and  yet  it  was  the  site  of  the  earliest,  and,  among 
these,  the  one  most  famous,  of  the  buildings  of  the  post-dilu- 
vian world.  "And  it  came  to  pass,  as  they  journeyed  fi-om 
the  east,  that  they  found  a  plain  in  the  land  of  Shiyiar;  and 
they  dwelt  there.*^  And  they  said  to  one  anothei",  C4o  to,  let 
us  make  hrick^  and  hum  them  thorcmghhj.  And  they  had 
brick  for  stone,  and  slime  had  they  for  mortar.  And  they 
said.  Go  to,  let  us  build  us  a  city  and  a  towe)\  whose  top  may 
reach  unto  heaven  ;  and  let  us  make  us  a  7iame,  lest  we  be 
scattered  abroad  upon  the  face  of  the  whole  earth:"  and 
then,  in  consequence  of  the  confusion  of  their  speech,  "they 
left  off  to  build  the  city.""  That  this  city  of  Baber  was 
the  origin  of  the  famous  capital  of  the  same  name,  which  the 
Greeks  called  Babylon^  is  now  generally  agreed. 

Respecting  the  tower,  a  curious  testimony  has  been  dis> 
covered.  One  of  the  most  conspicuous  mounds  about  the 
site  of  Babylon  is  that  to  which  tradition  has  given  the  name 
of  Birs-Nimrud  (the  Citadel  of  Nimrod).^\  ^  The  ruins  cov- 
ered by  this  mound  are  now  certainly  identified,  by  their  in- 
scriptions, with  the  temple  o^ Bd-Merodach^hmXt  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar at   Borsippa,  about   seven   miles  south-west   of 

1"  Jeieni.  1.  38 ;  li.  42.  ^^  Isaiah  xiv.  12, 18,  23. 

i«  Genesis  xi.  2-4,  s.  The  common  way  of  spenkinj;  only  of  the  tower  of  Bahel  is 
apt  to  put  out  of  si.-,'ht  the  rn'.v  and  th«  navic,  which  mark  the  real  object  of  the 
scheme  as  the  first  attempt  to  found  a  great  political  i)ower.  (See  further,  ou  this 
point,  the  "  Student's  O.  T.  History,"  chap.  v.  §  5.) 

19  Genesis  xi.  9.  The  Chald-aean  ])riests  of  Babylon  i)reserved  the  tradition  of  the 
confnsiim  of  tongues,  bt.t  they  found  an  etymology  for  Babel  in  their  own  tongue, 
Bah-il,  i.  e.  the  gate  of  II  (the  god  whom  the  Greeks  identified  with  Kronos  or  Saturn). 
Either  etymology  niay  have  arisen  from  the  other  by  the  universal  tendency  for  each 
race  to  find  a  meaning  for  a  proper  name  in  its  own  language.  But,  in  the  case  be. 
fore  us,  the  Scripture  etymology  is  so  authoritative,  and  so  inseparably  connected 
with  the  events  recorded,  that  it  seems  safer  to  consider  the  Semitic  meaning  the 
original,  and  the  Chaldaic  the  adaptation.  In  this  view  we  have  an  argument  for 
the  original  Semitic  population  of  the  plain  of  Shinar.  It  is  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance to  observe  that  Bahel  and  Babylon  are  distinctly  local  and  not  ethnic  names. 
Bahel  does  not  occur  in  the  ethnic  table  of  Genesis  x.  ;  and  the  Babiilonians  of  histo- 
ry are  simply  the  people  whose  capital  was  Babylon.  The  question  of  their  true 
ethnic  name  will  be  considered  presently. 

20  The  prefix  Birs,  v.'hich  has  no  meaning  in  Arabic,  is  explained  by  the  local  name 
of  Boursa,  which  points  to  the  Semitic  form  seen  in  the  Idnmsean  Bczrah  and  the 
Punic  Bijrsa  (a  citadel).  It  seems  to  retain  the  first  syllable  of  the  ancient  name, 
Borsippa,  in  the  Babvlonian  form  Barsip  or  Barzipa,  which  M.  Oppert  explains  as 
"Tower  of  Tongues."  The  Talmudists  declare  that  the  true  site  of  the  Tower  of 
Babel  was  at  Boyaif,  the  Greek  Bor.-ii;pa. 


INSCRIPTION  OF  NEBUCHADNEZZAR.  229 

Babylon,  which  Herodotus  describes  as  the  temple  of  Jupiter 
Behis.  It  consisted  of  a  large  substructure,  a  stade  (600 
feet)  iu  breadth,  and  75  feet  iii^heio^ht,  over  which  were  built 
seven  other  stages  of  25  feet  each."  Among  its  ruins  has 
been  found  an  inscription,  wliich  M.  Oppert  explains  as  Neb- 
uchadnezzar's own  account  of  the  building,  or  rather  the  re- 
building of  this  '-'' Temple  of  the  Seven  Lights  of  the  Earth'' 
(the  Sun,  Moon,  and  planets).  The  inscription  is  well  worth 
quoting  entire,  both  for  its  historic  value,  and  as  a  specimen 
of  the  style  of  similar  documents  : 

"  Nabuciiodonosok,  king  of  Babylon,  shepherd  of  peoples,  who  attest  the 
immutable  aiiection  of  Merodach,  the  mighty  ruler-exalting  Nebo  ;^^  the 
saviour ;  the  wise  man,  who  lejuls  his  ears  to  the  orders  of  the  highest  god  ; 
the  lieutenant  without  reproach,  the  repairer  of  the  Pyramid  and  the  Tower, 
eldest  son  of  Nabopolassar,  king  of  Babylon  :  We  say  : 

"Merodach,  the  great  master,  has  created  me:  he  has  imposed  on  me  to 
reconstruct  his  building.  Nebo,  the  guardiiui  over  the  legions  of  the  heaven 
and  the  earth,  has  charged  my  liands  with  tlie  sceptre  of  justice. 

"The  Pyramid  is  the  temple  of  the  heaven  and  the  earth,  the  siat  of  Me- 
rodach, the  chief  of  the  gods  :  the  place  of  the  oracles,  the  spot  of  his  rest, 
I  have  adorned  it  in  the  form  of  a  cupola  with  shining  gold."^ 

"The  Tower,  the  eternal  house,  which  I  founded  and  built,*^  I  have  com- 
])leted  its  magnificence  with  silver,  gold,  other  metals,  stone,  enamelled  bricks, 
fir,  and  pine. 

"  The  first,  which  is  the  house  of  the  earth's  base,  the  most  ancient  monu- 
ment of  Babylon,  I  built  and  finished  it :  I  have  highly  exalted  its  head  with 
bricks  covered  with  copper."^ 

"  We  say  for  the  other,  that  is,  this  edifice,  the  House  of  the  Seven  Lights 
of  the  Earth,  the  most  ancient  monument  of  Borsippa  :  A  former  king  built  it 
(they  reckon  42  ages),  but  he  did  not  complete  its  head.     Since  a  rejiote 

TIME    TEOl'LE    HAD    ABANDONED     IT,   WITHOUT    ORDEIl     EXPRESSING    THEIR 

WORDS.  Since  that  time  the  earthquake  and  the  thunder  had  dispersed  its 
sun-dried  clay;  the  bricks  of  the  casing  had  been  split :  and  the  earth  of  the 
interior  had  been  scattered  in  lieaps.^"  jNIerodach,  the  great  lord,  excited  my 
mind  to  repair  this  building.  /  did  not  change  the  site,  nor  did  I  take  away 
the  foundation-stone.  In  a  fortunate  month,  an  auspicious  day,^'  I  under- 
took to  build  porticoes  around  the  crude  brick  masses  and  tlie  casing  of  bunit 
bricks.  I  put  the  inscription  of  my  name  in  the  Kitir  of  the  i)Orticoes.  I 
set  my  hand  to  finish  it,  and  to  exalt  its  head.     As  it  had  been  in  former 


21  The  general  form  of  the  ChaUlfean  temple  towers  is  described  below  (see  chap, 
xvi.). 

22  The  king's  name  contains  that  (^f  Nebo,  his  patron  deitj\ 

23  This  is  the  chapel,  or  shrine,  on  the  top  stage  of  the  "  tower,"  which  is  next  de 
Bcribed. 

2*  This  seems  a  proof  that  Nebuchadnezzar  rebuilt  it  from  the  old  fonndrition. 

25  This  is  expressly  mentioned,  as  a  mode  of  Babylonian  building,  by  Phiiostratns 
(Apoll.  Tyau.i.25). 

2«  Here  is  the  clearest  allusion  to  the  mode  of  building:  successive  stages  of  sun- 
dried  bricks,  round  an  earthen  mound  as  core,  and  faced  with  highly  burnt  bricks: 
nor  could  any  words  describe  more  vividly  the  exact  strae  which  the  ruins  agaiii 
present  after  another  '2000  years. 

2'?  An  allusion  to  the  Chaldaeau  astrology. 


230  PRIMITIVE  KINGDOMS. 

times,  ^^  so  I  founded,  I  made  it ;  as  it  had  been  in  ancient  days,  so  I  exalt 
ed  its  summit. 

"  Nebo,  son  of  himself,  ruler  -who  exaltest  Merodach,  be  propitious  to  mv 
works,  to  maintain  my  authority.  Grant  me  a  life  until  the  remotest  time, 
a  sevenfold  progeny,  the  stability  of  my  throne,  the  victory  of  my  sword,  the 
pacification  of  foes, ^^  the  triumph  over  the  lands!  In  the  columns  of  thy 
eternal  table,  that  fixes  the  destinies  of  the  heaven  and  earth,  bless  tiie  course 
of  my  days,  inscribe  the  fecunditv  of  my  race. 

"  Imitate,  O  Merodach,  king  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  father  who  begot 
thee :  bless  my  buildings,  strengthen  my  authority.  May  Nebuchadnezzar, 
the  king  repairer,  remain  before  thy  face." 

If  this  inscription  is  properly  translated,  and  if  the  tradi- 
tion preserved  by  the  Chaldaean  priests  of  Nebuchadnezzar's 
age  was  true,  the  inference  seems  irresistible,  that  the  Tal- 
nuidists  were  right  in  placing  the  Tower  of  Babel  at  Borsip- 
pa,  and,  moreover,  that  the  ruins  of  Birs-N'imrud  are  on  its 
original  foundation.  The  distance  of  Borsippa  from  Baby- 
lon is  no  valid  objection  ;  for  Borsippa  was  a  detached  sub- 
urb of  Babylon, "'^  the  saci-ed  seat  of  the  priests;  and  a  subur- 
ban citadel  also,  where  l\abouidus,  the  last  king  of  Babylon, 
held  out  when  the  city  was  taken  by  Cyrus.  If  the  objec- 
tion has  any  force,  it  would  incline  us  to  claim  Borsippa  as 
the  original  site  of  the  city  of  Babel;  wliich,like  so  many 
otlier  great  cities,  may  have  been  transferred  to  a  neighbor- 
ing site.^'  At  all  events,  there  is  a  great  historic  gap  be- 
tween the  city  of  the  Babel-builders  and  the  capital  of  Baby 
Ion  :  ''They  left  off  to  huild  the  cityy'' 

§  7.  There  is  nothing  in  the  Scripture  narrative  to  prove 
the  common  assumption,  that  the  Babel-builders  Avere  of  the 
Hamite  or  Cushite  race ;  and  to  connect  the  building  of  Babel 
(in  Genesis  xi.)  with  the  kingdom  of  Nimrod  (in  Genesis  £) 
is  an  arbitrary  assumption,  tending  to  confound  events  which 
were  probably  separated  by  a  wide  interval.  The  former 
narrative  rather  seems  to  describe  a  migration  of  mankind 
from  their  primeval  seats  before  the  distinctions  of  race  were 
clearly  established  :^^  and  this  is  one  mode  of  accounting  for 
the  great  mixture  of  races  in  tliat  region  from  the  earliest 
times.^*  That  the  prevalent  race  was  originally  Semitic,  has 
been  argued  from  the  remarkable  passage  which  gives  us  the 

28  That  is,  iu  design,  for  he  has  said  that  it  was  not  finished. 

2»  It  seems  that  the  Babylonian  conqueror  had  the  Roman  idea  oi pacifirMtion. 

3"  Mr.  Layard  has  observed  that  the  name  of  Borsippa  occurs  in  every  mention  of 
Babylon  on  the  inscriptions,  from  the  earliest  time  to  the  latest.  ("Asiatic  Jour- 
nal," vol.  xii.  part  ii.  pp.  436,  437.) 

31  A  reason  for  the  change  may  have  been  that  the  banks  of  the  river  were  not 
suited  for  a  city  till  prepared  by  engineering  works.  We  are  not  arguing  that  the 
change  was  actually  made,  but  only  suggesting  it  as  an  answer  to  the  objection  of 
distance.  ^2  Genesis  xi.  8.  ^3  Compare  Genesis  xi.  1,  6,  and  9. 

3*  Berosus  records  the  fact,  which  is  pnived  by  modern  researches:  "There  were 
at  first  at  Babylon  a  great  number  of  men  of  diftereut  races,  who  colonized  {"haldaja." 


THE  EARLY  ETHNOGRAPHY  OF  MESOPOTAMIA.       231 

first  account  of  the  establishment  of  a  Jdngdom  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  :  "And  Cusii  begat  Nimrod  :  he  first  was  a 
mighty  one  in  the  earth.  Pie  was  a  mighty  hunter  before 
Jehovah.  .  .  .  And  the  beginning  (or  capital)  o^hX^k- in gdorn 
w^as  JBahel  and  Erech^  and  Accad^  and  Calneh,  in  tlie  land 
of  Shinar.  Out  of  that  land  went  forth  Asshur,  and  builded 
Nineveh^  and  the  city  liehohoth^  and  Calah^  and  Resen^  be- 
tween Nineveh  and  Calah :  the  same  is  a  great  city.'"'^ 

Here  we  have  the  mention  of  two  states,  each  forming  a 
tetrapolis ;  and  enough  is  known  of  the  other  cities  named 
(besides  Babel  and  Nineveh)  to  place  the  one  in  Lower 
Babylonia,  the  other  in  Assyria  Proper.  The  founder  of  the 
one  was  a  Cushite  king;  and  the  other  is  distinctly  marked 
by  the  name  of  Asshur  as  Semitic.  The  latter  was  in  some 
way  the  offshoot  of  the  former :  but  how  ?  One  theory  is 
that  Asshur  uwnt  forth  out  of  that  land  (Shinar),  driven  out 
by  Nimrod,  who  certainly  has  all  the  appc-arance  of  a  con- 
queror :  in  other  Avords,  that  the  original  Semitic  population 
of  Shinar  was  overpowered  and,  in  part  at  least,  driven 
northward  by  a  Cushite  conquest.  Another  view — based 
upon  the  translation  in  the  margin  of  our  version,  "Out  of 
that  land  lie  went  out  into  Assyria  '' — makes  Nimrod  the 
founder  of  the  Assyrian  as  well  as  the  Babylonian  state. 
There  can,  indeed,  be  little  doubt  that,  in  a  very  early  period 
of  history,  Nineveh  and  the  neighboring  cities  were  i?ubject 
to  a  kingdom  which  had  its  seat  in  Babylonia ;  and  this  ac- 
cords with  the  tradition  which  makes  Belus  kin^-  of  Nineveii 
before  Ninus.  But  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  population 
of  Assyria  was  ever  other  than  Semitic  ;  and  the  prevalence 
of  Semitic  dialects  throughout  the  whole  of  Mesopotamia 
shows  what  was  its  prevalent  population.  If  the  Cushite 
race,  the  presence  of  which  is  attested  not  only  by  what  is 
said  of  Nimrod,  but  also  by  the  Turanian  element  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  earliest  inscriptions  of  Babylonia,  was  really  in- 
trusive in  that  country,  its  entrance  may  be  not  improbably 
connected  with  the  establishment  of  another  great  branch 

35  Genesis  x.  S-12.  The  passage  is  almost  certainly  an  interpolation  in  the  genea- 
logical table  of  the  sons  of  Noah.  Besides  the  nse  of  the  name  Jehovah  (which,  by- 
the-by,  is  here  only  an  intensive,  as  in  Jonah  iii.  3),  the  passage  stands  alone  in  the 
genealogy  in  its  C,istmci\y  j^ersonal  character;  it  has  no  connection  Avith  what  pre- 
cedes and  follows;  and  the  proverbial  expression  quoted  in  it  seems  to  mark  its 
frnunientary  character.  This  later  date  would  account  for  the  precedence  given  to 
E-tl)}iop  and  Niueveh  in  each  tetrapolis,  even  if  they  were  not  the  original  capitals. 
That  the  terms  "  mighty  one"  and  "  very  mighty  hunter"  refer,  as  Jewish  tradition 
held  (Joseph.  "Ant."  i.  4,  5  2),  to  a  conqueror,  if  not  an  oppressor,  seems  the  only 
adeqiiate  sense,  and  is  confirmed  by  the  mention  of  Ximrod's  kingdom.  The  only 
other  mention  of  Klr.irod  is  in  Micah  v.  0,  where  "  the  land  of  Nimrod"  peems  to  he 
Babylonia,  but  majj  possibly  be  Assyria.  (See  the  aruNiAiiiOD  in  the  ''DicL  of  the 
Bible.") 


232  PKIMITIVE  KINGDOMS. 

of  the  Hamite  family  in  Egypt ;  and  civilization  may  have 
had  a  kindred  origin,  hoth  in  source  and  time,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Nile  and  the  Enplirates.^" 

§  8.  In  the  latter  case,  as  in  the  former,  we  look  for  native 
traditional  records,  and  still  more  for  contemporary  monu- 
ments, of  the  hrst  establishment  of  an  organized  political  so- 
ciety. Of  the  traditions,  which  in  both  countries  were  pre- 
served by  a  learned  sacerdotal  class,  we  find  in  Babylonia 
also  a  recorder  such  as  the  Egyptian  Manetho.  This  was 
Berosus,  a  priest  of  Belus,  at  Babylon,  in  the  reign  of  An- 
tiochus  II.  (b.c.  261-246),  who  compiled,  from  the  archives 
in  the  temple  of  the  god,  a  "  History  of  Babylon  "  or  "  Clial- 
daea."  Of  this  work,  as  of  Manetho's,  we  possess  only  some 
fragments,  which  have  been  preserved  by  Josephus,  Poly- 
histor,  etc.,  by  Eusebius  and  the  other  chroniclers,  and  by  the 
Christian  fathers.  Their  value  must  be  tried  by  the  same 
standards  which  have  been  applied  to  Manetho — confirma- 
tion by  contemporary  records  or  monuments,  and  agreeme^at 
with  other  historic  testimony  of  proved  authenticity."  Be- 
rosus furnishes  no  such  list  of  kings  as  Manetho;  but  he 
gives  us  a  compendious  statement  of  the  dynasties  that  had 
reigned  in  Babylonia.  Like  Manetho,  he  begins  with  a 
mythical  period,  but  one  far  surpassing  the  Egyptian  in  the 
extravagance  of  its  chronology,  which  is  manifestly  adapted 
to  a  conventional  system  of  arithmetic.  From  the  destruc- 
tion of  Chaos  by  Bel,  the  god  of  light  and  air,  to  the  Del- 
uge, from  which  Xisuthrus  was  saved  in  an  ark,  he  reckons 
432,000  years.^*  The  only  tradition  of  this  period  worth 
mentioning  is  that  which  ascribes  the  origin  of  civilization 
to  Cannes,^''  a  being  with  the  upper  part  of  a  man  and  the 

3"  That  the  ruling  race  of  Babyloiua,  in  the  earliest  historic  times,  was  Ciishite, 
nud  connected  with  the  Hamite  populations  of  E^ypt  and  Southern  Arabia,  is  argued 
(1.)  From  the  Biblical  genealogy:  {■!.)  From  the  resemblance  between  the  cuneiform 
aud  hieroglyphic  (or,  more  exactly,  the  hieratic)  systems  of  writing:  (3.)  From  the 
language  of  some  of  the  Babylonian  inscriptions,  of  which  the  grammar  seems  "  Tu- 
ranian,"  but  the  vocabuhiry  Hamite  or  "Sub-Semitic:"  (4.)  From  the  traditions  of 
Babylonia  and  Assyria  (and  also  some  Greek  traditions),  which  point  to  a  connection 
of  Babylonia  with  Ethiopia  and  Southern  Arabia.  (See  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  "Essay 
VI.  to  Herod."  Book  i.  in  p.  442.) 

37  Among  the  classical  writers,  besides  Herodotus,  whose  early  accounts,  both  of 
Babylonia  and  Assyria,  are  manifestly  fabulous,  the  only  authority  of  any  great 
weight  is  Ctesias,  of  Cnidus  in  Caria,  who  was  physician  to  Artaxerxes  II.  Mnemon, 
and  was  with  him  during  his  war  against  his  brother  Cyrus  the  Ydunger  (h.o.  401), 
and  wiote  a  history  of  Persia  in  23  books.  His  statements  are  generally  at  variance 
both  with  Herodotus  and  Berosus.  The  tendency  of  cuneiform  discovery,  thus  far, 
has  been  to  confirm  Berosus  rather  than  Ctesias.  The  traditions  followed  by  the 
Greek  writers  represent  the  continuous  existence,  from  the  earliest  time.«,«f' an  As- 
syrian empire,  to  which  Babylonia  was  subject  till  its  comparatively  late  revolt.  The 
error  of  this  will  be  seen  as  we  proceed. 

3s  That  is,  120  sars  of  3600  years  each,  in  the  Babylonian  system  of  computation  (see 
below,  chap.  xvii.). 

39  As  to  the  deity  represented  by  the  name  Cannes,  see  chap,  xviio 


BEROSUS  AND  HIS  ^SCHEME  OF  DYNASTIES. 


233 


tail  of  a  fish,  who  came  up  from  the  Indian  Sea,  and  to  six 
other  similar  fish-men — a  tradition  wliicli,  if  worth  any  thing, 
indicates  the  belief  of  the  priests  of  Babylon  that  their  civ- 
ilization began  on  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf 

From  the  Deluge  of  Xisuthrus  to  the  capture  of  Babylon 
by  Cyrus  and  the  fall  of  the  Babylonian  empire,  Berosus 
reckons  Eight  Dynasties^  which,  though  the  numbers  of  years 
assigned  to  them  are  imperfect,  were  evidently  intended  to 
fill  up  the  cycle  of  10  sars,  or  36,000  years.  Tlie  First  Dy 
nasty  is  obviously  mythical,  consisting  of  86  demigods,  whom 
he  calls  Chaldmans,  and  who  reigned  at  Babylon  for  34,080 
years  ;  a  number  doubtless  assigned  so  as  to  complete,  with 
the  length  of  the  period  which  Berosus  regarded  as  histor- 
ical, the  above  total  of  36,000  years.  Thus  the  so-called  his- 
torical period  would  consist  of  1920  years;  and  reckoning 
backward  from  the  fall  of  Babylon,  it  would  begin  in  b.c. 
2458.  Using  this  computation  to  supply  some  of  the  miss- 
ino-  fio^ures,  Dr.  Gutschmidt  has  framed  the  followinc:  scheme 
of  the  Dynasties  of  Berosus :"" 


II. 
III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 


S6 


RULEHS. 

Mythical. 
Chaldaeaus 

Historical. 
Medes  [Mapriansj.. 

[Chaldaeaus] 

Chaldaeaus 

Arabians 

Assyrians 

Assyrians 

Chaldseans 

Total.... 


34,080 


30,000 


224 

2458 

2234 

[25S] 

22.-4 

1970 

458 

1976 

1518 

245 

1518 

1273 

526 

1273 

747 

[122] 

747 

625 

87 

625 

538 

§  9.  The  first  five  of  these  dynasties  represent  a  period  re- 
specting which  our  information  is  very  scanty  and  doubtful, 
in  spite  of  the  light  recently  acquired  from  the  inscriptions 
exhumed  from  the  mounds  that  cover  the  ruined  cities  of 
Babylonia.  Those  ruins  are  believed  to  be  the  monuments 
of  that  passion  for  great  buildings  which  characterized  the 
race  of  Ham  ;  and  which,  while  raising  the  everlasting  stones 
of  the  pyramids  in  Egypt,  found  materials  for  edifices  of  a 
similar  type  even  in  the  alluvial  plain  of  Ohaldaea.^*     "They 

*"•  The  years  of  the  7th  and  Sth  dynasties  arc  from  the  Canon  of  Eii?elnns,  etc.  The 
25S  years  of  the  3d  dynasty  are  obtained  from  the  total.  See  Notes  and  Illustra- 
tions—(A).  Early  Babylonian  Chron()lo,2:y. 

*-  The  similarity  of  type,  of  which  we  have  to  speak  below,  is  an  aririiment  for  the 
cognate  ori<^iu  of  the  races  that  built  the  E^'yyiiau  pyramids  aad  the  Clialdifiuu  tem- 
ple-towers. 


234  PRIMITIVE  KINGDOMS. 

had  hrich  for  .s^one,  and  slime  had  they  for  mortar ^  The  ar- 
gillaceous plain  supplied  the  material  for  bricks,  which  the 
fierce  sun  hardened  sufficiently  for  the  construction  of  the 
massive  stages  of  the  towers  and  walls  of  the  palaces,  wdnle, 
for  the  protection  of  the  outer  surfaces,  they  "burnt  them 
thoroughly.""  It  is  disputed  w^hether  the  "slime"  means 
the  tenacious  mud,  or  the  bitumen  which  is  one  of  the  most 
characteristic  mineral  products  of  Chaldsea;  but  the  existing 
ruins  show  that  botli  were  used  for  cement. 

The  objects  found  in  the  ruins  prove  a  knowledge  of  the 
art  of  working  metals  for  ornament  as  well  as  use,  and  of 
pottery,  which  is  used  not  only  for  drinking-vessels,  orna- 
mental vases,  and  lamps,  but  also  for  coffins ;  and  there  are 
articles  of  foreign  importation,  which  seem  to  indicate  a  com- 
merce by  way  of  the  Persian  Gulf  Of  their  textile  fabrics, 
the  only  remains  are  some  fragments  of  linen  adhering  to  the 
skeletons  in  the  tombs,  and  the  tasselled  cushions  on  Avhich 
their  lieads  are  laid;  but  the  delicately  striped  and  fringed 
dresses  shown  on  the  most  ancient  signet-cylinders  remind 
us  of  the  "goodly  Babylonish  garments"  W'hich  were  im- 
ported into  Canaan  before  its  conquest  by  the  Israelites." 
The  wdiole  structure  of  the  towers,  and  their  emplacement 
towards  the  four  quarters  of  the  compass,  can  only  be  ex- 
plained on  the  supposition  that  they  had  from  the  first  that 
connection  with  astronomy  which  is  distinctly  affirmed,  in 
Nebuchadnezzar's  inscription,  of  the  later  towers  raised  on 
the  same  model.  This  implies  the  beginning  of  that  astro- 
nomical science  for  which  the  Chaldasan  priests  of  Babylonia 
were  always  famous,  favored  by  their  cK^udless  sky  and  un- 
broken horizon,  and  moved  to  its  cidtivation  by  their  relig- 
ious system — the  so-called  "  Saba\an  "  worship  of  the  heav- 
enly bodies.  Last  but  not  least  among  these  proofs  of  civil- 
ization, the  characters  impressed  upon  the  bricks,  and  upon 
the  tablets  and  signet-cylinders  found  in  the  ruins,  attest  the 
knowledge  of  the  art  of"  wn-iting.  And  these  contemporary 
inscriptions,  though  comparatively  few,  furnish  monumental 
testimony  concerning  this  early  age,  Avhich  is  in  some  cases 
confirmed  by  tlie  records  of  later  kings,  representing,  of 
course,  only  the  traditions  of  their  time. 

§  10.  The  names  of  the  earliest  cities  of  Babylonia  are  re- 
corded in  the  Scriptural  notice  of  Nimrod.  Of  the  cities 
forming  the  southern  tetrapolis  (besides  Babel),  Erech  and 
Calneh  seem  to  be  the  Huruk  and  Nipur  of  the  cuneiform 
inscriptions,  w^hich  are  identified  almost  certainly  with  the 
ruins  at  Warka  and  Nijfer:  Accad  seems  rather  to  be  the 

42  (ieiiesis  xi.  3.  "  Joshua  vu.  21. 


THE  SECOND  ])YNASTY.  235 

name  of  a  region  than  a  city,  and  is  sometimes  used  like  the 
general  name  of  the  kingdom."  The  testimony  found  in  the 
ruins  seems,  liowever,  to  indicate  the  existence  of  two  tetrap- 
oleis,  corresponding  to  the  twofold  division  of  the  Babylo- 
nian plain  already  mentioned — the  i(ppe)\  consisting  of  Ba- 
bel, Borsippa,  Cutha  (now  Ibrahim^  N.E.  of  Babylon),  and 
Sippara  (the  Sepharvdlm^^  of  Scripture,  now  Sura^  on  the 
Euphrates,  20  miles  above  Babylon) ;  the  lower  coniprising 
(V)esides  Erech  and  Calneh)  Larsa  or  Larancha  (the  Ellasar 
of  Scripture,"  and  now  Senkereh)^  and  Hur  (now  called  Mu- 
c/heh%  i.  e.  the  mother  of  bitumen^  from  the  vast  quantity  of 
bituminous  cement  found  in  its  ruins).  Each  of  the  cities 
was  under  the  special  tutelage  of  one  of  the  heavenly  bodies; 
the  Sun  was  wo)-shipped  at  Larsa,  the  Moon  at  Hur ;  Bel 
{Bilu-Niprii)  and  his  consort  Beltis  (or  Mylitta)  at  Calneh*' 
and  Erech;  Bel-Merodach  and  his  consort  Anuni  at  Baby- 
lon; the  Sun  at  Sippara;  Nergal  at  Cutha;  and  so  forth. 
The  superior  ^antiquity  of  the  cities  of  the  sv)uthern  tetrapo- 
lis  (excepting  of  course  the  original  Babel)  has  been  inferred 
from  the  more  ancient  type  of  their  ruined  temple-tow^ers, 
and  from  the  character  of  their  inscriptions. 

§  11.  This  seems,  at  first  sight,  to  be  a  somewhat  startling 
contradiction  to  the  testimony  of  Scripture  concerning  the 
building  of  Babel.  But  this  appearance  of  discrepancy  rests 
solely  on  the  improbable  assumption  of  continuity  in  the  po- 
litical existence  of  the  original  Babel.  When  we  are  ex- 
pressly told,  not  only  that  "they  left  off  to  build  the  city,'' 
but  also  that  they  were  "  scattered  abroad  upon  the  face  of 
the  whole  earth,"^** — wdiat  state  could  survive  such  a  catas- 
trophe ?  Nor  is  it  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  a  secondary 
agency  was  employed  in  this  "  scattering  abroad ;"  and  the 
conquering  race,  who  w^ould  be  the  appropriate  instruments 
of  such  a  Avork,  may  very  possibly  be  represented  by  the 
fSecotid  or  Median  Dynasty  of  Berosus.  Tlie  tradition  pre- 
served by  that  historian,  that  Zoroaster  reigned  as  a  con- 
queror at  Babylon,  seems  to  indicate  an  early  stage  of  the 
great  conflict  between  the  elemental  worship,  which  in  the 
historic  age  characterized  the  Median  Magians,  and  the  Sa- 

<*  (See  below,  §  21.)  We  read  in  the  inscriptions  of  Sargon,  n.o.  720  seq.,  of  the  nj- 
nioval  of  Accadiau  colonies  from  Babylonia  to  Armenia. 

45  The  dual  form  denotes  its  position  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 

48  In  Gen.  xiv.  1,  it  is  the  capital  of  Arioch,  one  of  the  allies  of  Chedorlaomer. 

•*''  The  name  of  this  city  is  said  to  mean  "  the  fort  of  the  god  Ann."  Its  name  of 
Nopher  in  the  Talmnd  agrees  with  the  modern  Xifer,  which  Arab  tradition  makes 
the  site  of  the  original  Babylon,  and  also  the  place  whence  Nimrod  endeavored  to 
mount  on  eagle's  wings  to  heaven.  The  LXX.  (Isa.  x.  9)  make  Calneh  the  seat  of  th« 
tower  of  Babel.    See  further  on  the  Babylonian  Keligion,  in  chap.  xvii. 

»«  Gen.  xi.  S,  D. 


23G  PRLAHTIVK  KINGDOMS. 

bffiism  whicli  seems  to  have  had  its  origin  in  Babylonia; 
and  the  zeal  always  shown  by  the  former  against  the  latter 
may  have  been  one  agent  in  the  overthrow  of  the  original 
Babel.  It  does  not  follow  from  the  name  of  "Median"  that 
these  conqneroi-s  were  of  the  Aryan  race,  to  which  the  latter 
Medes  undonbtedly  belonged ;  for  at  a  very  early  period, 
Scythian  hordes  overran  the  table-land  of  Asia;  and  the 
very  name  of  Media  seems  to  be  a  Turanian  Avord,  signify- 
ing the  country.  Besides,  elemental  worship  seems  to  have 
originated  with  the  Turanians.  On  tlie  other  hand,  there  is 
clear  evidence  of  an  Aryan  element  in  the  early  population 
of  Babylonia;  and  the*  most  recent  philological  inquiries 
tend  to  an  approximation  between  the  Turanian  and  Aryan 
dialects.  In  the  absence  of  clearer  tests  and  better  informa- 
tion, the  safest  conclusion  seems  to  be  that  the  country  was 
conquered  by  a  mixed  Scytho-Aryan  race,  who  were  called 
"Medians"  in  the  old  traditions  of  Babylonia,  simply  be- 
cause they  came  from  Iran.  Obscure  as  is  the  part  played 
by  tliis  race  in  the  revolutions  of  Babylonia,  it  has  left  there 
the  most  durable  monument  of  its  power,  at  least  if  some  of 
the  best  authorities  are  right  in  believing  that  cuneiform 
writing  oi'iginated  with  the  Turanians. 

g  vi.  The  recovery  of  dominion  in  the  country  by  a  native 
race,  and  the  final  prevalence  of  Sab?eism  over  the  Magian 
elemental  worship,  appears  to  be  represented  by  the  TIdrd 
Dynasti/  of  Bevosws;*"  to  which  (and  the  succeeding  dynasty) 
alone  can  we  refer  the  most  ancient  monuments  of  tlie  Baby- 
lonian cities.  The  names  of  those  cities  connect  them,  on  the 
other  hand,  with  the  monarchy  of  the  Cushite  Nimrod,  whose 
own  name  seems  to  be  preserved  in  the  title  of  BUu-Nvpru^ 
tlie  god  of  the  chase,  and  in  tliat  of  the  city  of  Mjyru  (Cal- 
neli,  now  JViffer,  S,E.  of  Babylon),  whicli  was  the  special  seat 
of  the  worship  of  that  deity. ^^ 

The  seat  of  this  Cushite  monarchy— the  first  which  its 
monuments  enable  us  to  regard  as  properly  historical — is 
placed  by  those  monuments  (as  we  have  seen)  in  the  south- 
ern tetrapolis  of  Babylonia.     In  that  quarter,  also,  the  oldest 

.    *^  Respecting:  its  chronological  coincidence  with  the  traditional  beginning  cf  the 
Assyro-Babylonian  kingdom,  see  Notes  and  Illustrations  (A). 

50  This  city  seems  to  be  the  B/X/3ri  of  Ptolemy.  The  etymological  connection  of 
Nimrod  and  Nipru,  by  the  usual  interchange  of  the  labials  m  andi^  before  r,  is  obvi- 
ous. Sir  H.  Rawlinson  finds  the  root-meaning  in  the  Syriac  napar  (to  pursue) ;  and 
a  two-fold  light  is  thrown  on  Nimrod's  own  character,  as  a  "hunter"  and  as  the 
hero-eponymus  of  the  Babylonians,  by  inscriptions  of  more  than  one  Assyrian  king, 
who  are  described  as  "hunting  {m- pursuing)  the  people  of  nilu-Xipru''  (Rawlinson, 
"Essay  X.  to  Herod.  Book  i." p.  597).  It  is  to  be  observed  that  Nimrod  need  not  be 
absolutely  taken  as  a  person  in  Gen.  x.,  where  apoiver  may  be  descril)ed  by  the  name 
of  the  national  divine  hero.  An  Arab  tradition  identifies  Nimrod  with  the  constel 
lation  of  the  "  giaut"  {El  Gjanza)  which  we  call,  after  the  Greeks,  Orion. 


THE  THIRD  DYNASTY.  237 

traditions  make  civilization  enter  from  the  sea.  According- 
ly the  city,  which  the  oldest  extant  inscriptions  seem  to 
mark  as  the  capital,  was  Hiir  (now  3fughelr),  the  farthest 
to  the  south  of  all  the  cities  of  Chaldaia.  Its  site  (a  little 
below  31°  N.  latitude)  was  no  doubt  originally  on  the  shore 
of  the  Persi.'in  Gulf;  and  its  ships  are  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion w^ith  those  of  Ethiopia.  It  was,  in  later  times,  the 
greater  southei'u  seat,  as  Borsippa  was  the  northern,  of  the 
sacred  learning  of  the  Chakbeans/* 

The  bricks  of  the  basement  story^^  of  the  chief  temple- 
towers  in  the  southern  tetrapolis  are  stamped  wnth  the  name 
of  Urukh,  or  Urkham,"  who  is  described  as  "  King  of  Hur 
and  Kingi-Accad  ;"^*  and  his  seal-cylinder  is  engraved  with 
figures  showing  considerable  art/^  His  temples  are  dedi- 
cated to  Belus  and  Beltis,  and  to  the  Sun  and  Moon.  His 
son  Ilgi  is  recorded  as  the  finisher  of  some  of  liis  father's 
buildings  at  Hur,  particularly  the  temple  of  the  moon-god- 
dess (Sin).  These  inscriptions,  in  a  rough,  bold  character, 
on  the  buildings,  whose  rude  workmanship  and  sun-dried 
bricks,  with  the  absence  of  lime-mortar,  show  them  to  be  the 
oldest  in  the  Babylonian  plain, remind  us  of  the  quarry-marks 
of  Khufu  and  Nu-Khufu  on  their  far  more  perfect  pyramid. 
The  contrast  not  only  marks  the  vast  superiority  of  the  ear- 
liest architecture  of  Egypt  to  that  of  Chald?ea,  but  it  reminds 
us  of  the  want,  in  the  latter  case,  of  those  treasures  of  infor- 
mation which  are  preserved  in  the  pictures  of  the  Memphian 
tombs. 

§  13.  The  next  names  on  the  monuments,  in  point  of  an- 
tiquity, are  tliose  of  JLudiir-mabuk  (or  Kudur-raapula)  and 
his  father  Slntishil-Khak^  in  which  the  highest  authorities 
recognize  an  EbjmfMui  character.^^      Kudur-mabuk  is  desig- 

51  Though  Ilnr  appears,  m  extant  iuscriptious,  as  the  seat  of  the  worship  of  thu 
Moon  {Hin  or  Hurki),  there  is  evidence  of  a  more  ancient  worship  of  Aim,  the  su- 
preme god  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians.  The  traditions  mentioned  above 
would  seem  rather  to  point  to  Calueh  (Xipru)  as  the  capital;  but,  in  all  probability, 
the  four  cities  were  originally  independent,  and  dominated  over  one  another  in  turn. 
The  opinion  that  Hur  was  the  Ur-Chasdim,  or  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  of  Scripture,  whence 
the  family  of  Terah  and  Abraham  migrated  (which  can  not  be  fully  discussed  here),  is 
mniced  incidentally  below  (§  17,  note). 

'^2  The  upper  stories  are  stamped  with  other  names,  some  well  known  and  of  alato 
period— a  proof  of  the  higher  iintiquity  of  the  names  below. 

^3  His  name  (which  is  interpreted  "light  of  the  sun")  seems  to  have  been  pre- 
served by  a  tradition  which  turns  up,  curiously  enough,  as  late  as  the  time  of  Ovid, 
who,  in  the  fable  of  Clytia  aud  Leucothea,  mentions  Orchamus  as  the  seventh  in  suc- 
cession from  Belus  ("Metam."  iv.  212,  21C).  It  is  almost  snpertluous  to  remark  that 
the  classical  Behis  is  only  the  mythical  impersonation  of  Bel,  and  the  hero-eponymus 
of  Babylon. 

54  This  seems  to  be  the  territorial  designation  of  the  Hamites  of  Chaldtea. 

55  It  is  now  unfortunately  lost ;  but  Sir  R.  K.  Porter,  who  had  it,  has  left  an  engrav« 
ing  of  it  in  his  "Travels,"  which  is  copied  in  Eawlinson's  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  i. 
p.  Its  (first  edition). 

5«  This  element  is  seen  in  the  pretix  Kudur  and  in  the  termination  Khak,wh\c\i 


238  PRIMITIVE  KINGDOMS. 

iiated  by  the  title  of"  Ravager  of  the  West  "  (Apda  Martu), 
Now  Berosus  marks  a  distinction  between  the  Third  Dy- 
nasty of  11  kings  and  the  Fourth  of  49;  and  the  earliest 
biblical  record  of  a  conquering  king  (at  least  after  Ninirod) 
is  that  of  Chedorlaomer^k'mg  of  JSlam^^''  who — with  his  three 
associate  kings,  Amraphel,  king  of  Shinar,  Arioch,  king  of 
Ellasar,  and  Tidal,  king  of  nations — made  an  expedition 
against  the  cities  of  Canaan  on  the  Dead  Sea,  over  which  he 
had  already  ruled  for  twelve  years,  and  defeated  them  and 
the  neighboring  Amalekites  and  Amorites,  but  was  over- 
taken and  defeated  on  his  march  home  by  Abraham  and  his 
Amorite  allies,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Damascus. ^^  The 
Scripture  narrative  clearly  shows  that,  as  early  as  the  19th 
century  B.C.,  a  king,  who  was  at  the  head  of  a  confederacy 
of  several  states  (large  or  small),  with  its  seat  in  the  lower 
valley  of  the  Euphrates,  made  conquests  to  the  west  of  that 
river,  as  far  as  the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  but  was  finally  re- 
pulsed. Ekun^  the  kingdom  of  Chedorlaomer,  has  but  one 
meaning,  the  country  beyond  the  Tigris,  to  the  east  of  the 
Babylonian  plain,  which 'was  peopled  in  the  earliest  times 
by  a  Cushite  race.  Shijiar^  the  kingdom  of  Amraphel,  is 
Babylonia  itself,  especially  in  the  narrower  sense ;  and  the 
people  of  Amraphel  may  have  been  the  original  Semitic  pop- 
ulation, whose  chief  seat  was  Babylon.  The  name  ofArioc\ 
king  of  Ellasar,  seems  to  point  to  the  Aryan  element,  of 
whose  presence  in  Babylonia  we  have  other  evidence.  The 
"  nations  "  which  owned  Tidal  for  their  king  were  most  prob- 
ably the  Scythian  nomad  tribes,  Avhom  tradition  represents 
as  spreading  over  all  Western  Asia  in  the  earliest  times,  and 
whose  influence  lias  been  traced  in  the  Turanian  element  of 
the  old  Babylonian  language.  Such  a  combination  of  the 
four  great  races — Hamitic,  Semitic,  Aryan,  and  Turanian — is 
confirmed  by  the  name  of  Kiprath-arhat  (four  tongues  or  na-. 
tions),  given  to  the  people  of  Babylonia  in  the  cuneiform  in- 

appears  again  on  the  bricks  of  Susa  in  the  name  Tirhhak,  the  identity  of  which  with 
the  name  of  the  celebrated  Ethiopian  Tirhakah  confirms  the  Cushite  nationality. 
Ak  is  said  by  Josephus  to  mean  king  in  the  sacred  language  of  Egypt,  and  the  same 
element  survives  in  the  Turkish  Khakan.  Several  other  names  on  the  Chaldaean 
monuments,  of  torms  clearly  Turanian,  are  also  found  on  those  of  Susiana.  Besides 
these  points  of  agreement,  the  characters  of  the  Susiani;)n  inscriptions  bear  a  close 
resemblance  to  the  hieratic  writing  of  Babylonia.  On  the  state  of  Susiana  at  this  pe- 
riod, see  Sir  H.  Rawlinson,  "  Essay  VI."  etc.,  p.  44S. 

6T  This  name,  given  in  the  Septuagint  version  in  the  form  Chodollogomor,  is  ex 
plained  by  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  as  Kuchir-lagamer,  i.  e.  the  servant  of  Lagmner,  a  deity 
of  Elam  or  Susiana.  Sir  Henry  at  first  identified  Chedorlaomer  with  Klmdur-mapu- 
la;  but  he  now  regards  the  former  as  the  original  Susianian  conqueror  who  estab- 
lished his  domini<m  over  Babylonia,  and  the  latter  as  a  descendant,  of  far  inferior 
consequence.  The  date  of  the  4th  dynasty  of  Berosus  agrees  admirably  with  the  re- 
ceived date  of  Abraham.  (See  Prof.  Rawlinson's  "Five  Great  Monarchies,"  vol.  i 
p.  206.)  ^'^  Genesis  xiv.  1-16. 


EAKLY  KINGS  OF  BABYLON.  239 

scriptions.  The  mixture  lasted  (with  the  usual  change  of 
the  merging  of  the  Hamitic  element  in  the  Semitic)  under 
all  the  succeeding  empires,  so  that  the  Medo-Persian  kings 
found  it  necessary  to  publish  their  edicts  in  three  distinct 
languages ;  their  own,  which  was  Aryan ;  the  Assyrian, 
Avhich  was  Semitic;  and  the  Scythian  or  Turanian/^  From 
all  this  we  may  draw  the  conclusion  that,  about  the  time  of 
Abraham,  a  new  line  of  conquerors — but  still,  like  the  for- 
mer  dynasty,  of  Cushite  race — passed  the  Tigris  from  Elam 
into  Babylonia,  and  pushed  on  across  the  Euphrates  to  the 
banks  of  the  Jordan,  where,  however,  their  conquests  were 
but  temporary/" 

§  14.  The  extension  of  the  Babylonian  dominion  over  As- 
syria had  probably  been  eftected  under  the  previous  dynas- 
ty f'  but  we  have  distinct  evidence  of  that  dominion  about 
the  middle  of  the  19th  centur)^  b.c,  under  Ist^d  Dagon  (i.  e. 
Dagon  hears  hwi)^\\\\o^^  %o\\^  tihamas-iva  (or  Shamas-Vul), 
is  named,  in  a  celebrated  inscription  of  Tiglath-pileser  I.,  as 
the  builder  of  the  temple  of  Ann  at  Kileh-Sherghat,  on  the 
Upper  Tigris,  701  years  before  the  temple  was  restored  by 
the  Assyrian  king/^  SJiamas-iva  appears  to  have  been  a 
viceroy  of  Assyria,^^  w^hile  another  son  of  Tsmi-Dagon  (read 
doubtfully  Ibil-anu-duma)  is  styled  "governor  of  Hur."  The 
latter  built  the  public  cemeteries,  Avhich  are  the  most  con- 
spicuous, and  the  most  remarkable  for  their  construction,  of 
the  ruins  at  Muglielr.  N'qyru  (Calneh,  now  Niffer\  the  city 
of  Bel-Nipru^"  and  apparently  the  capital  of  the  northern 
tetrapolis  of  Babylonia,  is  mentioned  in  the  titles  of  Ismi- 
Dagon.  But  the  first  king  of  whom  records  have  been  found 
at  Babylon  itself  is  JSFaram-sin^  whose  name  is  inscribed  on 
an  alabaster  vase,^°  and  who  is  named  in  an  inscription  of 
Nabonidus,  the  last  king  of  Babylon,  as  the  builder  of  the 

*8  At  the  present  day,  the  Turkish  government  of  the  country  issues  proclamations 
in  its  own  Turanian  language,  in  the  Semitic  Arabic,  and  in  the  Aryan  Persian. 

«o  Those  who  identify  "Ur  of  the  Chasdim"  with  the  Hur  of  Babylonia  regard  the 
migration  of  Terah's  family  as  part  of  a  great  movement  of  Semitic  colonization,  of 
which  the  migration  of  the  Phoenicians  was  another  wave.  Nay,  as  Sir  H.  Rawlin- 
8on  observes,  the  expedition  of  Chedorlaomer,  at  the  head  of  four  tribes,  over  2000 
miles  of  country,  looks  itself  like  a  movement  of  colonization.  Mr.  Poole  suggests  a 
connection  between  this  great  westward  displacement  of  Semites  and  the  invasion 
of  Egypt  by  the  Hyksos. 

^1  Especially  according  to  the  marginal  reading  of  Genesis  x.  11 :  see  above,  §  7. 

*2  See  Notes  and  Illustrations  (A). 

^3  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  observes  that  Assyria  seems  at  this  time  to  have  been 
weak  and  insignificant,  administered  ordinarily  by  Babylonian  satraps,  whose  office 
was  one  of  no  great  rank  or  dignity.  The  titles  of  three  or  four  of  them,  on  a  tablet 
discovered  at  Kilch-Sherghat,  belong  to  the  most  humble  class  of  dignities.  The 
name  oi  Assyria  never  once  occurs  on  the  old  Babylonian  monuments. 

«4  See  above,  p.  236,  note  50. 

^^  Some  authorities  hold  this  inscription  to  be  one  of  the  most  ancient  in  Babj« 
louia. 


240  rRIMITIVE  KINGDOMS. 

great  temple  at  Sippara  (Sepharvaim,  now  Mosaih),  anothei 
city  of  the  northern   tetrapolis,  which    Berosus   makes  the 
phu'e  where  Xisuthrus  (on  the  eve  of  the  Dehige)  hid  the 
tables  containing  the  sacred  law/'     These  memorials  tend 
to  show  that  the  seat  of  power  had  been  transferred  to  the 
northern  tetrapolis  about  the  middle  of  the  18th  century  b:c. 
The  earliest  use  of  the  title  of  "  King  of  Babylon"  is  by  Me- 
rodacJi-namana  (but  the  reading  is  doubtful),  on  the  bricks 
of  a  pavement  at  the  great  Bovmrieh  mound  at  Warka  (the 
ancient  Erech),  which  contains  the  ruins  of  the  temple  built 
by  Urukh  to  Beltis.     From  the  titles  of  Sin-shada  on  the 
ui3per  bricks  of  the  same  temple,  it  appears  that  Erech  was 
the  capital  of  Lower  Babylonia  about  b.c.  1700.     Among 
several  other  kings,  whose  names  are  compounds  of  Sin  (the 
Moon),  Tarsin  is  distinguished'as  the  founder  of  a  remarka- 
ble city  of  unknown  name,  the  ruins  of  which  are  now  called 
Abu-Sharein.     Parnapuriyas   rej\nired   ITrukh's    temple  of 
the  Sun  at  Senkereli   (Larsa) ;  and  his  son,  JJurrl-gcdazu  (or 
Kouri-galzu)^  built  a  fortress  on  the  Assyrian  frontier  {Him 
Durrigcdazu),  which  is  mentioned  long  after  on  an  inscrip- 
tion ot'Sargon,  and  the  site  of  which  is  marked  by  the  great 
ruins  of  the   Td-Nimrud,  at  Akkerktif''  N.W.  of  Bagdad: 
while  his  very  name  is  still  preserved  by  the  ruined  city  of 
Zergul^  near  the  confluence  of  the  Shat-el-IIie  with  tho  Eu- 
phrates.    The  close  of  this  important  dynasty  seems  to  be 
marked  by  Kharmnaruhi  and  his  son  Shanisi-luna^  many  of 
whose  clay  tablets  have  been  found  at  Tel-Sifr  and  Baby 
Ion.""     The  former  was  conspicuous  for  the  greatness  of  his 
works.     Besides  repairing  the  temple  of  the  Sun  at  Senkereh, 
and  building  a  palace   a^t  Kalwadha,^''  near  Bagdad,  it  has 
been   recently  discovered    that  Khammarubi  was  the  con- 
structor of  the  Old  Royal  Canal,  or  Canal  of  Khammaruhi, 
as  he  calls  it  in  an  inscription,  which  records  how  he  carried 
the  waters  to  the  desert  plains  and  dry  ditches,  and  gath- 
ered the  people  of  Sionir  and  Accad  (the  two  chief  races  in 
Babylonia)  into  cities.     A  tablet  in  the  British  Museum  has 
the  names  of  twenty-two  kings  after  Khammarubi ;  and  the 
whole  number  of  royal  names  discovered  is  nearly  50,  a  near 
correspondence  with  the  60  kings  of  the  Third  and  Fourth 
Dynasties  of  Berosus. 

es  Another  reading  ascribes  this  to  Sagaraktiyas,  the  father  of  Naram-sin. 

B'^  The  ruins  thempelves  are  of  the  Parthian  period. 

68  There  is  also  in  the  British  Museum  a  intone  tablet,  said  to  have  been  brought 
from  Babylon,  engraved  with  the  name  and  titles  of  Khammarnbi. 

«9  This,  the  traditional  city  of  Hermes,  is  interesting  both  as  the  source  from  which 
some  writers  have  traced  the  name  of  Chaldrenn,  and  as  the  spot  where  the  ark  of  the 
covenant  was  believed  to  have  been  buried  during  tlie  Babyh)uian  captivity  of  the 
J«ws.     (See  Sir  H.  Rawliiison.  "  Essay  VI."  etc.,  p.  440,  note.) 


EARLY  KINGS  OF  BABYLON.  241 

§  15.  The  end  of  the  latter  dynasty,  a  liltle  before  b.c. 
1500,  according  to  the  chronological  scheme  given  above, 
corresponds  very  nearly  with  the  most  probable  epoch  of 
the  expulsion  of  the  Shepherds  from  Egypt  and  the  begin- 
Tiino;  of  the  Asiatic  conquests  of  the  Egyptian  kings  of  the 
XVIIIth  dynasty.  We  have  seen  that  those  conquests  ex- 
tended into  Mesopotamia  and  Assyria,  and  that  both  Nine- 
veh and  Babylon  paid  tribute  to  the  Pliaraohs.  We  have 
also  seen  that  the  Upper  country,  at  least,  was  held  by  a 
number  of  tribes,  comprised  under  the  general  name  of  Mo- 
tennou,  each  ruled  by  the  king  of  its  chief  city,  who  again 
and  again  made  submission  to  Egypt.  All  this  indicates 
that  Assyria  had  become  independent  of  the  southern  king- 
dom, but  was  not  yet  organized  into  a  kingdom  of  her  own, 
and  that  the  southern  kingdom  itself  had  correspondingly 
declined.  Now  it  is  just  durhig  this  period  of  Egyptian  su- 
premacy in  W^estern  Asia,  from  the  conquests  of  Thothmes  I. 
to  the  last  victories  of  Rameses  III ,  that  Berosus  represents 
nine  "Arabian  "  kings  as  ruling  at  Babylon  for  245  years.'" 
This  indicates  the  overthrow  of  the  old  "Chaldean"  mon- 
archy by  a  new  Semitic  conquest  or  revolution  ;  but  wdiether 
the  new  rulers  were  the  kings  of  an  organized  state  ;  or 
tribes  that  poured  over  the  land  as  the  sands  of  the  desert 
encroach  beyond  the  boundary  of  tlie  Euphrates  ;  or  the 
Semitic  population  of  Babylonia  itself,  shaking  off  the  yoke 
of  their  masters ;  and  Avhether  the  chai>ge  was  connected 
with  the  Egyptian  conquests  as  cause  or  as  effect — all  these 
are  questions  awaiting  solution. 

The  theory,  that  these  "Arabians"  represent  the  growing 
power  of  the  Hittites,  anticipates  the  epoch  of  that  power, 
and  seems  contradicted  by  the  Egyptian  monuments,  which 
never  place  the  Kheta^  but  always  the  Rotennou,  in  Mesopo- 
tamia. A  more  plausible  opinion  connects  them  with  a  great 
wave  of  Semitic  pressure  towards  the  East,  set  in  motion 
by  the  expulsion  of  the  Shepherds  from  Egypt.  A  curious 
tradition  is  preserved  in  a  book  on  "  Nabatli^an  Agricul- 
ture," written  at  Babylon  about  the  beginning  of  the  Chris- 
tian era,  and  translated  into  Arabic  in 'the  10th  century,  that 
a  dynasty  of  Canaanite  kings  succeeded,  after  long  conflicts, 
in  supplanting  the  Chaldaean  dynasty  in  Babylonia.  The 
chronographer,  George  Syncellus,  gives  the  names  of  six 
kings  of  the  Arab  dynasty  ;  but  it  is  remarkable  that  tlieir 
forms  are  distinctly  Babylonian.  One  o^  them^KahiKS,  may 
be   identified  with  JVabou,  which  is  stamped  on  the  bricks 

^0  The  number  of  kings  is  scarcely  adequate  to  the  uumber  of  year?,  unless  they 
indicate  the  supremacy  of  tribes. 

11 


242  PRIMITIVE  KINGDOMS. 

both  of  Erech  and  of  Babylon.''  The  end  of  this  Arab  dy^ 
nasty  appears  to  be  connected  with  that  great  uprising  of 
Mesopotamia  Avhich  led  to  the  campaigns  of  Rameses  III. 
It  was  followed  by  the  establishment  of  an  independent  king- 
dom at  Nineveli,  besides  which  that  of  Babylon  continued 
for  about  six  centuries  and  a  half,  sometimes  in  subjection, 
and  oftener  at  war,  till  she  recovered  the  supremacy  under 
the  new  Chaldaean  dynasty  of  Nabopolassar. 

§  16.  Throughout  this  summary  of  the  earliest  history  of 
Babylonia,  weliave  been  careful  to  avoid,  as  far  as  possible, 
tlie  use  of  the  words  Chaldma  and  Chaldcmn^  except  in  the 
strictly  geographical  sense  attached  to  them  by  the  classical 
writers.  ^  Recent  writers,"  chiefly  on  the  authority  of  Bero- 
sus,  speak  of  the  early  Babylonian  kingdom  as  the  Chal- 
dcean  Monarchy,  just  as  if  the  name  were  indisputably  a  na- 
tive one.  But  the  fact  is,  that  the  word  is  neither  used  in 
any  original  history  nor  in  any  contemporary  inscription. 
In  Scripture,  the  land  is  Shinar,  and  neither  Nimrod  nor 
Chedorlaomer  is  called  a  Chaldmm  (either  in  that  form  or 
in  the  Hebrew  form  of  Chasdim).  As  to  the  inscriptions, 
let  us  hear  one  of  the  highest  authorities  in  cuneiform  lit- 
erature : 

"  It  is  particularly  loortJiy  of  remark  that,  throughout  the 
series  of  legends  "  (i.  e.  mscri2)tions,  not  fables)  "  which  re- 
main to  us  of  the  kings  ofllur  and  Accad,  the  name  of  Chai.- 
DJEX  never  once  occurs  in  a  smgle  sentence.  It  would  be  haz- 
ardous to  assert,  on  the  strength  of  this  negative  evidence, 

"1  Two  others  of  these  names  are  Merodach  and  Bel,  the  tutelary  deities  of  Babylon 
and  Borsippa  ;  and  the  position  of  the  whole  six,  in  immediate  succession  to  the 
seven  primitive  Chaldoeans,  seems  to  break  their  connection  with  the  Arabian  dy- 
nasty of  Berosus. 

72  Especially  Professor  Rawlinsou,  in  the  First  Book  of  his  "  Five  Great  Mon- 
archies of  the  Ancient  Eastern  WorM."  The  phrase  in  the  text  is  not  meant  to  im- 
ply that  Berosus  is  the  only  authority  for  this  use  of  the  word.  But  the  other  argu- 
ments can  not  be  considered  as  more  than  confirmatory ;  and  the  chief  of  them— 
the  mention  in  Scripture  of  "  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  "—is  to  a  great  extent  a  pctmo  prin- 
inpii:  rather  amusingly  so  when  (for  instance)  it  is  said  that  "  Casdim  has  been  de- 
rived from  Chesed,  the  son  of  Nahor  (Gen.  xxii.  22) ;  but,  if  Ur  was  alreadii  a  city  of 
■he  Casdim  before  Abrahavi  quitted  it,  the  name  of  Casdim  can  not  possibly  have  been 
derived  from  his  nephew."  ("  Diet,  of  Bible,"  s.  v.)  Not  to  stand  upon  the  previous 
question,  concerning  the  correctness  of  the  rendering  of  "  Ur  Chasdim''  by  Ur  of  the 
Chaldees,  we  must  remember  that  it  is  merely  a  translation,  and  that  the  identiflca- 
ti(m  of  the  names  rests,  therefore,  on  the  authority  of  the  LXX.  ;  so  that  the  question 
is_"What  did  they  understand  by  the  Chaldees f"  Unless  both  Ur  and  Chaldma 
could  be  shown  to  have  a  single  and  definite  sense  (the  contrary  of  which  is  the  fact), 
and  unless  it  could  be  proved  that  the  people  of  Babylonia  were  Chasdim,  the.  dis- 
tinctive epithet  Chasdim  might  be  an  argument  as  much  against,  as  for,  the  Ur  on 
the  Euphrates.  M.  Oppert  maintains  that  Ur-Chasdim  is  simply  the  Babylonian  for 
"  Land  of  the  Two  Rivers"  =  Mesopotamia.  In  the  three  passages  of  SS.,  where 
alor^e-it  occurs,  it  may  quite  as  Avell  denote  a  country  as  a  city  (Gen.  xi.  28;  xv.  7; 
Nehem.  ix.  7).  The  Ur-Chasdim  of  these  passages  is  represented  by  "  the  land  of  the 
Chaldees"  in  Acts  vii.  4:  and  in  Gen.  xv.  7,  it  is  contrasted  with  the  land  given  by 
God  to  Abraham ;  and  it  is  never  called  expressly  a  city. 


THE  NAME  OF  CHALD^A. 


243 


that  the  Chaldseans  had  no  existence  in  the  country  during 
the  age  in  question ;  but  thus  much  is  cei'tain,  that  thev 
could  not  have  been  the  dominant  race  at  the  time,  and  that 
Berosus,  therefore,  in  naming  the  dynasty  Chaldcean^  must 
have  used  tliat  term  in  a  geographical^  rather  than  in  an  eth- 
nological^ sense.  The  name  of  Kaldai  (or  Kaldi)  for  the 
ruling  tribes  on  the  Lower  Euphrates  is  first  met  with  in 
the  Assyrian  inscriptions  which  date  from  the  early  part  of 
the  9th  century  b.c.'"^ 

This  mention  of  the  name,  however,  is  valuable  as  show- 
ing that  it  was  a  distinctive  appellation  of  Lower  Mesopota- 
mia long  before  its  well-known  use  under  the  later  Babylo- 
nian empire  ;  and  the  continuity  of  the  religious  system,  then 
known  as  Ghaldcean,  with  that  represented  by  the  earliest 
temple-towers  is  an  argument  for  the  continuity  of  the  name 
in  this  coiinection.  Who  the  Chalda?ans  were,  and  whence 
they  derived  their  origin,  will  be  best  considered  when  their 
name  appears  unmistakably  in  history.'* 

■^3  Sir  H.  C.  Rawlinson,  "  Appendix  to  Herod."  Book  i.  Essay  VI.,  in  Prof.  Rawliu- 
son's  "  Herodotus,"  vol.  i.  p.  449.     See  Notes  and  Illustrations  (B). 

T4  The  Hebrew  Chasdim,  which  the  LXX.  and  following  translators  render  Chaldcea 
and  Chaldcearhs,  never  occurs  before  the  time  of  the  later  Babylonian  empire— when 
it  is  constantly  applied  to  the  king  and  people,  as  well  as  to  the  learned  class  (as  in 
Da niVO— except  in  one  passage,  where  the  "  bands  of  Chasdim  "  join  the  "  Scboeans  " 
in  harrying  the  propei'ty  of  Job  (Job  i.  15-1 T).  This  passage  is  a  good  proof  that  the 
name  denotes  a  tribe,  and  not  merely  a  class;  but  the  scene  of  the  book  of  Job  is 
not  certain  enough  to  give  an  argument  for  the  locality  of  this  tribe.  The  question 
is  very  much  that  of  Ur  over  again. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


(A.)    EARLY  BABYLONIAX  CHRONOLOGY. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  date  of 
B.C.  245S  (given  at  p.  233)  is  to  be  taken  as 
an  ascertained  chronological  epoch  ;  but 
it  is  desirable  to  show  the  results  which 
would  be  obtained  by  accepting  the  sys- 
tem of  Berosus,  which  acceptance  can  only 
be  made  when  they  are  confirmed,  as  in 
the  Tth  and  Sth  (and  to  some  extent  in  the 
Gth)  dynasties,  by  positive  historical  infor- 
mation. Beyond  that  limit  the  degree  of 
their  probability  depends  on  the  value  we 
may  assign  to  the  astronomical  computa- 
tions which  we  know  to  have  been  kept  by 
the  Chaldaean  jiriests  much  more  perfect- 
ly than  by  the  Egyptians.  But  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that,  in  both  cases,  the  al- 
leged observations  are  simply  computa- 
tions backward  according  to  an  artificial 
system.  The  statement  that  Callisthenes, 
who  accompanied  Alexander  to  Babylon. 


was  able  to  send  thence  to  Aristotle  a  se- 
ries of  astronomical  observations  taken  by 
the  Chaldasans  for  an  unbroken  period  of 
1903  years,  rests  on  a  false  reading :  the 
true  reading,  31,000  5'ears,  proves  the  arti- 
ficial nature  of  the  chronology.* 

Sir  Henry  Kawlinson  gives  other  com- 
putations of  the  traditional  date  of  the 
Chaldsean  kingdom. t 


Greek  Era  of  Phoroneus 
(see  Clinton  "  F.  H.," 
vol.  i.  p.  1)59) 

Observations  at  Babylon] 
before  that  time  (accord-^ 
ing  to  Berosus) ) 


Years. 

•..c.    1753 


480 


.o.    2233t 


*  Simplicius,  "Ad  Aristot.  de  Ccelo,"  ii.  p.  423.  See 
Oppert,  "  Histoire  de  Chald^e  et  d'Assyric,"  p.  7. 

t  For  the  details  see  Sir  H.  Rawlinson,  "  Kesav  Vl. 
to  Herod.  L."  p.  434. 

t  See  Plin.  "  H.  N."  vii.  56. 


244 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Yeara. 

Age  of  Semiramis,  or  date> 
of  siege  of  Troy  (accord-  >  u.c.    1229 
ing  to  Hellauicus) ) 

Babylon  bnilt  before  that)  j^Q^g 

time j 

B.C.    2231* 

Era  of  Ariphron  at  Athens . .  u.c.     826 
Duration  of  the  Assyrian)  -,,^,. 

monarchy ...../  ^* 

2286 
Deduct  reign  of  Beliis  55 

15.0.    2231 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  numbers 
lead  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  Third  Dii- 
nasty  of  Berosus,  the  first  of  the  two  which 
he  calls  "  Chaldajan,"  i.  e.  native  dynasties 
of  Babylonia,  to  the  exclusion  of  his  "  Me- 
dian" dynasty.  The  probable  reasons  for 
considering  the  overthrow  of  the  last- 
named  dynasty,  or  rather  domination,  as 
the  proper  beginning  of  the  earliest  Baby- 
lonian kingdom  are  given  in  the  text  (p. 
230). 

Another  remarkable  sequence  of  uum- 
berst  leads  up  to  the  accession  of  one  of 
the  kings  named  on  the  very  early  in- 
scriptions, by  putting  together  the  data 
furnished  by  the  inscriptions  of  certain 
Assyrian  kings ;  the  summary  being  as 
follows : 

Years. 

Date    of   Bavian    inscrip-) 
tion  (10th  year  of  Sena- V  u.c.     0y2 
cherib) ) 

Defeat  of  Tiglath-pileser  J.)  418 

by  Meiodach-adan-akhi.  j  years  before. 

Interval  between  the  de-)  -.f. 

feat  and  the  building  of  V         _„7„ 
the  temple  (say) j  y earb. 

Demolition    of    the    tem-)  60 

pie j"  years  before. 

Period   during  which  the)  041 

temple  had  stood /  years. 

Allow  for  two  generations)  a^, 

(Shamas-Vul   and   Ismi-V  „^*" 

Dagon) )  y^'^'^- 

Date  of  Ismi-Dagon's  ac-)  ^o«i 

cession f. T^-*^-    ^^^^ 

The  monuments  mention  several  kings 
who  were  almost  certainly  before  Ismi- 
Dagon. 

(B.)  ON  THE  CHALD.EANS  AND  THE  AKKAD. 

The  following  quotation  from  Sir  Henry 
Rawlinsont  gives  a  fair  view  of  the  opin- 
ions noAV  generally  entertained  by  cunei- 
form scholars  (with  some  not  very  impor- 
tant modifications)  on  this  important  but 
diflBcult  question:    "It  is  only  recently 

*  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  BaiSrXwv. 
t  See  Sir  H.  Rawlinson,  "  Essay  VI."  p.  433. 
t  Note   to   Herod,  i.  181,  in   Rawlinson's  "Herodo- 
tus," vol.i.  p.  319. 


that  the  darkness  which  has  so  long  en- 
veloped  the  history  of  the  Chaldseans  has 
been  cleared  up,  but  we  are  now  able  to 
present  a  tolerably  clear  account  of  them. 
The  Chaldteans,  then,  appear  to  have  been 
a  branch  of  the  great  Haniite  race  of  Ak- 
kad,  which  inhabited  Babylonia  from  the 
earliest  times.  With  this  race  originated 
the  art  of  writing,  the  building  of  cities, 
the  institution  of  a  religions  system,  and 
the  cultivation  of  all  science,  and  of  as- 
tronomy in  particular.  The  language  of 
these  uikkad  presents  affinities  with  the 
African  dialects  on  the  one  side,  and  with 
the  Turanian,  or  those  of  High  Asia,  on 
the  other.  It  stands  somewhat  in  the 
same  relation  as  the  Egyptian  to  the  Se- 
mitic languages,  belonging,  as  it  would 
seem,  to  the  great  parenr-stock  ""nm  which 
the  trunk-stream  of  thu  Seiniiis  tongues 
also  sprung,  before  there  wn^  a  ramifica- 
tion of  Semitic  dialects,  and  before  Semit- 
ism  even  had  become  subject  to  its  pe- 
culiar organization  and  developments.  In 
this  primitive  Akkadian  tongue  (which  I 
have  been  accustomed  generally  to  de- 
nominate Scythic,  from  its  near  connec- 
tion with  the  Scythic  dialect  of  Persia) 
were  preserved  all  the  scientific  treatises 
known  to  the  Babylonians,  long  after  the 
Semitic  element  had  become  predominant 
in  the  land — it  was,  in  fact,  the  language 
of  science  in  the  East,  as  the  Latin  was  in 
Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

"  When  Semitic  tribes  established  an 
empire  in  Assyria  in  the  13th  century  n.c, 
they  adopted  the  alphabet  of  the  Akkad, 
and  with  certain  modifications  applied  it 
to  their  own  language;  but  during. the 
seven  centuries  which  followed  of  Semitic 
dominion  at  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  this 
Assyrian  language  was  merely  used  for 
historical  records  and  official  documents. 
The  mythological,  astronomical,  and  oth- 
er scientific  tablets  found  at  Nineveh  are 
exclusively  in  the  Akkadian  language, 
and  are  thus  shown  to  belong  to  a  priest- 
class,  exactly  answering  to  the  Chaldseans 
of  profane  history  and  of  the  hook  of 
Daniel. 

"We  thus  see  how  it  is  that  the  Chal- 
dseaus  (taken  generally  for  the  Akkad)  are 
spoken  of  in  the  prophetical  books  of 
Scripture  as  composing  the  armies  of  the 
Semitic  kings  of  Babylon,  and  as  the  gen- 
eral inhabitants  of  the  country,  while  in 
other  authorities  they  are  distinguished  . 
as  philosophers,  astronomers,  and  magi- 
cians—as, in  fact,  the  special  depositaries 
of  science. 

"It  is  further  very  interesting  to  find 
that  parties  of  these  Chaldaean  Akkad  were 
transplanted  by  the  Assyrian  kings  from 
the  plains  of  Babylon  to  the  Armenian 
mountains  in  the  8th  and  7th  ceuturiee 


NOTES  AN13  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


245 


B.C.,  and  that  this  translation  took  place 
lo  such  an  extent  that  in  the  inscriptions 
of  Sargon  the  geographical  name  oi  Akkacl 
is  sometimes  applied  to  the  mountains, 
instead  of  the  vernacular  title  of  Xararat 
or  Ararat— an  excellent  illustration  being 
thus  afforded  of  the  notices  of  Chaldseaus 
in  this  quarter  by  so  many  of  the  Greek 
historians  and  geographers.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  both  the  Georgian  and  Armenian 
languages  at  the  present  day  retain  many 
traces  of  the  old  Chaldsean  speech  that 
was  thus  introduced  into  the  country  2500 
years  ago." 

Further  light  is  thrown  on  the  Akk'ad 
and  their  literature  by  the  following  re- 
marks of  a  more  recent  writer  (in  the 
"British  and  Foreign  Review,"  No.  102, 
January,  1870,  vol.  li.  p.  305) :  "The  valley 


miri  or  Kassi  were  a  foreign  tribe,  called 
by  the  Babylonians  Lisan-Kalhi,  or  '  the 
dog-tongueci,'*  probably  in  allusion  to 
their  strange  language.  They  were  most 
probably  a  branch  of  the  tribes  called  Cos- 
scei,  CuNm,  and  Cissu,  by  classical  writ- 
ers.t  These  tribes  lived  to  the  east  of 
Babylonia ;  and  their  dominion  in  that 
country  is  probably  alluded  to  in  the  book 
of  Genesis  x.  S-12.  As  the  Surniri  appear 
to  have  been  foreigners,  it  is  natural  to 
suppose  that  the  other  tribe,  the  Akkadi, 
represents  the  original  inhabitants  of 
Babylonia  ;  and  we  find  that  in  early  in- 
scriptions the  country  is  called  Kingi-Ak- 
kad  and  Mat-Akkad,  'the  country  of  Ak- 
kad.' 

"The  language  of  the  Akkadi,  who  origi- 
nally used  the  cuneiform  signs,  was  differ- 


FifTures  from  the  Sifjnet  Cj-linder  of  King  Uruk. 


of  th?  Euphrates  was  the  seat  of  a  very 
early  civilization,  and  the  birthplace  of 
many  of  the  arts  and  sciences  known  to 
the  classical  nations  of  antiquity.  Baby- 
lonia was  inhabited  at  an  early  period  by 
a  race  of  people  entirely  different  from 
the  Semitic  population  known  in  historic 
times.  This  people  had  an  abundant  lit- 
erature; and  they  were  the  inventors  of 
a  system  of  writing  which  was  at  first 
hieroglyphic,  but  gradually  changed  into 
what  is  called  the  cuneiform  or  arrow- 
headed   character Of  the  people 

who  invented  this  system  of  writing  very 
little  is  known  with  certainty;  and  even 
their  name  is  a  matter  of  doubt.  In  the 
early  Semitic  period  we  find  Babjionia  in- 
habited by  two  races,  who  were  called  the 
Sumiri  or  Kassi,  and  the  A kkadi.    The  Su- 


ent  from  any  known  to  have  existed  in  the 
country  in  historic  times."  Some  of  its 
peculiarities  are  described,  and  the  writer 
proceeds:  "These  and  similar  peculiari- 
ties in  its  structure  mark  the  Akkad  as  de- 
cidedly diff'erent  from  any  Semitic  tongue. 
The  earliest  cuneiform  texts  are  written  in 
the  Akkad  language,  and  well  exhibit  the 
peculiarities  of  its  vocabulary  and  gram- 
mar." Among  the  examples  from  llaw- 
linson  and  Norris's  "Cuneiform  Inscrip- 
tions of  Western  Asia,"  stamped  on  the 
bricks  of  Babylonian  temples,  that  of 
Urukh  is  cited,  and  the  writer  proceeds : 

*  Lisan-Kalbi  is  only  the  Semitic  translation  ;  how 
the  Akkad  people  pronounced  the  words  when  they 
gave  this  name  to  Sumir  is  quite  unknown. 

t  Herod,  iii.  91,  v.  49  ;  Stnibo,  xi.  p.  744  ;  Diod.  xviL 
HI:  Pliny,  vi. -27,3.  31. 


246 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


"But  the  bulk  of  the  Akkad  literature 
consists  of  a  large  number  of  inscriptions, 
chiefly  mythological,  which  were  original- 
ly preserved  in  the  libraries  of  Babylo- 
nia, and  afterwards  copied  in  Assyria,  and 
accompanied  by  interlinear  translations, 
to  explain  the  Akkad  to  the  Assyrians. 
Their  subject  matter,  as  a  general  rule, 
consists  of  lists  of  gods,  hymns  and  prayers 
to  the  gods,  accounts  of  the  influence  of 
various  evil  spirits  to  whom  diseases  were 
attributed,  and  prayers  against  them.  .  .  . 
Real  historical  matter  is  very  scarce  in 
these  early  tablets  ;  but  Ave  have  part  of 
an  inscription  of  one  early  Babylonian 
king  with  an  Assyrian  translation. 

"Such  is  the  character  of  the  earliest 
literary  collections  of  Babylonia  ;  and  the 
Akkad  language,  in  which  they  were  writ- 
ten, probabb'  continued  in  use  in  that 


country  down  to  the  close  of  the  16th  cen- 
tury B.C.,  and,  for  some  ofticial  documents, 
even  to  a  much  later  period.  At  some 
time  anterior  to  the  19th  century  u.o.,  the 
valley  of  the  Euphrates  was  conquered  by 
a  Semitic  race.  Of  the  origin  of  this  race 
we  at  present  know  nothing  :  it  is  possi- 
ble that  they  may  have  been  the  same  as 
the  Sumiri  or  Kassi,  at  one  time  the  lead- 
ing tribe  in  Babylonia.  .  .  .  The  Semitic 
conquerors,  whoever  they  were,  gradually 
imposed  their  own  language  on  the  coun- 
try ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  they  borrowed 
the  system  of  writing  in  use  there.  From 
the  time  of  the  Semitic  conquest  the  de- 
cline of  the  Akkad  language  began,  and 
a  period  of  mixed  texts  (part  Akkad  and 
part  Semitic)  commenced.  It  is  rare  that 
we  find  a  text  of  any  length  purely  Se- 
mitie." 


The  Mesopotamian  Plain. 


CHAPTER  XL 

EARLY   HISTORY   OF  ASSYRIA.       THE   MYTHICAL   LEGENDS  :    AND 
THE    EARLIER    KINGS    OF    THE    OLD    MONARCHY. 

I  1.  Sources  of  Assyrian  History.  Vague  notions  of  the  Greeks.  §  2.  The  mythica' 
legend  of  Ctesias— of  Persian  origin.  §  3.  Ninus,  the  liero-ejionjimus  of  Nineveh. 
§  4.  Skmiramis— her  divine  birth— her  works  at  Babylon  and  throughout  Asia— 
her  ciniquests,  defeat  in  India,  and  apotheosis.  Nature  of  the  myth,  §  5.  Niny- 
AS,  and  his  successors,  down  to  Sardanapai.us,  types  of  the  Achaemenid  kings  of 
Persia.  §  6.  Duration  of  the  Assyrian  Empire,  according  to  Herodotus  and  Bero- 
sus.  Two  distinct  periods.  The  Wpper  and  Lower  Dynasties.  §  7.  Evidences  in 
the  cuneiform  inscriptions  of  an  early  Assyrian  kingdom.  Different  classes  and 
authority  of  those  inscriptions.  §  S.  Interpretation  of  the  Assyrian  Royal  Names. 
§  9.  The  original  territory  of  Assyria.  Its  ancient  tetrapolis.  'its  four  capitals  at 
Khorsabad,  Mosul,  Ximrud,  and  Kileh-Sherfihat.  Ruins  of  Cai.aii  at  Nimrud,  and 
of  Assnuu  at  Kileh-Sherghat.  Question  of'site  of  Resen.  Full  extent  of  Nineveh. 
Other  cities  of  Assyria.  §10.  The  Assyrians  a  Semitic  people.  Their  derivation 
from  Babylonia.  Early  Scriptural  notices  of  Assyria.  Its  relations  to  Mesopota- 
mia. §  11.  Classical  accounts  of  its  early  history.  Their  little  value.  The  Caiwn 
of  Ptolemy.  §12.  Babylonian  Ivscri2)tion.s  rc\a{in<x  to  Ansyrin.  Beginning  of  au 
independent  kingdom.  §  13.  Oldest  Assyrian  Inscri2itiom  at  Kileh-Sherghat. 
First  series  of  six  kings.  Suai-manksek  I.,  the  founder  of  Calah,  at  Ximrud,  and 
the  first  known  conqueror.  §  14.  Tiglathi-Nin,  the  conquerru-  of  Babylonia. 
State  of  that  country  during  the  Assyrian  Empire.  First  date  in  the  cuneiform 
records.  §  15.  Second  series  of  six  kings.  Tioi.ATn-pu.i-GEU  L  His  cylinders  at 
Kileh-Sherghat.  His  predecessors.  §  IG.  Conquests  recorded  in  his  annals.  His 
mode  of  warfare— cruelties.  His  hunting  exploits.  §17.  State  of  Assyria  at  this 
period.  §  IS.  His  defeat  in  Babylonia.  §  19.  His  effigy  and  inscription.  §  20. 
Gap  iu  the  Assyrian  History. 

§  1.  Assyria  is  best  known  to  classical  students  in  con- 
nection with  some  of  the  most  famous  fictions  which  the 
(4reek  writers  have  handed  down  to  us  concerning  the  East. 
The  accurate  notices  of  the  Scriptures  are  so  few  and  de- 


248  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ASSYRIA. 

tached,  that  tliey  only  served  but  very  partially  to  correct 
the  classic  fables;  till  the  excavations  made  by  Mr.  Layard 
and  M.  Botta,  and  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  translated  by 
Sir  Henry  Kawlinson,  Dr.  Hincks,  M.  Oppert,  and  others, 
brought  the  whole  series  of  native  Assyrian  annals  within 
the  range  of  history.  Even  the  name  has  no  definite  mean- 
ing in  the  classical  authors ;  the  most  painstaking  of  whom, 
while  pointing  out  the  confusion  made  by  the  Greeks  of  As 
Syria  with  Syria^  on  the  one  hand/  includes  in  it  Babylonia^ 
on  the  other  f  and  he  shows  his  vague  use  of  the  word  by 
the  distinctive  mention  of  "  those  of  the  Assyrians  w^ho  pos- 
sessed Nineveh."^  Contrast  with  this  the  exactness  of  the 
primeval  Scripture  notices  of  Assyria,  as  the  land  into  tuhich 
the  Tigris  flows  easiward^^  and  as  quite  distinct  from  the  land 
of  Shinar.^ 

The  political  Assyria  of  the  Greek  historians  is,  in  fiict,  a 
general  name  for  the  whole  series  of  kingdoms  and  empires 
which  succeeded  one  another  in  the  valley  of  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates,  from  a  mythical  antiquity  to  the  time  of  Cyrus; 
but  with  some  idea,  more  or  less  clear  in  the  various  writers, 
of  the  distinction  between  the  last  Babylonian  empire  and 
its  predecessors.  Of  the  succession  and  duration  of  those 
empires,  Herodotus  alone,  as  we  sliall  presently  see,  had  some 
idea. 

§  2.  The  stories  which  were  repeated  for  above  two  tliou- 
sand  years,  down  to  our  time,  as  the  early  history  of  As- 
syria, are  legends  of  lieroes  and  a  heroine,  conceived  in  an 
Oriental  spirit,  and  dressed  up  in  the  Greek  mythical  vein. 
Such  facts  as  they  may  embrace  are — as  in  the  parallel,  but 
less  exaggerated,  legend  ofSesostris — gathered  up  from  va- 
rious periods  into  a  single  picture,  and  colored  from  pure 
imagination.  Their  great  source  is  betrayed  by  the  chief 
Greek  writer  who  repeats  them,  Ctesias  ;  who,  while  exalt- 
ing his  own  authority  above  Herodotus,  is  a  most  untrust- 
worthy witness  on  Oriental  history.  His  very  op])ortunities 
of  information,  at  the  court  of  Artaxerxes,  were  liis  greatest 
snare,  for  in  every  age  the  Persians   have   been   singularly 

1  Herod,  vii.  63.  For  instances  of  the  confusion  in  classical  writers— as  Xenophon, 
etc.,  down  to  Pliny  and  Mela— and  for  the  essential  difference  between  the  names, 
see  Rawlinson's  note,  I.  c.  S^ria  is  probably  (by  a  softening  of  s  for  ts)  the  Greek 
name  for  the  land  of  Tare  {Tmr)  ;  while  Assyria  is  the  Semitic  Asshur.  If  we  look 
in  the  Old  Testament  for  the  Semitic  name  of  Sjria,  we  alwaj's  find  Aram,  i.e.,  the 
Hir/hkinds  (as  distinguished  from  the  valley  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  and  perhaps 
from  the  comparatively  low  lands  of  Canaan). 

2  Herod,  i.  178.  He  calls  Babylon  "the  most  renowned  and  strongest  city  of  As- 
syria" (in  the  time  of  Cyrus),  "whither,  after  the  fall  of  Nineveh,  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment had  been  removed" — as  if  he  considere'i  the  Assyrian  and  Babvl-inian  empires 
essentially  one.  3  Herod,  i.  102. 

*  Gen.  ii.  14.    This  is  the  correct  rendering.  ^  Gen.  x.  11. 


NINUS.— SEMIRAMIS.  249 

wanting  in  wliat  has  been  called  the  historic  sense.  Their 
only  modern  historian  is  a  poet,  whose  chronicles  of  the  kings 
are  mere  romance;  and  similar  poets  seem  to  have  decorated 
the  legends  of  Assyria  and  Babylon,  for  the  sake  of  enhanc- 
ing the  fame  of  the  conqueror  Cyrus."  The  poetic  character 
and  moral  of  these  legends  were  such  as  the  Greeks  loved ; 
representing  as  they  do  the  rapid  rise  of  a  great  conquering 
power  under  a  miglity  king  and  a  mightier  queen,  who  de- 
rive their  lineage  from  the  gods,  and  whose  degenerate  suc- 
cessors grow  feebler  and  feebler,  till  the  last  of  them  perishes, 
as  in  the  catastrophe  of  an  Attic  tragedy. 

§  3.  The  four  heroes  of  the  legend  are  Ninus  and  Semi- 
RAMis,  their  son  Ninyas,  and  the  last  king,  Sardanapalus. 
The  founder  of  the  monarchy  is  not  one  of  its  real  kings  at 
all,  but  simply  the  hero-ejyonymus  of  Nineveh  (in  Greek, 
Wivoq)  ;'  to  whom  are  ascribed  all  the  conquests  of  the  As- 
syrian empire,  and  others  that  it  never  made.  Tliis  Assyrian 
chieftain,  says  the  legend,  undertook  the  conquest  of  Baby- 
lonia, wliich  had  been  overrun  by  the  Arabs.  He  first  formed 
a  band  of  youths,  whom  he  trained  to  bear  all  fatigues  and 
dangers ;  and  then,  having  formed  an  alliance  with  an  Ara- 
bian chief,  he  invaded  Babylonia.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
populous  cities,  unused  to  war,  were  easily  conquered,  and 
the  King  of  Babylon  and  his  children  were  taken  prisoners 
and  put  to  death.  Ninus  now  marched  against  Armenia, 
whose  king,  Barzanes,  propitiated  him  with  presents,  and 
furnished  auxiliaries  to  his  army.  The  resistance  of  the 
King  of  Media,  on  the  other  hand,  was  punished  by  crucifix- 
ion; and,  in  the  course  of  seventeen  yc'ars,  Ninus  made  him- 
self master  of  all  the  lands  from  the  Indus  to  the  Tanais  and 
the  Mediterranean.  He  now  rebuilt  Nineveh,  and  called  it 
after  his  own  name ;  and,  by  attracting  foreigners  as  well  as 
natives  to  his  capital,  he  made  it  the  greatest  and  most  flour- 
ishing city  of  the  world. 

§  4.  It  was  in  the  course  of  a  war  against  Bactria  that 
Semiramis*  attracted  his  attention.     She  was  the  daughter 

"  The  allusion  of  Ilerodotns  to  "those  of  the  Persians  who  wis-herl  to  dignify  the 
exi)loits  of  Cyrus"  {crepnovv  T<i  Trepi  Ki^ioi',  i.  9.^)  is  remarkably  illustrated  by  the  high- 
ly legendary  story  which  he  repeats  as  the  most  truthful  of  the  four  accounts  of  the 
conqueror's  life.  Herodotus  knows  nothing  of  Ninus,  Ninyas,  or  Sardanapalns,  and 
only  so  much  of  Semiramis  as  is  connected  with  her  great  works  at  Babylon.  Dio- 
dorus  Sicnlus  repeats  the  story  of  Ctesias  with  some  variations. 

^  Here  is  one  proof  of  the  lateness  of  the  legend ;  far  the  true  hero-cponyvms  of  the 
nation  was  Asshnr  (Gen.  x.  11),  the  supreme  deity  of  the  Assyrians.  (See  chap,  xvii.) 
Ninus  and  Ninyas  arc  both  impersonations  of  the  god  Aw  or  Xim'p  (the  Assyrian 
Hercules),  after  whom  Nineveh  was  named.  Ninus  is  uo  more  to  be  identified  with 
Nin-pala-zira  than  with  any  others  of  the  kings  in  whose  name  Nin  is  a  compo- 
nent. 

s  We  shall  presently  see  that  the  name  Sammuramit  was  actually  borne,  iu  the 


250  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ASSYRIA. 

of  the  great  goddess  of  Ascalon,  Derceto,  who  had  exposevi 
this  fruit  of  her  love  for  a  mortal  youth  to  perish  ;  but,  being 
saved  and  brought  up  by  the  shepherd  Simas,  she  became 
the  wife  of  Oannes,^  governor  of  Syria,  and  went  with  him  to 
the  Bactrian  war.  In  the  disguise  of  a  soldier  she  scaled  the 
wall  of  the  capital,  which  Ninus  had  failed  to  take.  The 
king,  in  admiration  of  the  exploit,  took  her  for  his  Avife,  and, 
on  his  death  soon  afterwards,  she  became  sole  queen. 

In  emulation  of  her  husband's  creation  of  Nineveh,  Semi- 
ramis  built  a  new  capital  in  Babylonia;  and  the  legend 
ascribes  to  her  the  walls  and  bridges,  quays  and  gates,  tem- 
ples, fortresses,  and  reservoirs  at  Babylon,  Avhich  belong  chief- 
ly to  Nebuchadnezzar  and  his  successors.'"  Nay  more,  in 
connection  w^ith  a  campaign  against  the  rebellious  Medes, 
she  is  made  the  builder  of  Ecbatana,  the  capital  of  Dejoces, 
and  its  great  canal,  and  of  the  palace  at  Mount  Bagistan 
(now  Behistiin).  The  rock-built  city  and  palace  of  Van,  the 
inscriptions  on  whose  ruins  still  preserve  the  memory  of  a 
race  of  Armenian  kings,  are  ascribed  to  her. 

Extending  the  empire  at  both  extremities,  she  conquered 
Egypt  and  a  great  part  of  Ethiopia,  and  resolved  to  be  mis- 
tress of  the  wealth  of  India.  Informed  of  her  preparations, 
the  Indian  king,  Stabobrates  (orStratobatis),''  sent  her  a  let- 
ter of  defiance,  reproaching  her  with  her  debaucheries,  and 
threatening  to  crucify  her."  His  elephants  gave  him  the  vic- 
tory, and  Semiramis  only  escaped  with  the  loss  of  two-thirds 
of  her  army.  This  defeat  was  the  term  of  her  warlike  ex- 
peditions, and  the  rest  of  her  reign  was  occupied  with  her 
prodigious  works;  so  that  (as  Strabo  says)  nearly  every 
great  work  in  every  part  of  Asia  was  ascribed  to  her.  Her 
edifices  found  their  limit  only  at  the  bounds  of  the  habitable 
world,  on  the  frontiers  of  Scythia  ;  and  there  it  was  said  that 
Alexander  saw  her  own  record  of  her  deeds,  in  the  inscription 
which  is  preserved  by  Polysenus:  "Nature  gave  me  the 
form  of  a  woman,  but  my  deeds  have  equalled  those  of  the 
bravest  men.  I  ruled  the  empire  of  Ninus,  which  on  the 
East  touches  the  river  Hinaman  (Indus),  on  the  South  the 
land  of  frankincense  and  myrrh  (Arabia  Felix),  on  the  North 
the  Sacse  and  the  Sogdians.     Before  me  no  Assyrian  beheld 

older  historical  kingdom  of  Assyria,  by  a  qneen  who  appears,  like  the  mythical  Semi- 
ramis, to  have  had  a  special  connection  witli  Babylon. 

9  We  have  already  seen  that  this  was  ihefish-f/od  of  the  legend  preserved  by  Bero- 
sns,  and  worshipped  iu  Philistia.  Derceto  is  also  common  to  Philistia  and  Baby- 
lonia.    (See  chap,  xvii.) 

10  Another  proof  of  the  lateness  of  the  legend. 

11  This  name  appears  to  be  the  Simskrit  Stavarapatls ;  that  is.  Lord  of  the  Terra 
Finna.  This,  like  other  parts  of  the  le^ieiid,  may  probably  belong  to  the  province  of 
comparative  inylholugy. 


LEGEND  OF  SEMIRAMIS.  251 

tfte  tseas ;  I  looked  upon  four  so  remote  that  «oiie  had  reached 
them.  I  forced  rivers  to  flow  where  I  Avislied,  and  I  only 
wished  it  in  places  where  they  were  useful.  I  made  the  bar- 
ren soil  fruitful,  by  watering  it  w^ith  my  rivers.  I  raised  im- 
pregnable fortresses ;  I  piei'ced  roads  with  iron  across  im- 
practicable rocks.  My  chariots  have  rolled  on  roads  where 
the  wild  beasts  had  found  no  path.  And  in  the  midst  of  all 
my  labors, I  found  time  for  pleasure  and  for  love." 

At  last,  hearing  that  her  son,  Xinyas,  was  plotting  against 
her,  instead  of  punishing  his  treason,  she  resigned  the  crown 
to  him,  and,  after  commanding  all  the  governors  to  obey 
their  new  king,  she  disappeared  in  the  form  of  a  dove,  and 
was  woi-shipped  as  a  goddess.  Her  mythical  character  is 
clear  at  every  step  from  her  birth  to  her  apotheosis.  She  is 
the  ideal  of  a  female  demigod,  according  to  the  Oriental 
standard,  which  is  reproduced  in  Astarte,  Derceto,  and  Dido. 
The  stories  of  her  amours  are  doubtless  connected  with  the 
licentious  rites  of  Oriental  worship,  which  we  know  to  have 
been  practised  at  Babylon  ;  and,  in  later  times,  many  of  the 
mounds  which  covered  ruined  cities  were  called  the  graves 
of  her  lovers.  Ninus,  the  warrior  and  founder,  with  his  wife, 
Semiramis,  the  conqueror  and  builder,  and  their  son  Ninyas, 
the  politic  and  self-indulgent  ruler,  represent  on  earth  the 
supreme  triad  of  the  Babylonian  and  A.ssyrian  religion. 
The  Babylonian  origin  of  the  myth  is  seen  in  the  parentage 
of  Ninus,  as  the  son  of  Belus,  and  in  the  connection  of  Semi- 
ramis with  Babylon ;  and,  in  every  land  once  a  seat  of  the 
Cushite  race,  from  India  to  Mesopotamia,  the  primitive  dy- 
nasties are  headed  by  a  similar  triad. 

§  5.  But  the  Persian  coloring  is  most  clear  in  the  repre- 
sentation of  NiNYAS,  a  very  pattern  of  the  later  Achaemenid 
kings;  withdrawn  like  a  god  from  the  eyes  of  his  subjects 
amidst  the  pleasures  of  his  palace,  but  yet  securing  their 
obedience  by  profound  policy.  He  kept  on  foot  an  immense 
army,  which  was  levied  annually  from  all  the  provinces, 
over  each  of  which  he  set  a  governor  devoted  to  his  person. 
The  army  was  assembled  at  Nineveh,  and  was  renewed  at 
the  end  of  every  year;  so  that  no  close  relations  could  be 
formed  between  the  soldiers  and  their  officers,  and  military 
plots  were  hard  to  concoct.  This  system  continued  under 
all  his  successors,  down  to  Sardaxapalus  ;^^  and  even  that 
degenerate  sovereign  has  a  divine  prototype  in  the  androg- 
ynous deity  Sandon,  and  a  sort  of  apotheosis.     His  fate  is 

-2  Sardanapalus  is  the  Greek  form  of  one  or  more  Assyi'i^tn  royal  names ;  and  the 
story  rf  his  fate  (so  far  as  it  ctmtains  any  liistorical  elements)  ni)pears  to  combine 
two  different  revolutions  at  distant  times.     (See  the  following  chapters.) 


252  EARLY  HISTORY  0¥  ASSYRIA. 

brought  on,  not  by  his  luxurious  effeminacy,  but  by  his  neg- 
lect of  the  policy  which  his  predecessors  had  combined  with 
their  pleasures.  When  Arbaces,  the  satrap  of  Media,  and 
Belesys,  the  chief  of  the  Chaldgean  priests  of  Babylon,  march 
against  him  in  rebellion,  he  suddenly  takes  the  field,  and 
performs  prodigies  of  Aalor  before  he  is  defeated.  After 
holding  out  in  Nineveli  for  two  years,  he  collects  all  liis 
treasures,  with  his  wives  and  concubines,  on  a  vast  funeral 
pile  ;  ascending  which,  and  applying  the  torch  with  his  own 
hand,  he  perishes  in  the  conflagration  of  his  palace.  "  Let 
who  will  make  the  history  of  the  people ;  only  let  me  make 
their  ballads,"  might  well  have  been  the  maxim  of  the  ))oets 
who  set  before  the  subjects  of  a  Xerxes  such  patterns  of 
the  lives  and  deaths  of  kings.  Even  the  thirteen  centu- 
ries, which  Ctesias  assigns  to  the  empire  of  Nineveh,  have 
a  meaning  from  this  point  of  view ;  for  they  represent  this 
monarchy  as  lasthig  undisturbed  through  the  whole  period 
which  the  chronology  of  Berosus  assigns  to  all  the  dynasties 
that  preceded  the  fall  of  Nineveh. 

§  6.  Herodotus  evidently  had  some  good  authority  for  his 
far  more  modest  statement,  that  "  the  Assyrians  had  held  the 
empire  of  Upper  Asia'""  for  520  years,  when  the  Medes  first 
set  the  example  of  revolt  from  their  authority.'*.  .  .  .  Upon 
their  success,  the  other  nations  also  revolted,  and  regained 
their  independence,"  These  words  mark  an  epoch  which — 
though  itself  doubtful  and  probably  (as  we  shall  hereafter 
see)  misplaced — is  clearly  anterior  to  the  final  fall  of  Nin- 
eveh ;  and  the  chronology  of  Herodotus  assigns  upward  of 
600  years  for  the  whole  duration  of  the  empire,'"  down  to 
the  destruction  of  that  city  ;  an  event  now  fixed,  with  great 
probability,  to  B.C.  625  or  606.  Now  the  chronological 
scheme  of  Berosus'^  gives  us  two  Assyrian  dynasties  (the 
sLrt/i  and  seventh)  of  526  years  and  122  years  respectively; 
tiie  former  number  corresponding  to  the  round  520  years 
of  Herodotus;  and  the  latter  carrying  us  back  to  B.C.  747 
(  =  ac.  625  +  122  years).  This  year  is  the  date  marked  in  the 
Cano?i  of  Ptolemy  (a  table  unquestionably  derived  from  the 
Babylonian  chronology)  as  the  Ura  of  Nabonassar.     What 

13  As  clistinguished  from  Lower  Afiia,  i.e.  Afsia  Minor. 

1*  Herod,  i.  95.  As  Herodotus  distinctly  telle;  us  that  he  received  information  from 
the  Chnldnean  priests  at  Babylon  (i.  ISl,  IS?,  bis),  we  may  venture  (in  accordance  with 
hi.s  declared  principle  of  reporting)  to  apjily  to  this  case  iiis  own  statement  (with  a 
play  upon  one  word):  "I  did  not  myself  see  these  fignre.-^,  but  /  relate  vhat  the 
Chaldfeans  report  concerning  them"  (i.  1S3).  We  can  not  doubt  that  he  gives  the 
very  number  which  Berosus  has  preserved  from  the  sacred  records ;  while  Ctesias  is 
only  repeating  the  Persian  legends. 

^^  For  the  full  details  of  the  computation,  see  Rawlinson's  "  Five  Monarchies," 
vol.  ii.  pp.  287  seq.  '•*  See  ?«bovo,  chap.  £.  §  «- 


AN  EARLY  ASSYRIAN  KINGDOM.  253 

the  change  was  that  caused  this  date  to  be  made  an  era  is 
untbrtuuately  obscure ;  but  some  suppose  that  it  was  the 
setting  up  of  an  independent  dynasty  at  Babylon.'^  At  all 
events,  there  seems  to  be  sufficient  authority  for  making  this 
the  division  between  two  Assyrian  dynasties,  which  modern 
writers  called  the  Upper  and  the  Lower;  the  former  begin- 
ning in  the  middle  of  the  i3th  century  B.C.'** 

§  7.  It  must  be  remembered  that  Berosus  represents  his 
Sixth  Dynasty^  like  all  the  I'est,  as  tlie  dominant  power  in 
the  whole  region  of  Mesopotamia,  particularly  in  Babylonia. 
The  attainment  of  this  sup.  .niacy  implies,  almost  necessari- 
ly, a  previous  independent  kingdom  ;  and  of  such  a  kingdom 
we  have  clear  traces  in  the  cuneiform  inscriptions.  Here, 
however,  it  is  necessary  to  observe  an  important  distinction 
between  three  classes  of  those  inscriptions.  They  are  by  no 
means  all  native  and  contemporaiy  records.  Besides  those 
which  possess  this  highest  degree  of  authenticity,  thei'e  are 
otiiers  which  are  contemporary  but  not  native^  as  the  records 
of  Babylonian  kings  concerning  the  contemporary  princes 
of  Assyria ;  and  others  which  ai-e  natlre  hut  not  conternjmra- 
ry^  as  the  records  of  latei*  kings  concerning  tlieir  predeces- 
sors. Some  of  the  most  considerable  inscriptions  are  of  the 
last  class ;  and  corresponding  caution  is  necessary  in  using 
them.  It  must  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  are  uncer- 
tainties in  the  reading  of  many  of  the  royal  names,  from  the 
doubt  whether  the  force  of  the  characters  employed  X'^ phonet- 
ic or  ideographic.  But  in  either  case  we  liave  equally  a  real 
name.,  and  the  significance  of  its  component  elements  is  gen- 
erally the  same  on  either  interpi-etation,  the  sound  only  be- 
ing left  in  doiil)t. 

§  8.  Most  of  these  Assyrian  roj^al  names  are  so  "  outland- 
ish "  to  modern  eai's,  that  it  may  aid  the  memory  and  make 
the  whole  subject  more  interesting  to  have  some  idea  of 
their  significance.  For  all  of  them  Jiave  a  distinct  meaning, 
and  by  far  the  greater  part  have  a  religious  meaning.  The 
name  of  Asshur  especially  is  an  element  as  prevalent  as  Je/to 
or  Jah  (for  Jehovah)  and  LJl  {God)  in  Hebrew,  or  I'Aeo  (God) 
in  Greek  names.  Like  those  significant  names  witli  which 
we  are  familiar  in  the  Hel)rew  prophets  (as  I?nmanuel  =  God 
[is]  loith  lis),  the  Assyrian  names  usually  form  complete  sen- 

1^  See  chap.  xii.  §  17. 

i«  That  is,  ij.c.  74T  +  526  z=  1273.  But,  as  we  observed  before,  these  numbers  rep- 
resent a  chronological  scheme,  highly  convenient  for  reference,  and  probably  not  far 
from  the  truth  ;  but  not  absolute  dates,  like  those  based  on  the  repeated  concurrence 
of  historical  facts  with  chronological  comjmtations.  ]\[.  Oppert  and  others  give  u.c. 
1314  for  the  beginning  of  the  empirCj  and  adopt  a  different  division  of  the  two  dynas- 
ties, as  is  explained  below. 


?54  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ASSYRIA. 

fences  (full  or  elliptical),  consisting  either  oi subject  s^^ndjyredi- 
.  cate  (the  copula  being  understood),  or  of  subject,  verb,  and 
object.  In  the  few  in  which  we  seem  to  have  only  a  subject 
and  adjective,  the  latter  has  probably  a  jyi^edicative  force  i^" 
thus  ISar-gina  (the  proper  form  of  Sargon) — from  sar  (or 
sarri():=king,  and  gin  (or  Jew),  to  establish — should  be  read, 
not  simply  the  established  king,  but  (/  ani)  the  established 
king,  or  the  king  (J. )  established. 

The  names  are  made  up  o^  two,  three,  or  (very  rarely) /ot<r 
elements.  The  above  example  is  of  the  first  form :  another, 
containing  the  same  verbal  root  in  a  participial  form,  is  ISaul- 
muginaz=i  Saul  (is  the)  establisher :  another,  Sharnas-Iva  =  the 
servant  of  Iva,  is  interesting  from  the  frequency  of  the  first 
element,  and  the  appearance  of  its  equivalent  in  Hebrew  and 
Arabic  compounds,  as  Obad-iah  {the  servant  of  Jehovah), 
Abdiel  and  Abdullah  (the  servant  of  God).  Sometimes  the 
first  element,  instead  of  denoting  the  subject  himself,  is  ex- 
pressive of  his  homage  to  the  deity  whose  name  follows:  as 
Tiglathi-JVin  z^Worship  {be  to)  JVin  {Hercules),  and  3lutag- 
gir^-N^ebo^^confiding  in,  or  ioorshipp)ing  Neho,  which  has  its 
precise  parallel  in  the  name  of  the  Caliph,  Motawakkil-billah 
{trusting  in  Allah).  The  most  interesting  name  of  this  class 
is  that  which  Ave  read  in  the  Bible  as  Tiglath-jnleser,  Avhere 
the  substitution  of  a  2)atronymic  for  the  divine  name  gives 
the  whole  a  tri- elemental  appearance.  For  jxd  (in  Assyrian) 
is  so7iz=:bal  (in  Babylonian),  and  bar  in  Syriac  f^  and  the  god 
JVi?i  is  called  Palzira  (the  second  element  being  of  doubtful 
meaning,  perhaps  Lord);  and  hence  Tiglath-pjal-zira ^Wor- 
ship {be  pjaid  to)  the  son  of  Zira.  The  form  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  Arabic  Abd-er-Rachnian  (the  servant-of  the- 
MercifuV). 

In  the  names  of  three  elements,  the  subject,  which  stands 
first,  is  usually  a  god,  to  whom  some  titles  of  praise  are 
given,  or  some  mark  of  whose  favor  to  the  king  is  eml)od- 
ied  in  the  name.  Of  the  former  class  is  Asshur-ris-elim  — 
Asshur-(is  the)head-of  the  gods:  of  the  Xatter,  Asshur-akJi- 
iddina^^Asshiir- a -brother -has  given,  the  Esar-haddon  of 
Scripture,  and  his  more  famous  father,  Sennacherib,  proper- 
ly 8in-akhi-irih= Sin  (the  Moo7i)  has  midtiplied  brethren,^^  a 

1^  But  in  titles  the  adjective  may  have  an  attributive  force,  as  in  Sarra-daiiu—the 
powerful  king  (rather  than,  the  kino  isxjowerful),  a  standard  expression  in  all  the  roy- 
al inscriptions. 

20  This  is  a  participial  form  of  tinlath. 

21  E.  g.  Bar-tliolomew,  Bar-nabas,  Bar-jesus,  in  the  N.  T.  The  element  which  Sir  H. 
Rawliuson  reads  _?:>«?  is  read  by  M.  Oppert  bahal.  We  keep  the  shorter  form  as  more 
convenient. 

22  Akhi  here  is  the  plural  of  akh  above.  The  names  of  the  two  brothers,  who  mur- 
dered their  father  Sennacherib,  are  thus  explained:  Adram-melech—the  kinfi  ()'«)  glo' 


ORIGINAL  TERRITORY  OF  ASSYRIA.  255 

name  almost  ironical,  considering  his  fate.  We  have  only- 
two  royal  names  of  four  elements^  and  those  of  no  great  im- 
portance :  an  interesting  Hebrew  example  is  the  biblical  3Ia- 
her-shalal-hash-baz^  the  son  of  Isaiah."  Besides  the  greater 
reality  which  is  given  to  Assyrian  history  by  some  undei-- 
standing  of  the  kings'  and  other  names,  a  most  important 
result  is  their  thoroughly  Semitic  character  (absolutely  iden- 
tical in  some  elements  with  Hebrew  and  Arabic  names),  thus 
furnishing  one  of  the  many  proofs  of  the  Semitic  origin  of  the 
nation. 

§  9„  The  proper  home  of  the  Assyrians  is  marked  by  the 
four  cities  which  are  connected  with  the  name  of  Asshur  in 
the  Book  of  Genesis — Nineveh^  He/ioboth,  Cala/i.,  and  tl>e 
"great  city"  of  Jiesen  "between  Nineveh  and  Calah."^*  Of 
these,  Mehohoth  is  unknown  ;^^  Calah  is  very  probably  iden- 
tified with  the  large  ruins  at  JViinrud,  and  Kesen  with  those 
at  Selamii/eh;  but  the  certain  identification  of  Nineveh  with 
the  mounds  opposite  Mosul  is  enough  to  indicate  the  region 
which,  down  to  the  latest  period  of  ancient  history,  preserved 
the  name  of  Aturia.'^^'  That  region  is  marked  by  very  dis- 
tinct physical  features.  Its  chief  part  forms  a  triangle,  in- 
closed by  the  Tigris  and  the  Great  Zab,  or  Zab  Ala  (the  an- 
cient Zabatas  or  Lycus),  with  its  base  (or  northern  side)  rest- 
ing on  the  hills  of  Jebel  Judi^  between  v/hich  and  the  Great 
Zab  a  smaller  confluent  (the  KhabourY'  flows  into  the  Ti- 
gris. The  confluence  of  the  Gi-eat  Zab  Avith  the  Tigris  is 
also  the  point  at  which  the  Sinjar  range  marks  the  descent 
from  the  foot-hills  of  Zagrus  to  the  comparatively  plain 
country  in  latitude  36°  N.     About   three-quarters  of  a  de- 

rious  (or,  arranges),  and  Shar-ezer  (if  geinune)=?/<e  king  ]}rotects,  or  (as  iu  the  Arme- 
nian version)  San-asar=Sm  (the  Moon)  irrotecU.  Babylonian  names  are  formed  on 
precisely  the  same  principles,  and  Nelo,  Mcrodach,  Bel,  and  Xergal  prevail  in  them, 
just  like  Asshur,  Sin,  and  Shanias  in  the  Assyrian.  Besides  those  which  will  be  ex- 
plained in  their  places,  we  may  here  mention  Ahed-nego  (for  nebo),  "the  servant  of 
Nebo,"  Mcrodach-idin-akhi,  "Merodach,  give  brothers."  See  RaAvlinson's  "Five 
Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  Appendix  A;  vol.  iii.  Appendix  B.  M.  Oppert  points  out  that, 
in  a  tablet  containing  above  500  proper  names  (Eawliuson's  "Can.  Inscr."  vol.  ii. 
p.  C),  nearly  170  begin  with  yabu :  of  these  IS  end  with  nzur,  W\^  imjierative  of  nazir 
"to  protect,"  like  Xabonassar,  i.  e.  Nabunazir,  "Let  Nebo  protect ;"  25  end  in  imper- 
atives, with  the  suffix  ni,  "me,"  like  Xabu-sczibanni,  "Nebo  deliver  me;"  and  IS  in 
Hani,  "the  gods,"  like  Xahu-edil-ilanni,  "Nebo  is  the  chief  of  the  gods." 

23  Isaiah  viii.  3.  The  exact  force  of  the  four  elements  is  disputed :  the  symbolical 
names  of  Hebrew  prophecy  are  more  obscure  than  personal  names. 

24  Genesis,  x.  11, 12.  It  is  important  to  remember  that  this  enumeration  does  not 
necessarily  put  the  cities  in  the  order  of  antiquitii,  but  gives  the  list  as  knoiv?i  to  the 
writer. 

25  Very  probably  the  name  signifies  not  a  city  at  all,  but  (as  in  the  margin  of  our 
version)  "  the  streets  of  the  city,"  ?.  e.  Nineveh.  If  so,  the  original  tetrapolis  may  be 
made  up  by  including  Asshur  {Kileh-Sherghat). 

2«  The  interchange  of  t  with  s  and  sh  is  very  Cb  ■'on  iu  those  regions.  Cimverse- 
ly,  Turns  is  now  Sur.  '^' 

2^  Not  to  be  confounded  with  the  great  tributary  of  tise  Euphrates. 


250  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ASSYRIA. 

gree  farther  south,  the  Lesser  Zah^  or  Zab  Asfal  (the  aiicieot 
&aprus),joms  the  Tigris,  like  the  Great  Zab,  from  the  east; 
and  the  country  between  these  confluents  (the  Adiaheiie  of 
the  classical  geographers)^®  must  be  added  to  make  up  the 
orio-inal  Assyria,  which  also  included  a  strip  of  land  between 
the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris  and  the  sterile  plain  of  Mesopo- 
tamia. It  is  on  this  side,  and  a  little  above  the  Lesser  Zah^ 
that  the  mounds  of  Kileh-Sherghat  mark  the  great  city,  an- 
ciently  Asshur. 

Thus,  as  Professor  Rawlinson  observes,  "the  true  heart  of 
Assyria  was  the  country  close  along  tfie  Tigris^  fi-oni  lat.  35° 
to  36°  36'.  Within  these  limits  were  the  four  great  cities" 
marked  by  the  mounds  at  Khorsabad^  (opposite  to)  Mosul, 
Mmrud^  and  Kileh-Sherghat^  besides  a  multitude  of  places 
ofinierior  consequence.  It  lias  been  generally  supposed  that 
tlie  left  bank  of  the  river  was  more  properly  Assyria  than 
the  right  ;^°  and  the  idea  is  so  far  correct  as  that  the  left 
bank  was  in  trutli  of  primary  value  and  importance,  whence 
it  naturally  happened  that  three  out  of  the  four  capitals 
were  built  on  that  side  of  the  river.  Still,  the  very  fact  that 
one  early  capital  was  on  the  right  bank  is  enough  to  show 
that  both  shores  of  the  stream  were  alike  occupied  by  the 
race  from  the  first ;  aiid  this  conclusion  is  abundantly  con- 
firmed by  other  indications  throughout  the  region.  Assyri- 
an ruins,  the  remains  of  considerable  towns,  strew  the  whole 
country  between  the  Tigris  and  the  Khabour,  both  north 
and  south  of  the  Sinjar  range.^!  On  the  banks  of  the  lower 
Khabour  (at  Arban)  are  the  remains  of  a  royal  palace,  be- 
sides many  other  traces  of  the  tract  through  which  it  runs 
having  been  permanently  occupied  by  the  Assyrian  people. 
Mounds,  probably  Assyrian,  are  known  to  exist  along  the 
course  of  the  Khabour's  great  western  aflluent ;  and  even 
near  Seriij^  in  the  country  between  Harran  and  the  Euphra- 
tes, some  evidence  has  been  found  not  only  of  conquest  but 
of  occupation.  Remains  are  perhaps  more  frequent  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Tigris ;  at  any  rate,  they  are  more  strik- 
ing and  more  important.  Bavian^  Khorsabad,  1-^hereef-Khan^ 
Nebbi-  Yimus,  Koyvnjik,  and  JVimrud,  wliich  have  fui-nished 
by  far  the  most  valuable  Jind  interesting  of  tlie  Assyrian 
nionuments,  all  lie  east  of  the  Tigris  ;  while,  on  the  west,  two 

28  Pliny  expressly  includes  Adiabene  in  Assyria  ("  H.  N."  v.  12),  as  did  the  prophet 
Nahum,  at  least  if  his  "  Huzzab  "  is  rightly  interpreted  as  "  the  Zab  country."  A-diab- 
ene  appears  to  have  a  similar  etymo^r-gy. 

29  Not  precisely  the  four  of  Genesis  x.  11, 12.     See  next  pnge. 

30  Ptolemy  bounds  Assyria  by  f       'igris. 

31  They  are  less  numerous  n^  ..  of  the  Sinjar.  See  Layard,  '=  Nineveh  and  Baby 
loB,"  pp.  252,  334,  335.     The  K\abour  here  means  the  tributary  of  the  Euphrates. 


RUINS  OF  FOUR  CAPITALS.  257 

places  only  have  yielded  relics  worthy  to  be  compnred  with 
these,  Arban  and  Kileh-Sherghat.''''^'^ 

Conspicuous  among  these  ruins  are  the  four  which  have 
been  mentioned  as  capitals — Xineveh  ;  iV^/;yiri<(7  (Calah),  low- 
er down  the  river ;  Kileh-Sherghat  (Asshur),  lower  still ; 
and  Khorsahad  or  Dur-Sargini^  north  of  Nineveh,  on  the 
little  river  Khosr-su^  which  joins  the  Tig-ris  at  Nineveh.  The 
very  name  of  the  last,  the  "  City  of  Sargon,"  excludes  it  from 
the  original  tetrapolis ;  it  was,  in  fact,  a  new  royal  city  sup- 
plemental to  Nineveh.  The  largest  ruins  in  Assyiia  are  the 
mounds  oi  Xebbl-  Yanus  and  Koyiinjik^  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Tigris,  opposite  Mosul  on  the  right  bank,  in  lat.  36°  21'  N., 
which  mark  the  traditional  site  of  the  original  Nineveh, 
and  contain  the  palaces  of  Sennacherib  and  his  successors." 
About  20  miles  farther  south,  or  30  along  the  Tigris,  and 
five  or  six  miles  above  its  confluence  with  the  Great  Zab,  are 
the  ruins  called  N'inirud^  the  inscriptions  of  which  preserve 
the  ancient  name  of  Calah.  "  These  ruins  at  present  oc- 
cupy an  area  somewhat  short  of  a  thousand  English  acres, 
which  is  little  more  thai,  one-half  of  the  ruins  of  Nineveh  ; 
but  it  is  thought  that  the  place  was  in  ancient  times  consid- 
erably larger,  and  that  the  united  action  ot  the  Tigris  and 
some  winter  streams  has  swept  away  no  small  portion  of 
the  ruins.  They  form  at  present  an  in-egular  quadrangle, 
the  sides  of  which  face  the  four  cardinal  points.  On  the 
north  and  east  the  rampart  may  still  be  distinctly  traced. 
It  was  flanked  with  towers  along  its  whole  coui-se,  and 
pierced  at  uncertain  intervals  by  gates,  but  was  nowhere  of 
very  great  strength  ov  dimensions.  On  the  south  side  it 
must  have  been  especially  weak,  for  there  it  has  disappeared 
altogether.  Here,  however,  it  seems  probable  that  the  Ti- 
gris and  the  Thor  Deireh  stream,  to  which  the  obliteration 
of  the  wall  may  be  ascribed,  formed  in  ancient  times  a  sufli- 
cient  protection.  Towards  the  west,  it  seems  to  be  certain 
that  the  Tigris  (which  is  now  a  mile  ofl")  anciently  flowed 
close  to  the  city.  On  this  side,  directly  facing  the  river,  and 
extending  along  it  a  distance  of  600  yards,  or  more  than  a 
third  of  a  mile,  was  the  royal  quarter,  or  portion  of  the  city 
occupied  by  the  palaces  of  the  kings.  It  consisted  of  a 
raised  platform,  forty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  plain,  com- 
posed in  some  parts  of  rubbish,  in  others  of  regular  layers  of 
sun-dried  bricks,  and  cased  on  every  side  with  solid  stone 
masonry,  containing  an  area  of  sixty  English  acres,  and  in 
shape  almost  a  regular  rectangle,  560  yards  long,  and  Xvom 

32  Rawlinpon,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  246-248. 

23  See  Notes  niicl  lllustiatious  (A)  on  the  Site  aud  Extent  of  Nineveh. 


258  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ASSYRIA. 

350  to  450  broad.  The  greater  part  of  its  area  is  occupied 
by  the  remains  of  palaces  constructed  by  various  native 
kings.  It  contains  also  the  ruins  of  two  small  temples,  and 
abuts  at  its  north-western  angle  on  the  most  singular  struc- 
ture which  lias  yet  been  discovered  among  the  remains  of 
the  Assyi'ian  cities.  This  is  the  famous  tower  or  pyramid^ 
which  looms  so  conspicuously  over  the  Assyrian  plains,  and 
which  has  always  attracted  the  special  notice  of  the  travel- 
ler. It  appears,  from  the  inscriptions  on  its  bricks,  to  have 
been  commenced  by  one  of  the  early  kings,  and  completed 
by  another.  Its  internal  structure  has  led  to  the  supposi- 
tion that  it  was  designed  to  be  a  place  of  burial  for  one  or 
other  of  these  monarchs."^*  Xenophon's  notice  of  this  pyra- 
mid identifies  the  ruins  oi Nimrud  with  the  city  whose  name 
he  has  transformed  into  identity  with  the  Thessalian  Laris- 
sa^^^  and  which  he  describes  as  "  a  vast  deserted  city,  former- 
ly inhabited  by  the  Medes,"  and  as  "surrounded  by  a  wall 
25  feet  broad,  100  feet  high,  and  nearly  seven  miles  in  cir- 
cumfei-ence,  built  of  baked"  brick,  with  a  stone  basement  to 
the  height  of  20  feet.'"' 

The  ruins  of  the  third  capital  city,  at  Ivileh-Sherf/ hat,  forty 
miles  below  JVimrud,  but  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tigi'is, 
are  scarcely  inferior  in  extent  to  those  of  Calah.  "  Long 
lines  ot  low  mounds  mark  the  position  of  the  old  walls,  and 
show  that  the  shape  of  the  city  was  quadrangular.  The 
chief  object  is  a  large  square  mound  or  platform,  two  and  a 
half  miles  in  circumference,  and  in  places  a  hundred  feet 
above  the  level  ct  the  plain,  composed  in  part  of  sun-dried 
bricks,  in  part  of  natural  eminences,  and  exhibiting  occasion- 
ally remains  of  a  casing  of  hewn  stone,  which  may  once  have 
encircled  the  whole  structure.  About  midway  on  the  north 
side  of  the  platform,  and  close  upon  its  edge,  is  a  high  cone 
or  pyramid.  The  rest  of  the  platform  is  covered  with  the 
remains  of  walls  and  with  heaps  of  rubbish,  but  does  not 
show  much  trace  of  important  buildings.""  Here,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  Tiglath-pileser  I.  records  that  works  were 
executed  by  some  of  the  early  kings  of  Babylonia  in  the 
19th  century  B.C.  ;  and  flir  more  ancient  inscriptions  raise  a 
strong  presumption  that  it  was  the  first  capital  of  the  inde- 
pendent Assyrian  kingdom.^"     This  seems  confirmed  by  the 

31  Rawlinson,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  252-254.     See  Plan,  p.  279. 

35  Pos-sibly  El-Assnr,  i.e.  "the  Assyrian  (city),"  a  traditional  local  name  oiven  by 
the  Arabs,  like  the  Nimrnd  of  to-day.  M.  Oppert  and  others  use  the  name  of  Ellascar 
instead  oi'  Asshnr  for  the  ancient  name  of  Kileh-Sherghat. 

38  Xeuoph.  "Anab."  iii.  4,  §  9. 

^''  Rawlinson,  I.  c.  pp.  254,  255. 

38  That  is,  after  the  recovery  of  ite  independence  from  Babylon.  As  to  the  superior 
antiquity  of  Nineveh  itself,  see  Notes  and  lUustratious  (A). 


SITES  OF  CALAH,  ASSHUE,  AND  RESEN.  259 

native  name  of  the  city,  which  appears  to  be  inscribed  on 
its  bricks  as  Ass/uo: 

Two  of  the  Targums  explain  "Resen"  by  2hl-Assar,  i.  e. 
the  3Iound  of  Asshur ;  but  this  identification  can  not  be 
reconciled  with  the  position  of  Resen  "  between  Nineveh 
and  CaLah."^''  If  tlie  position  of  CaLah  is  fixed  at  Nimrud 
(for  of  that  of  Nineveh  there  is  no  doubt),  Resen  must  be 
represented  by  the  ruins  near  Selaniiyeh.  It  is  objected  that 
these  inconsiderable  ruins  can  liardly  represent  the  city  of 
which  it  is  so  emphatically  said  "  the  same  is  a  great  city  ;" 
and  indeed  that  tiie  distance  of  twenty  miles  between  Nin- 
eveh and  JSFlmrud  hardly  allows  the  intervention  of  a  city 
of  the  first  importance.  As  it  is  probable  that  the  seat  of 
Assyrian  royalty  was  moved  upward  along  the  Tigris,  it 
has  been  conjectured  that  "the  city  of  xVsshur"  may  have 
been  the  original  Calah  (a  name  actually  preserved  in  Kileh- 
Sherghat),*°  and  that  Besen  may  have  been  at  Xlmmd : 
afterwards,  when  the  royal  residence  was  moved  northward 
from  the  former  place  to  the  latter,  the  name  of  Calah  may 
hav-e  been  transferred  to  the  new  capital — a  kind  of  transfer 
by  no  means  unfrequent.  In  this  case,  the  Selcuniyeh  ruins 
might  have  a  title  to  represent  the  Hehoboth  of  Genesis,  oi 
at  least  the  southern  portion  of  those  "streets"  or  "sub- 
urbs" wdiich,  joining  the  main  city  to  the  older  capital  at 
JVlmrud,  made  Nineveh,  when  at  the  height  of  its  glory, 
"an  exceeding  great  city,  of  three  days' journey/"^ 

We  have  thus,  for  the  better  understanding  of  the  history, 
laid  down  the  jiositions,  and  indicated  the  present  state,  both 
of  the  cities  composing  the  original  tetrapolis  of  Genesis,  and 
also  of  the  four  great  capitals:  that  of  Sargon,at  Khorsa- 
had^  will  be  described  more  fully  in  its  proper  place.  But 
there  remains  one  city  of  Assyria  Proper,  too  famous  in  later 
history  to  be  passed  over — Arbela,  which  is  still  represented 
by  Arbil,  several  miles  fj-om  the  left  bank  of  the  Great  Zab, 
between  the  latitudes  of  Nineveh  and  Nimrnd.  Many  other 
Assyrian  cities,  which  we  need  not  particulaily  mention,  are 
still  found  in  the  wide  region  of  Upper  Mesopotamia,  to 
which  the  name  of  Assyria  was  extended  with  the  extension 
of  the  kingdom.  In  this  wider  sense,  Assyria  was  bounded 
on  the  east  by  Media,  on  the  north  by  Armenia,  on  the  west 
by  the  Euphrates"  and  the  Arabian  Desert,  and  on  the 
south  by  Babylonia. 

The  hctts  classicus  in  Genesis  x.  distinctly  teaches  that, 

3'  Gen.  X.  12.  ^o  ]yi,.^  Layard  spells  the  name  Kalah-Sherglmt. 

41  Jonah  iii.  3.     See  Notes  and  Illustrations  (A). 

*2  Assyrian  towns  are  found  even  west  of  the  Khabour,  in  Padau-Aram. 


260  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ASSYRIA. 

though  the  Assyrians  were  of  the  Semitic  race,  the  original 
civilization,  if  not  the  original  popnUition  of  the  country, 
advanced  northward  from  the  plain  of  Babylonia."  And  of 
this  we  have  abundant  confirmation.  In  the  Perso-Greek 
legend,  Ninus,  the  mythic  founder  of  Nineveh,  is  the  son  of 
Belus,  the  mythic  founder  of  Babylon.  The  religions  of  As- 
syria and  Babylon  are  essentially  the  same  ;  but  their  com- 
mon type  is  not  Semitic,  but  the  Cushite  Sabasism,  which 
was  first  developed,  and  always  had  its  principal  seat,  in  the 
plain  of  Babylonia.  The  art  of  the  former  country  is  evi- 
dently an  advance  upon  the  earliest  art  of  the  latter;  and 
the  system  of  cuneiform  writing,  which  appears  in  a  rude 
form  on  the  earliest  Babylonian  ruins  and  gradually  im- 
proves in  the  later  ones,  is  in  Assyria  uniformly  of  an  ad- 
vanced type,  arguing  its  introduction  there  in  a  perfect  state. 
Perhaps  the  strongest  proof  is  the  nature  of  the  cuneiform 
writing  itself,  which  is  rapidly  punched  with  a  very  simple 
instrument  upon  moist  clay,  but  is  only  with  much  labor  and 
trouble  inscribed  by  the  chisel  upon  rock.  Such  a  character 
must  needs  have  been  invented  in  a  country  where  "  they 
had  brick  for  stone,"  and  from  such  a  country  only  could  it 
have  been  imported  into  one  where  the  monumental  material 
was  less  suited  for  such  writing. 

§  10.  Assyria  was  already  known  hy  that  name  to  the  au- 
thor (or  authors)  of  the  earliest  records  in  the  book  of  Gen- 
esis,"* and  the  four  cities  mentioned  there  were  probably  as 
many  separate  states.  The  absence  of  any  mention  of  a 
King  of  Assyria,  or  of  any  of  its  cities  among  the  allies  of 
Chedorlaomer,  seems  to  prove  its  insignificance  in  the  time 
of  Abraham.  The  place  assigned  to  it  as  a  conquering  ])ow- 
er  in  the  prophecy  of  Balaam'' indicates  that  it  had  risen 
into  greater  importance  at  the  close  of  the  life  of  Moses. 
This  was  just  the  time  when  Egypt,  weakened  by  her  dis- 
asters under  the  later  kings  of  the  Nineteenth  Dynasty,  was 
losing  her  hold  of  Mesopotamia;  and  the  prophecy  of  the 
westward  extension  of  the  Assyrian  power  derives  the  more 
force  fron\  the  fact  that  Balaam  is  sent  for  out  of  Aram.  Its 
whole  tenor  seems  suited  to  a  time  when  the  Midianites  and 
Moabites  were  in  close  alliance  Avith  the  tribes  of  Mesopo- 
tamia, before  the  Assyrian  kingdom  had  acquired  the  force 
that  was  destined  to  subdue  them.  The  independence  of 
Mesopotamia  seems  still  indicated  by  the  oppression  of  Is- 

43  This  follows  equally  from  either  reading  of  Genesis  x.  11. 

44  Geuesis  ii.  14;  x.  11.  The  latter  passage,  thoiigli  later  thau  the  "Book  of  the 
generations  of  the  sons  of  Noah,"  in  which  it  occurs,  is  undoubtedly  ancient. 

^5  Numbers  xxii.  22,  24 


BIBLICAL  AND  CLASSICAL  NOTICES.  261 

rael  by  Chiisban-Risliathaiin,  a  "  King  of  Aram,"  in  the  geii' 
eration  after  Joshua. 

After  the  repulse  of  this  conqueror  from  Palestine  by  0th- 
niel,  we  read  no  more  of  Mesopotamia  as  an  aggressive  pow- 
er ;  and,  in  the  earliest  Assyrian  inscriptions  (which  date  from 
about  B.C.  1100),  we  find  no  centralized  monarchy  in  this 
country,  the  proper  Aram,  between  the  Khabour  and  the 
Euphrates.  It  appears  to  be  quite  distinct  fiom  Assyria, 
and  is  inhabited  by  a  people  called  Na'lri^  who  are  divided 
into  a  vast  number  of  petty  tribes,  and  offer  but  little  resist- 
ance to  the  Assyrian  armies.  In  the  wars  by  which  David 
extended  his  power  to  the  Euphrates,  we  find  Hadarezer, 
king  of  Zobali,  calling  to  his  help  "the  Syrians  beyond  the 
river,"  who  are  defeated  by  David  in  a  great  battle."  Ex- 
cepting this  notice,  there  is  a  great  gap  in  the  Scriptural  no- 
tices from  the  period  of  the  Judges  till  the  Assyrian  power, 
now  at  its  height,  begins  to  be  felt  by  the  kings  of  Israel. 
We  learn  from  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  that  the  lately 
consolidated  Assyrian  empire  was  engaged  at  this  time  in 
establishing  its  power  within  the  Euphrates. 

§  11.  Thus  much  concerning  the  light  which  the  Bible 
throws  on  the  earliest  history  of  Assyria.  The  information 
furnished  by  classical  authors  looks  far  more  abundant,  but 
the  bulk  of  it  is  worthless.  The  long  list  of  Assyrian  kings, 
which  has  come  down  to  us  in  two  or  three  forms,  only 
slightly  varied,*^  and  whicli  is  almost  certaitily  derived  from 
Ctesias,  must  of  necessity  be  discarded,  together  Avith  his 
date  for  the  kingdom.  It  covers  a  space  of  above  1200 
years,  and  bears  marks  besides  of  audacious  fraud,  being 
composed  of  names  snatched  from  all  quarters,  Aryan,  Se- 
mitic, and  Greek — names  of  gods,  names  of  towns,  names  of 
rivers.  Its  estimate  of  time  presents  the  impossible  average 
of  34  or  35  years  to  a  reign  ;  while  the  prevalence  of  round 
numbers  betrays  the  artificial  character  of  the  list.  Berosus 
gave  the  names  of  the  45  kings  of  his  sixth  dj^nasty  ;  but 
unfortunately  they  are  all  lost ;  they  might  have  been  a 
guide  for  comparison  with  the  inscriptions,  like  that  fur- 
nished by  Manetho's  lists  of  the  Egyptian  kings.  Moses  of 
Chorene,  an  Armenian  historian,  who  often  preserves  valu- 
able traditions,  names  tlie  first  kings  of  Assyria  in  the  fol- 

4"  2  Sam.  X.  IC  ;  1  Chroii.  xix.  IG;  comp.  title  to  Psnlm  Jx.,  "When  David  strove 
with  Arain-naharaim  and  with  A  rmn-zohah."  In  the  Ararn-naharalvi  ("Arann  of  the 
two  rivers  ")  of  Scripture  we  see  the  Xahm-ai/n  of  the  Egyptian  records ;  but  the  Xairi 
of  the  Assyrian  annals  had  either  a  double  meaning  or  a  wider  extent :  for  some 
of  the  campaigns  against  them  are  clearly  in  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Tigris,  in  Ar- 
menia. 

4^  Clinton,  '« Fasti  Hellenici,"  vol.  i.  p.  267. 


262  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ASSYRIA. 

lowing  order: — Ninus,  Chalaos,  Arbeliis,  Anebiis,  Babius. 
These  are  evidently  geographical  names,  the  first  two  repre- 
senting  the  capitals  of  Nineveh  and  Chale  (Calah),  the  third 
Arbela,  and  the  other  two  probably  Nipur  a!id  Babylon. 
If  the  list  is  worth  any  thing,  it  implies  the  early  conquest 
by  Assyria  of  two  of  the  capitals  of  Babylonia.  There  re- 
mains the  famous  Canon,  or  Catalogue  of  Assyrian,  Persian, 
Greek,  and  Roman  kings,  compiled  by  the  astionomer  and 
geographer,  Claudius  Ptolemseus,  in  the  time  of  the  Anto- 
nines.  The  "Assyrian"  portion — w^hich  is  chiefly  Babyloni- 
an, but  throws  much  incidental  light  upon  Assyria — owes  its 
value  to  the  proV)ability  that  it  was  derived  from  Babyloni- 
an sources  ;  and  its  authenticity  is  remarkably  confirmed  by 
an  Assyrian  cuneiform  Canon,  or  list  of  kings  from  the  10th 
century  b.c.  This  does  not,  however,  give  the  names  of  the 
earliest  Assyrian  kings,  for  which  we  are  wholly  dependent 
on  the  cuneiform  inscriptions. 

§  12.  The  earliest  of  these,  relating  to  Assyria,  are  Baby- 
lonian. The  remote  time  at  which  the  Assyrians  settled  on 
the  part  of  Upper  Tigris  between  the  two  Zabs  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  record  of  Tiglath-pileser  at  Kileh-t^herghat^ 
that  a  temple  of  the  god  Anu  was  built  at  that  place  by 
Shamas-iva,  the  son  of  Ismi-dagon,  both  of  whom  he  styles 
"high-priests  of  Asshur.""^  Here  we  find  the  lowest  (along 
the  Tigris)  of  the  great  Assyrian  capitals,  the  seat  of  the 
worship  of  the  chief  Assyrian  god,  and  the  residence  of  tlie 
Babylonian  viceroy;  and  here  also  other  tablets  of  Babylo- 
nian governors  have  been  found. 

We  have  no  statement  of  the  time  when  a  separate  king- 
dom  was  first  established  in  Assyria ;  but  evidence  of  its  ex- 
istence in  and  about  the  time  of  the  Babylonian  Purna-p\(ri' 
yas  is  furnished  by  the  names  and  actions  of  three  Assyrian 
kings  on  a  synchronistic  tablet  in  the  British  Museum."* 
The  first  of  these,  xlsshur-bel-nisis^  makes  a  treaty  with  a 
Babylonian  king;  the  ^eGow(\^  Buzur-AssJiw\n\nkii^  a  treaty 
with  Parna-puriyas^  who  marries  the  daughter  of  the  third, 
A'sshur-iKitila.  The  son  of  Purna-pnriyas  having  been  killed 
in  a  rebellion,  AssJucr-vatila  makes  a  successful  war  against 
tlie  usurper,  and  places  (probably)  Ktir-galazu  upon  tlie 
Babylonian  throne. 

4*  See  cliap.  x.  ?  14 ;  wheie  it  has  been  shown  that  the  time  referred  to  is  probably 
fihout  the  middle  of  the  19th  century  ji.c.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  AssJnir  does  not 
occur  in  the  inscription  as  the  name  of  the  city. 

*9  Rawlinson  places  them  between  u.o.  1G50  and  1550.  As  the  tablet  is  mutilated 
at  the  beginning,  and  the  first  name  is  some  way  down,  there  would  seem  to  have 
been  other  kings  before  him.  The  date  of  the  tablet  is  at  least  as  late  as  Shalmaueser 
II.  (B.C.  858-823),  to  whose  wars  it  alludes. 


OLDEST  INSCRIPTIONS  AT  KILEH-SHERGHAT.  263 

These  transactions,  whicli  sliow  tliat  Assyria  was  not  only 
independent  but  powerful,  are  followed  by  a  blank  of  about 
200  years,  in  which  it  has  been  very  doubtfully  proposed  to 
place  Bel-sumili-kapi^  a  king  who  must  have  been  famous  in 
Assyrian  tradition  ;  for  a  genealogical  tablet,  of  uncertain 
date,  names  him  as  having  "  established  the  authority  "  of  the 
later  kings,  "  of  \\\^Q\\\from  that  time^  Asshur  proclaimed  the 
glory" — phrases  which  appear  to  mark  the  reputed  founder 
of  a  dynasty. 

§  13.  The  oldest  contemporary  records  of  Assyria  yet  found 
are  on  the  bricks  of  Klleh-ISher(/hat^  which  tiiey  seem  to 
mark  as  the  first  capital  of  the  kingdom  ;  and,  as  the  As- 
syrians pioceeded  from  Babylonia,  and  had  at  first  to  main- 
tain their  independence  against  her,  it  is  natural  that  their 
first  capital  should  be  the  lowest  on  the  course  of  the  Tigris. 
We  find  a  series  of  six  kings,  in  direct  descent  from  father  to 
son  :  I3el-lush  (perhaps  the  Belochus  of  the  Greeks),  Pud-il, 
Iva-lush  I.,  Shalmaneser  Z,  Tiglathi-Nin^and  Iva-lush  II.  f"^ 
of  whom  the  fii'st  four  stamped  their  names  and  royal  titles 
(which  are  such  as  to  prove  their  independence)  on  the 
bricks  of  the  buildings  which  they  raised  or  repaired  at  their 
capital  city  of  Asshur  [Kileh-Sherghat).  The  last  three  are 
also  named  in  the  genealogical  tablet  referred  to  above;  and 
Tiglathi-Nin  in  a  very  important  inscription  of  Sennacherib. 

/Shalmaneser  I.  is  named  in  the  "  standard  inscription  "  at 
JVimriid  as  the  founder  of  the  city  of  Calah  on  that  site;  a 
step  which  transferred  the  capital  from  its  more  exposed 
and  less  fertile  site  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris  to  the 
rich  and  well  protected  ground  between  the  Tigris  and  the 
Great  Zab.  Later  inscriptions  record  his  expeditions  against 
the  tribes  on  the  Upper  Tigris,  where  he  built  cities  and  be- 
gan the  policy  of  colonizing  them  from  a  distance.  He  is 
the  first  knoicn  Assyrian  conqueror. 

§  14.  The  subjection  of  the  upper  country  by  Shalmaneser 
I.  seems  to  have  enabled  his  son  Tiglathi-Nin^^  to  dispute 
with  Babylon  the  supremacy  of  Mesopotamia.  Not  only  is 
he  called,  in  the  genealogical  tablet  mentioned  above,  "  King 
of  the  /Suniir  and  Accad''''  (/.  e.,  of  Babylonia),  but  a  most  in- 
teresting recoi'd  of  Sennacherib  mentions  that  king's  recov- 
ery of  a  signet-ring  which  this  ancient  predecessor  had  left 
at  Babylon,  and  which  bore  the  inscription,  "  Tiglathi-Nin, 
King  of  Assyria,  son  of  Shalmaneser,  King  of  Assyria,  and 

^^  Rawlinson  places  Ihem  approximateli/  between  is.c.  1350  and  1230,  assigning  2Q 
yeai's  to  each  as  the  av.erage  derived  from  the  known  reigns  of  two  series  of  later 
kings  iu  direct  descent. 

^1  It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  his  name  is  one  of  those  compounded  from  that 
of  Ninus^  the  mythic  conqueror  of  Babylon. 


264  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ASSYRIA. 

conqueror  of  Kar-Dunis  "  (i.  e.,  Babylonia)  :  a  testimony,  not 
only  to  his  power,  but  his  presence  at  Babylon.  Such  an 
event  seems  the  fittest  to  mark  the  epoch  at  which,  accord- 
ing to  Berosus,  the  first  Assyrian  dynasty  began  to  reign 
at  Babylon ;"'■  signifying  probably  the  establishment  of  a 
branch  of  the  Assyrian  royal  house  on  the  throne  of  Baby- 
lonia. 

*'  We  must  not,  however,  suppose,"  observes  Professor 
Rawlinson,  "  that  Babylonia  was  from  this  time  really  sub- 
ject continuously  to  the  court  of  Nineveh.  The  subjection 
may  have  been  maintained  for  a  little  more  than  a  century  ; 
but  about  that  time  we  find  evidence  that  the  yoke  of  As- 
syria had  been  shaken  off,  and  that  the  Babylonian  mon- 
archs,  who  have  Semitic  names,  and  are  probably  Assyrians 
by  descent,  had  become  hostile  to  the  Ninevite  kings,  and 
were  engaged  in  frequent  wars  with  tliem.  Xo  real  per- 
manent subjection  of  the  Lower  country  to  the  Upper  was 
effected  till  the  time  of  Sargon  ;^^  and  even  under  the  Sar- 
gonid  dynasty  revolts  were  frequent ;  nor  were  tlie  Baby- 
lonians reconciled  to  the  Assyrian  sway  till  Esar-haddon 
united  the  two  crowns  in  his  own  person,  and  reigned  alter- 
nately at  the  two  capitals.  Still  it  is  probable  tliat,  from  the 
time  of  Tiglathi-Nin,  the  Uj)per  country  was  recognized  as 
the  superior  of  the  two;  it  had  shown  its  might  by  a  con- 
quest and  the  imposition  of  a  dynasty — proofs  of  power  which 
were- far  from  counterbalanced  by  a  ie\Y  retaliatory  raids  ad- 
ventured upon  under  favorable  circumstances  by  the  Baby- 
lonian princes.  Its  influence  was  therefore  felt,  even  while 
its  yoke  was  refused  ;  and  the  Semitizing  of  the  Chaldaeans, 
commenced  under  the  Arabs,  continued  during  the  whole 
time  of  Assyrian  preponderance."^^ 

Tiglathi-Xin  seems  also  to  have  extended  his  fiither's  con- 
quests to  the  north  ;  for  the  great  Asshiir-nasir-2Kd^  of  whom 
we  have  presently  to  speak,  mentions  a  tablet  set  up  by  him 
near  the  sources  of  the  Tsupnat^  or  Eastern  Tigris.  His  son, 
Ivalush  11.^  appears,  from  the  genealogical  tablet  on  which 
alone  his  name  occurs,  to  have  extended  the  Assyrian  domin- 
ions still  farther. 

Tiglathi-Kin  is  the  first  Assyrian  king  for  whom  the  cu- 
neiform records  give  a  date;  for  Sennacherib  places  him  600 
years  before  his  own  capture  of  Babylon,  which  was  in  n.c. 
702.     This  carries  his  reign  back  to  "about  B.C.  1300,  a  date 

62  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  djMiasties  of  Berosus  aie  those  of  Kinm  of  Bab- 
ylonia. 
*3  lu  the  last  twenty  years  of  the  Sth  century  v..i\ 
s*  Rawlinson,  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  305,  306. 


ANNALS  OF  TIGLATH-PILESEll  I.  265 

near  enough  to  the  epoch  of  the  Sixth  Dynasty  of  Berosus 
(B.C.  1270)/' 

§  15.  The  next  great  name  in  the  Assyrian  annals  happens 
to  be  one  having  the  same  meaning,  TUjlath-pileser  [Tlglath' 
palzira)  I.^^  He  has  left  ns  the  earliest  of  that  most  inter- 
esting class  of  records,  which  may  truly  be  called  Assyrian 
books  —  tablets,  cylinders,  or  prisms  of  clay,  covered  with 
cuneiform  inscriptions  in  a  fine  character,  and  then  baked. 
Like  books,  too,  they  were  multiplied  for  use  and  preserva- 
tion ;  and  thus  our  museum  possesses  two  perfect  copies,  be- 
sides fragments  of  others,  of  the  cylinders  inscribed  with  the 
annals  of  the  first  five  years  of  Tiglath-pileser's  reign." 

The  genuineness  of  the  inscription  is  attested  by  the  state- 
ment it  contains  :  "The  list  of  ray  victories,  etc.,  I  have  in- 
scribed on  my  tablets  and  cylinders,  and  I  have  placed  it 
[to  remain]  to  the  last  days,  in  the  temple  of  ray  lords,  Ann 
and  Iva."  Its  completeness  is  testified  by  the  concluding  in- 
vocation and  curse  on  any  one  who  should  destroy  the  rec- 
ords. The  inscription  gives  the  names  and  deeds  of  the 
king's  four  predecessors ;  and  his  own  name  occurs  again, 
with  that  of  his  father  and  son,  in  the  often-quoted  synchro- 
nistic tablet. 

Thus  we  have  a  second  series  of  six  kings  in  succession 
from  father  and  son,  and  only  separated  from  the  former  se- 
ries by  about  20  years  i"^  speaking  roughly,  they  fill  up  the 
12th  century  b.c.  The  first  of  these,  Nin-pjal-zira^  is  men- 
tioned with  a  phrase  which  seems  to  mark  the  head  of  a 
dynasty.  Asshur-dah-il  and  Mutaggil-Nebo  reigned  pros- 
perously, but  not  without  rebellions;  and  Asshur-ris-ilbn  \'^ 
styled  "the  powerful  king,  the  subduer  of  rebellious  coun- 
tries, he  who  has  reduced  all  the  accursed."  Among  his  en- 
emies was  the  first  Babylonian  king  who  bore  the  name  of 
Nahuchodonosor.  "^ 

§  16.  The  Annals  of  Tiglath-pileser  I.  himself  record  the 
extension  of  the  Assyrian  power  over  the  whole  region  of 

*=  Rawliuson  gets  over  the  difference  by  supposing  thnt  Sennacherib  nsed  a  round 
number;  others  take  u.o.  1300  literally;  but,  remembering  that  the  epoch  derived 
from  Berosus  is  a  part  of  a  chronological  scheme,  we  ought  to  be  content  with  an  ap- 
proximation of  GO  j-ears.  5«  See  above,  §  8. 

s'^  This  was  the  inscription  which  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  proposed  to  Major 
(now  Sir  Henry)  Rawliuson,  Dr.  Hincks,  Mr.  Fox  Talbot,  and  M.  Oppert,  as  a  test 
of  the  principles  of  cuneiform  interpretation ;  and  their  agreement  was  sufficient  "to 
prove  the  general  soundness  of  their  methods. 

^'*  Rawlthson  places  them  between  «.o.  1210  and  lOSO. 

5"  Some  details  of  this  war  are  given  by  Rawliuson,  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  p. 
310.  It  is  thought  that  there  are  indications  of  his  having  made  war  in  Southern 
Syria  and  Palestine;  but  the  attempt  to  identify  him  with  the  Chushan-rishathaim  of 
Judges  iii.  S,  seems  to  involve  a  misconception  of  the  relations  between  Assyria  and 
Mesopotamia.  It  is  perhaps  more  likely  that  Mesopotamia  Avas  tributary  to  Egypt, 
though  little  more  than  nominally.     (See  chap.  vi.  §  10.) 

12 


2GU  EAKLY  HISTOUY  OF  ASSYRIA. 

Upper  Mesopotamia  and  a  large  part  of  the  mountains  on 
its  north.  After  invoking,  as  the  guardians  of  his  kingdom, 
the  "great  gods  who  rule  over  heaven  and  earth,"  Bel^  S'm., 
JShamas,  Jva,  JVin,  and  Ishtar^  "  the  source  of  the  gods,  the 
queen  of  victory,"  and  after  a  grandiloquent  recital  of  his 
own  royal  titles'" — he  relates  the  five  campaigns  in  which  he 
defeated  the  Muskai  or  Moschians,  a  mountain  race  in  the 
Taurus  or  Niphates,  and  subdued  Qarinaukli  (Commagene), 
which  they  had  overrun;  repulsed  the  Kliatti  or  Hittites 
from  the  Assyrian  territory ;  carried  his  arms,  on  the  one 
side,  into  the  mountains  of  Zagrus;  and  on  the  other,  gained 
a  great  victory  over  the  numerous  tribes  of  the  Xdlri^  taking 
120  chariots,  and  driving  them  and  their  allies  as  tar  as  the 
"  Upper  Sea,"  which  can  only  be  the  Mediterranean.  The 
coincidence  of  the  name  of  the  Kd'tri  with  the  Arammiha- 
rcuni  of  Scripture  and  the  Kaharayn  of  the  Egyptian  monu- 
ments marks  this  as  the  decisive  subjugation  of  the  Mesopo- 
tamians  west  of  the  Khahom\  together  with  their  allies  of 
Upper  Syria,  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Orontes. 

Turning  next  to  the  middle  course  of  the  Euj^hrates,  he 
attacked  the  Aramaeans,  who  occupied  both  banks  of  the  riv- 
er for  some  250  miles  below  Circesium,  as  far  as  the  Tsukhi^ 
the  Shuhites  of  Scripture,  whose  country  was  between  Anah 
and  Hit.  He  smote  them  "  at  one  blow,"  crossing  the  river 
on  skins,  and  returned  laden  with  plunder.  This  account 
sets  in  their  true  light  a  large  proportion  of  the  so-called 
conquests  of  the  Assyrians — predatory  excursions  on  a  vast 
scale,  to  strike  terror  into  hostile  tribes,  and  to  carry  off 
slaves  and  booty  to  enhance  the  monarch's  state  at  home. 

In  the  story  of  his  last  campaign,  Tiglath-pileser  has  been 
thought  by  some  to  claim  the  conquest  of  Egypt ;  but  the 
name  used,  3Iusr  or  3I(isn,  has  two  senses ;  and  it  seems 
here  to  denote  the  forward  ranges  of  Zagrus,  between  the 
Great  Zab  and  the  Eastern  Khabour,  the  mountaineers  of 
Avhich  had  hitherto  maintained  their  independence,  but  were 
now  subjected  to  tribute."^ 

•"  It  is  worth  notice  in  connection  with  points  meutionerl  before  that  he  descril)es 
himself  as  "  kiug  of  the  peojile  of  various  tongues ;  kinc;  of  the  four  regions;''  "  the  ex- 
alted sovereign,  whose  servants  Assliar  has  appointed  to  the  government  of  the  four 
regions."    Possibly  this  may  mean  all  the  lands  to  the  north,  south,  east,  aud  Avesr. 

81  That  this  Mnsri  was  not  Egypt  is  clear  from  the  name  of  its  capital,  Arin,  and, 
besides,  it  is  described  as  a  mountainous  country.  The  probabilities  of  an  attack  on 
Egypt  by  Assyria  at  this  time  would  involve  an  interesting  but  somewhat  intricate 
discussion.  It  was  just  at  this  time  that  the  Philistines  and  the  Hittites  were  at  the 
height  of  their  poAver,  thus  barring  the  great  military  road  ;  and  a  conflict  with  these 
tribes,  which  must  have  occupied  at  least  a  whole  campaign,  would  not  have  been 
passed  over  in  so  minute  a  record.  Besides,  the  whole  object  of  these  campaigns 
was  clearly  to  establish  the  Assyrian  power  within  its  natural  limitj<,  the  veri/  limits 
assigned  to  the  king's  conquests  in  the  final  summary.  The  Egyptian  records  seem 
to  show  an  alliance  with  Assyria  about  this  time.    See  chap.  vi.  §  20. 


ASSYlilA  BECOMES  AN  EMPIRE.  267 

The  whole  result  of  the  five  campaigns  is  summed  up  as 
follows  :  "  Thus  fell  into  my  hands  altogether,  between  the 
commencement  of  my  reign  and  my  fifth  year,  forty-two 
countries,  with  their  kings,  from  the  banks  of  the  river  Zab 
to  the  banks  of  the  river  Euphrates,  the  country  of  the 
Khatti,  and  the  upper  ocean  of  the  setting  sun.  I  brought 
them  under  one  government ;  I  took  hostages  from  them, 
and  I  imposed  on  them  tribute  and  ofterings."  These  phrases 
seem  to  warrant  the  assigning  to  Tiglath-pileser  I.  the  first 
organization  of  Assyria  as  an  empire';  and  the  record  of  his 
great  works,  as  a  builder  and  restorer  of  temples,  proves  his 
care  for  the  national  religion.  The  details  given  of  his  mode 
of  warfare  agree  exactly  with  those  vivid  pictures  in  bas- 
relief  with  which  the  later  kings  delii,hted  to  line  their  pal- 
ace halls,  and  which  may  now  be  perused  by  all  like  an 
open  book,  on  the  walls  of  the  British  and  French  museums. 
Rivers  are  crossed  on  skins,  strongholds  stormed,  cities  burnt, 
lands  laid  waste,  a  vast  booty  in  cattle  and  treasure  carried 
off;  and,  as  for  the  peoj^le— we  must  not  spoil  the  king's  own 
words—"  The  ranks  of  their  warriors,  fighting  in  the  battle, 
were  beaten  down  as  if  by  the  tempest.  Their  carcasses  cov- 
ered the  valleys  and  the  tops  of  the  mountains.  I  cut  off 
their  heads.  Of  the  battlements  of  their  cities  I  made  heaps'' 
like  mounds  of  earth.  Their  movables,  their  wealth,  and 
their  valuables  I  plundered  to  a  countless  amount.  Six 
thousand  of  their  common  soldiers,  who  fled  before  my  serv- 
ants and  accepted  my  yoite,  I  took  and  gave  over  to  the  men 
of  my  own  territory  as  slaves." 

Another  set  of  representations  in  the  royal  pictures  is  il- 
lustrated by  this  narrative.  The  Assyrian  kings  had  always 
a  passion  for  the  chase;  they  were  literally  ''mighty  hunt- 
ers ;"  and  Tiglath-pileser  records  his  sporting  achievements, 
just  as  his  successors  depicted  theirs.  "  L^the  country  of 
the  Hittites,  he  boasts  of  having  slain  'four  wild  bulls,  strong 
and  fierce,'  with  his  arrows ;  while  in  the  nf^ighborhood  of 
Harran,  on  the  banks  of  the  Khabour,  he  had  killed  ten  large 
wild  bufialoes,  and  taken  four  alive.  These  captured  ani- 
mals he  had  carried  with  him  on  his  return  to  Asshur,  his 
capital  city,  together  with  the  horns  and  skins  of  the  slain 
beasts.  The  lio7is  which  he  had  destroyed  in  his  various 
journeys  he  estimates  at  920  !  All  these  successes  he  as- 
cribes to  the  powerful  protection  of  Xin  and  Nergal.'"'  This 
religious  spirit  pervades  the  whole  inscription.     The  exact- 

«2  Com  p.  Isaiah  xxv.  2 ;  Micah  i.  6. 

«3  Rawlinsou,   "Five   Monarchies,"   vol.  ii.  pp.  317,  .31S.      Ou   Assyrian   huuting 
scenes  in  general,  see  Layard's  "  Nineveh,"  vol.  ii.  p.  4.31. 


268  EAliLY  IllSTOKT  OF  ASSYRIA. 

iiess  of  its  date  is  tantalizing,  from  our  ignorance  of  the  way 
in  wliicli  the  year  is  marked.  "  In  the  month  KiizaUa  (Chis- 
leu),  on  the  29th  day  in  tlie  year,  presided  over  by  Ina-illya' 
pallik,  the  Eabhi-Turiy^ 

§  17.  But  for  more  important  than  its  exact  date  is  the  in- 
sight which  this  self-drawn  full-lengtli  portrait  of  one  of  its 
earliest  kings  gives  us  into  the  character  of  the  Assyrian 
empire,  and  her  position  among  her  neighbors  about  the  end 
of  the  12th  century  B.C.  "  She  was  a  compact  and  powerful 
kingdom,  centralized  under  a  single  monarch,  and  with  a 
single  great  capital,  in  the  midst  of  wild  tribes,  which  clung 
to  a  separate  independence,  each  in  its  own  valley  or  village. 
At  the  a])proach  of  a  great  danger,  these  tribes  might  con- 
sent to  coalesce  and  to  form  alliances,  or  even  confedei-a 
tions  ;  but  the  federal  tie,  never  one  of  much  tenacity,  and 
rarely  capable  of  holding  its  ground  in  the  presence  of  mo- 
narchic vigor,  was  liere  especially  weak.  After  one  defeat 
of  their  joint  forces  by  the  Assyrian  troops  the  confederates 
commonly  dispersed,  each  flying  to  the  defense  of  his  own 
city  or  territory,  uitli  a  short-sighted  selfishness  which  de- 
served and  insured  defeat.  In  one  direction  only  was  As- 
syria confronted  by  a  rival  state  possessing  a  power  and  or- 
ganization in  character  not  unlike  her  own,  though  scarcely 
of  equal  strength.  On  lier  southern  frontier  the  kingdom  of 
Babylon  was  still  existing;  its  Semitic  kings,  though  orig- 
inally established  u])on  the  throne  by  x\ssyrian  influence, 
liad  dissolved  all  connection  with",  their  old  protecrtors,  and 
asserted  their  thorough  independence.'""'^ 

§  18.  The  silence  of  the  cylinder  respecting  Babylonia  is 
partly  compensated  by  two  later  records.  The  synchronistic 
tablet  relates  that  he  invaded  the  country  in  two  successive 
years,  wasting  the  "upper"  or  northern  districts,  taking  the 
frontier  fort  of  Kur-galazu  (Akkerku/),  Sippara,  and  Baby- 
lon itself,  and  returning  down  the  Eu])hratcs,- where  he  took 
several  cities  of  the  Tsukhi.  It  appears  to  have  been  during 
this  retreat  that  he  was  overtaken  by  the  King  Merodach- 
idin-akhi,  who  inflicted  upon  him  some  serious  blow  f'  for 
Sennacherib  records,  in  his  celebrated  rock  inscription  at 
J^avicm,  near  Khorsabad,  his  recovery  of  certain  idols  which 
had  been  carried  to  Babylon  by  Merodach-idin-akhi,  who  had 
taken  them  from  Tiglath-pileser  at  Hekalin  (probably  near 

64  This  is  one  of  the  epomjmi,  whose  names  ir.ark  each  year. 

6^  Rawlinson,  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  p.  82S. 

6^  The  liabilily  of  an  Oriental  army,  when  retreating  carelessly,  iucumbererl  wifh 
its  captives  and  plunder,  to  such  an  attack  from  a  resolute  pursuer  is  illustrated  by 
Abraham's  pursuit  and  defeat  of  Chedorlaomer,  which,  in  its  turin  receives  light  fronj 
the  case  before  ue. 


GAP  IN  THE  ASSYRIAN  HISTORY. 


2G9 


Tekrit).  These  idols  had  doubtless  been  carried  with  the 
army  (as  the  Hebrews  took  the  ark  ag-ainst  the  Philistines) 
as  a  security  for  victory."  The  fact  that  such  objects  of 
veneration  and  ti-ophies  of  victory  were  not  recovered  for 
above  400  years  is  signiiicant  of  tlie  sti-engtli  of  Babylon ; 
while  the  monuments  of  successive  Assyi-ian  kiniis  testify 
their  repeated  efforts  to  subdue  her.  "A  hostile  and  jealous 
spirit  appears  henceforth  in  the  relations  between  Assyria 
and  Babylon;  we  find  no  more"  intermarriages  of  the  one 
royal  house  with  the  other ;  wars  are  frequent,  almost  con- 
stant— nearly  every  Assyrian  monarch  whose  history  is 
known  to  us  in  detail  conducting  at  least  one  expedition 
into  Babylonia.'"' 

§  19.  Tiglath-pileser  I.  has  still  one  more  claim  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  typical  king  of  the  old  monarchy.  The  earli- 
est specimen  of  Assyrian  sculpture 
is  a  figure  of  this  king  in  bas-relief, 
on  the  face  of  the  native  rocks  in 
a  cavern  near  the  eastern  source  of 
the  Tigris  —  the  memorial,  proba- 
bly, of  the  extent  of  his  conquests 
in  that  direction.  It  represents  the 
king  in  his  sacerdotal  dress,  with 
the  right  arm  extended,  and  the  left 
hand  grasping  the  sacrificial  mace, 
and  the  rock  bears  the  following 
inscription:  "By  the  grace  of  As- 
shur,  Shamas,  and  Iva,  the  Great 
Gods,  I,  Tiglath-pilesei-,  King  of 
Assyria,  son  of  Asshur-ris-ilim,  King 
of  Assyria,  who  was  the  son  of 
Miitaggil-Nebo,  King  of  Assyria, 
marching  from  the  great  sea  of 
Ak'hiri,  to  the  sea  of  Nalri^  for  the 
third  time  have  invaded  the  coun- 
try of  the  mariy  The  fact  that  Figure  of  Tiglath-pileserl  (From 
^,♦1  1       ,«  T         a  rock  tablet  near  Korkbar.) 

this  monument  was  sought  tor  and 

found,  in  consequence  of  the  record  of  its  existence  in  this 
very  locality  in  an  inscription  of  a  later  king  (see  p.  283),  is 
one  of  the  experimenta  crucis  of  cuneiform  science.     Another 

*^  This  supplies  one  of  the  leading  chronological  data.  The  Bavian  inscription 
was  set  up  in  Sennacherib's  10th  year,  ;;.c.  G92,  and  he  says  thaf  the  idols  were  cap- 
tured 41S  years  previously,  which  brings  us  to  u.c.  1110,  probably  just  at  the  close  of 
Ti£rlath-i)ile«er's  reign.  ^8  Rawlinson,  I.  c.  p.  330. 

♦"*  The  interpreters  explain  the  Sea  of  Akbiri  as  the  Maditcrrancan,  and  the  S"a  nf 
Nalri  as  Lake  Van.  It  is  clear  that  the  country  of  the  Xalri  includes  the  locality  of 
the  monument,  showing  that  Professor  Rawliuson  is  right  in  giving  these  people  a 
tvider  range  than  Mesopotamia. 


270  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  ASSYRIA. 

early  specimen  of  sculpture,  the  mutilated  statue  in  oui 
museum  of  the  goddess  Ishtar,  or  Astarte,  dates  probably 
from  the  reign  of  Asshur-bil-kala,  the  son  and  successor  of 
Tiglath-pileser  I. 

I  20.  At  the  close  of  what  is  called  "  the  Tiglath-pileser 
series  "  of  six  kings,  the  leading  English  authorities  tind  a 
great  gap  of  a  century  and  a  half,  broken  by  only  one  un- 
certain name."  But  M.  Oppert  and  the  French  writers  place 
here  the  king  who  has  been  mentioned  above  as  having  "es- 
tablished the  authority  of  the  later  kings."  They  read  his 
name  Belkatirassou^  and  identify  him  with  the  Belitaras^ 
governor  of  the  royal  gardens,  who  (according  to  the  Greek 
writers)  formed  a  conspiracy  against  his  sovereign,  and  be- 
came the  head  of  the  new  dynasty,  Avhich  lasted  in  an  un- 
broken line  to  the  end  of  the  Old  or  Upper  Empire.  Which- 
ever may  be  the  correct  view,  it  is  remarkable  that  this  break 
in  the  Assyrian  dynasty,  indicating  a  diminution  of  its  pow- 
er, occurs  at  the  very  time  when  the  wars  of  David  and  the 
splendid  government  of  Solomon  established  a  real  empire 
of  Israel  up  to  the  Euphrates  itself;  and  when,  also — towards 
the  close  of  the  interval — Rezon  founded  the  Syrian  kingdom 
of  Damascus,  which  maintained  a  constant  conflict  against 
Assyi-ia  till  the  final  triumph  of  the  latter.'^  It  is  also  re- 
markable that,  just  when  the  power  of  Assyria  was  thus 
circumscribed  on  the  west,  we  begin  to  find  apparent  traces 
of  Assyrian  influence  in  Egypt  in  the  names  of  the  kings  of 
the  22d  Dynasty."  And  we  can  now  see  how  the  conquests 
of  that  dynasty  in  Palestine  were  facilitated  by  the  internal 
troubles  which  weakened  Assyria. 

Both  sets  of  authorities  come  into  agreement  at  the  reign 
of  Ass/mr-idin-akhi,  from  whom  the  list  of  kings  is  complete 
(with  only  two  or  three  cases  of  doubt)  down  to  the  end  of 
the  Upper  Monarchy."  But  the  first  great  name  in  this 
new  series  \s  that  of  a  king  who  vies  with  Tiglath-pileser  I. 
in  his  conquests,  and  the  fullness  of  his  annals,  and  far  sur- 
passes him  in  his  architectural  monuments.  We  suspend 
till  the  next  chapter  the  mention  of  his  name,  as  it  is  read  in 
different  ways. 

70  "The  single  uame  of  Asshur-Maztir,  which  has  been  assif^ned  to  this  period,  is 
recovered  from  an  inscription  of  Shalmaueser  II.  (the  Bhick  Obelisk  King),  who 
speaks  of  a  city  Muddimi,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Euphrates,  whicli  had  been  taken, 
before  his  time,  by  Tiglath-pileser  and  Asshur-Mazur,  Kings  of  Assyria."— Rawliu- 
8on,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  p.  .334,  note. 

■'J  These  remarks  are  founded  on  the  chronology  calculated  by  the  English  author- 
ities, who  place  the  whole  series  of  kings,  from  Asshur-idin-akhi  to  Asshur-lush,  be- 
tween B.C.  950  and  747.  But  the  French  writers  (Oppert,  Lenorrnant,  etc.)  place  the 
same  series  just  40  years  higher.  ''^  See  above,  chap.  vii.  §  d. 

^3  See  the  list  in  Rawlinsou. 


m 


i 


'lijiiiliii!:; 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


273 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


ON  THE  SITE  AND  aXTENT  OF  MXEVEH. 

The  traditioual  site  of  Nineveh  is  marked 
by  the  muuiid;?  (;f  Koyunjik  aud  Xcbbi-Yu- 
n^oi,  opposite  jVIopuI.  This  was  certainly 
the  Niueveh  of  Sennacherib  ;  and  it  is  the 
only  one  of  the  royal  citie^s  on  the  Tigris 
to  which  we  have  as  yet  found  the  name 
distinctly  applied  by  the  Assyrians  tliem- 
5€lves.  But  we  must  not  rush  to  the  con- 
'.lusion  that  this  was  either  the  original  or 
the  only  Nineveh.  It  may  even  be  j)ossi- 
ble  to  reconcile  the  views  of  those  who  re- 
gard all  the  other  royal  cities  as  distinct 
from  Niueveh  and  from  each  other,  and 
of  those  (especially  Mr.  Layard)  who  in- 
chide  all  the  ruius  from  yirnrud  to  Koijun- 
fik  and  Xebbi-Yumi-s  under  that  name. 

Kilch-Sher(/hat  lies  too  far  south  to  he 
included;  and  Khorsabad  is  expressly  dis- 
tinguished by  its  founder,  Sargou,  from 
Nineveh,  to  which  it  stood  (as  a  royal 
residence)  somewhat  iu  the  relation  of 
Windsor  to  London. 

(1)  The  primeval  antiquity  of  Nineveh 
{by  that  name)  is  attested  both  by  Scrip- 
ture, and  by  the  Egyptian  records  of  the 
ISth,  19th,  and  20th  dynasties;  that  is,  as 
early  as  the  15th  century  v..c.,  long  before 
the  age  of  the  Assyrian  kings  who  had 
their  capitals  at  Asshnr  {Kileh-Sher;ihat) 
aud  Calah  {Ximimd).  Mr.  Layard  observes 
that  "there  are  now  reasons  for  conjec- 
turing that  the  mound  of  Ko[ntnjik  covers 
the  remains  of  edilices  erected  by  somc^ 
of  the  earliest  Assyrian  kings."  ("Small- 
er Nineveh  aud  Babylon,"  lutrod.,  page 
XXXV.) 

(•2)  Kings  of  the  Old  Assyrian  Monarchy, 
residing  at  Calah  (Ximrud),  mention  Niue- 
veh. Especially  the  great  "NimrudKiug," 
A  fi)^hur-na.si/  -pal,  speaks  of  carrying  ma- 
terials to  his  jKilacc  at  Xineveh.  This  may 
mean  Xivirnd  (accoiding  to  Mr.  Layard's 
theory) ;  but  M.  Place  found  a  tablet  of 
this  same  king  at  Koynnjik—\he.  only 
monument  yet  found  there  of  a  date  ear- 
lier than  Sennacherib.  But  it  seems  from 
the  inscriptions  that  palaces  and  temples 
were  built  at  Ximrud  at  least  two  or  three 
centuries  before  the  north-west  palace  of 
this  king,  which  is  the  most  ancient  edi- 
fice yet  explored  in  that  mound  ;  and  the 
perfection  of  arts  and  manufactures  found 
in  that  edifice  points  clea'-ly  to  a  long  pre- 
ceding progress. 

(•''.)  Sennacherib  records  his  restoration 
of  Nineveh  to  be  his  royal  city ;  and  de- 
6cril)e8  it  as  having  a  circuit  of  between 
12* 


30  aud  40  miles.  The  site  of  his  Nineveh 
is  undoubtedly  marked  by  the  mounds 
opposite  to  Mosul;  but  the  extent  of  the 
remains  of  strong  fortifications,  which  are 
still  to  be  traced,  is  only  7^  miles  in  cir- 
cuit. This  is  quite  large  enough  for  the 
primitive  city,  which  probably  became  the 
royal  quarter.  After  this  period,  we  still 
find  the  Assyrian  kings,  as  Esar-haddon 
and  the  supposed  last  king  {Asshttr-cmil- 
ilin),  building  palaces  at  Ximrud. 

(4)  All  I  tie  monmls  yet  explored  con- 
tain the  ruius  M^'ely  of  the  royal  2fi:ilaces. 
Among  the  adjacent  iiiclosures,  defined 
by  the  remains  of  walls,  aud  strewn  with 
fragments  of  bricks  aud  pottery,  though 
large  euough  to  mark  fair-sized  towns, 
such  as  would  grow  up  round  a  royal  res- 
idence, none  approaches  to  the  descrip- 
tion given  by  Sennacherib,  nor  to  the 
statement  that  "Niueveh  was  an  exceed- 
ing great  city  of  three  days'  journey"— 
nor  to  that  of  "Nineveh,  that  great  cit}', 
wherein  are  more  ihau  si.xscore  thousand 
persons  that  can  not  discern  between  their 
right  hand  aud  their  left  haud  " — which, 
interpreted  as  children,  argues  a  popula- 
tion of  600,000— "o?k/  also  miich  cattle.'" 
(Jonah  iii.  ?, ;  iv.  11.)  The  last  statement 
is  important  as  indicating  that  Niueveh, 
like  the  Eastern  cities  both  r^f  ancient 
and  modern  times,  comprised  vast  open 
spaces.  It  is  no  improbable  inference, 
that  the  whole  space  from  Ximriid  to  the 
m-n':ds  opposite  J^jsid  was  occupied  by 
scattered  bnildiugs  which  connected  the 
old  towns  and  the  new  royal  towns  and 
residences,  aud  were  included  in  Niueveh 
in  the  widest  sense. 

(5)  But  we  must  neither  insist  that  the 
true  si)ecific  meaning  of  Xineveh  was  this 
great  assemblage  of  palaces,  fortresses, 
towns,  and  scattered  houses,  nor  ccniflne 
it  to  the  inclosed  space  ojjposite  Mosul  ; 
though  probably  the  latter  may  have  been 
its  original  sense.  It  is  rather  surprising 
that  the  disputants  have  not  made  more 
of  the  analogy  of  our  own  capital.  The 
i;ame  of  London  has  been  extended  from 
the  British  village  which  crowned  the  hill 
of  St.  Paul's  to  the  Roman  Londinium 
which  did  not  pass  the  Fleet  valley; 
thence  to  the  "City,"  which  is  about 
equal  in  area  to  Hyde  Park ;  and  lastly 
to  the  vast  aggregate  of  town  tind  suburbs 
which  grows  year  by  year,  and  which  (for 
some  purposes)  has  a  radius  of  15  miles. 

Whether  the  name  of  Xineveh  spread 
thus,  or  whether  it   was  applied  to  the 


274 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Ruins  of  Xineveh. 


capital  for  the  time  being;  where  was  its 
original  site,  and  how  large  its  full  ex- 
tent ;  are  questions  too  nice  to  be  deter- 
mined till  further  records  are  recovered 
from  the  ruins. 

(6)  The  city,  which  appears  in  one  of 
the  earliest  chapters  of  the  Bible,  had  dis- 
appeared before  the  time  of  the  earliest 
Greek  historians.  Herodotus  speaks  of 
the  Tigris  as  "the  river  upon  which  the 
citii nf  yinus  (i.  e.,  Xineveh)  formerly  stooiV 
(i.  193) ;  nor  does  he  affect  to  describe  the 
long  since  perished  city.  Later  writers, 
with  more  or  less  accuracy,  mention  its 
position  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Tigris, 
in  Aturia,  above  the  Lycus  {Great  Zab), 
though  Diodorns,  professing  to  follow 
Ctesias,  places  it  on  the  Euphrates  !  The 
same  writer  gives  a  description  of  the  city 
which,  being  merely  traditional  (and  also 
in  part  doubtless  imaginative),  is  of  little 
value.  It  formed  an  oblong  quadrangle 
of  ir>0  stadia  by  90   (15X9  geographical 


miles),  which  far  exceeds  the  measures 
given  by  Sennacherib,  and  makes  an  area 
about  twice  as  large  as  Loudon  and  its 
suburbs.  Its  walls  were  100  ftet  high, 
and  thick  enough  to  allow  three  chariots 
to  pass  upon  them  ;  with  1500  towers,  20(> 
feet  in  height.  These  statements  are  the 
less  incredible  when  we  remember  that 
the  walls  were  huge  earthen  embank- 
ments, faced  only  with  masonry,  such  as 
we  see  in  good  preservation  especially  at 
Khorsabad.  Strabo  simply  says  that  the 
city  was  larger  than  Babylon, 

(7)  Traditions  hung  about  the  neighbor- 
hood for  ages  after  the  destruction  of  the 
city.  The  mounds  which  cover  the  ruined 
palaces  were  pointed  out  in  ancient  times 
as  the  tombs  of  Ninus  and  Sardanapalus: 
and  we  have  to  notice  the  stories  told  to 
Mr.  Layard  about  >^imrod  and  Asshur  un- 
der the  shadow  of  yimrnd.  But  the  very 
name  of  Nineveh  survived.  Tacitus  men- 
tions the  capture  (in  th«  Parthian  civil 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


27/ 


war  in  the  time  of  Claudius)  of  "uibs  Ni- 
nes, vetustissima  gedes  Assyrise  "  in  Adi- 
abeue  (Ann.  xii.  13) :  Amraianus  Marcelli- 
ims  (xiv.  8),  under  Julian,  mentions  "ve- 
tus  Niuus  "  in  the  same  district ;  and  coins 
exist  of  the  reigns  of  Claudius,  Trajan, 
Maximin,  and  Gordianus  Pius,  with  the  le- 
gend, NiMivA  Claudiopolis.  Thus  there 
seems  to  have  been  a  specific  Roman  Nm- 
eveh;  but  the  name,  like  that  of  Babylon, 
a])pears  to  have  wandered  about  the  neigh- 
borhood according  to  the  importance  of 
the  city  which  claimed  it  for  the  time. 
Philostratus  {Vit.  Apoll.  Tijan.  i.  19)  speaks 
of  a  Ninus  west  of  the  Euphrates  ;  and  Eu- 
sebius  applies  the  name  to  Nisibis. 

(S)  The  prevailing  traditions  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan age  ultimately  fixed  on  the 
site  opposite  MomL  Thus,  Ibn  Athir 
speaks  of  the  forts  of  Xvmici  to  the  east, 
and  of  Mosnl  to  the  west,  of  the  Tigris,  in 
the  campaigns  of  Abdallah  Ibn  Mo'etewer 


A.n.  16  (A.n.  63T)  ;  and  of  Otbeh  Ibn  Far- 
kad,  A.n.  20  (a.i>.  641),  quoting  from  Be- 
ladheri,  in  the  annals  of  those  years  (Raw- 
linson,  "As.  Journal,"  1850).  'in  the  12th 
century,  Benjamin  of  Tudela  speaks  of 
Nineveh  as  opposite  to  Mosul  ("Travels," 
p.  91,  ed.  Asher,  1S40) ;  and  Abulfaraj  no- 
tices  it  under  the  name  of  Xinue  ("Hist. 
Dynast."  pp.  404-441) ;  see  also  his  "  Chro- 
nicon,"  p.  464.  Lastly,  Assemanni,  in  his 
account  of  the  mission  of  Salukah,  the  pa- 
triarch of  the  Chaldifians,  to  Rome  in  a.d. 
1552,  when  describing  Mosxd,  says,  "  a  qua 
ex  a.tera  ripse  parte  abest  Ninive  bis  mille 
passus."  ("Bibl.  Orient."  vol.  i.  p.  524.) 
In  the  same  work  of  Assemanni  are  many 
notices  of  Nineveh  as  a  Christian  bishop- 
ric, first  under  the  metropolitan  of  Mosul, 
and  subsequently  under  the  bishop  of 
Assyria  and  Adiabene  ("Bibl.  Orient." 
vol.  ii.  p.  459 ;  vol.  iii.  pp.  104,  269,  344, 
etc.). 


The  Mouud  of  Nimrucl. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE    OLD    ASSYRIAN    EMPIRE. B.C 


■746. 


I  1.  The  two  series  of  seven  kings  of  the  Old  and  New  Empire.  Abbudr-nasiu-pai,. 
§  2.  Account  of  the  recent  Assyrian  discoveries.  M.  Botta's  Discoveries  at  Khorsa- 
bcul.  §  3.  Mr.  Layard's  discoveries  at  Nimrud,  Calah.  Description  of  the  North- 
west Palace  of  Asshur-nasir-pal.  §  4.  Plan  of  the  palace.  Inscriptions,  wilh  the 
king's  annals.  5  5.  His  titles  on  his  statue.  Records  of  his  conquests.  His  Hunt- 
ing exploits.  §  G.  His  bas-reliefs  in  the  British  Museum.  Witnesses  to  the  cruel 
despotism  of  Assyria.  §  T.  Excellent  art  of  the  sculptures.  Use  of  color.  Other 
objects— bowls— ivory-tablets— weights.  Signs  of  Egiiptian  and  Phoenician  work. 
§8.  The  temples  and  zjV/'/wai  of  A7T«n<rf.  Canal  and  Tunnel  of  A'c-.w^/ft.  §9.  De- 
scription of  his  capital  of  Cai.ah.  Yi.if-.wQv'kf^aiKilch-Sherghat.  5  10.  Sualmane- 
feER  II.,  the  "Black  Obelisk  King."  His  "Central  Palace"  at  Ximrurl  Descrip- 
tion of  his  Obelisks.  §  11.  Relations  of  Assyria  to  Syria  and  Israel.  Mention  of 
Benkidad  and  Ahab,  Hazael  and  Jehu,  on  Shalmaneser's  monuments.  §  12.  His 
other  campaigns.  §  13.  Rebellion  of  his  elder  son;  put  down  by  Shamas-Iva. 
Campaigns  of  this  king.  §  14.  Iva-Lush  IV.  His  palace  at  Nineveh  (in  the 
Nehhi-Yunus  mound).  Extent  of  his  dominion.  §  15.  His  power  in  Babylonia. 
His  queen  Sammiirainit  (Semiramis).  §  IG.  Doubtful  period  of  about  40  years. 
Siialmaneser  III.  and  his  two  successors.  §  IT.  Signs  of  disturbance  and  revolt. 
Probable  independence  of  Babylon  at  the  Era  of  Nahonassar.  §  IS.  Question  con- 
cerning the  PuL  of  Scripture. 

§  1.  We  have  seen  the  kingdom  of  Assyria  grow  into  an 
empire ;  and  we  liave  reached  the  point  from  which  we  can 
follow  both  its  history  and  chronology  with  tolerable  cer- 
tainty. The  greatness  of  the  empire  may  be  divided  into 
two  nearly  equal  periods  of  less  than  a  century  and  a  half/ 
each  comprising  seven  kings — the  first  seven  belonging  to  the 
old  empire,  the  last  to  the  new. 

The  records  of  the  first  of  these  kings,  named  (as  we  shall 
presently  see)  Asshur-nasir-pal,  have  only  been  revealed 
within  the  last  quaiter  of  a  century ;  and  tlieir  interest,  and 


1  Namely,  from  b.c.  SSG  to  is.n.  746,  140  years;  and  from  n.c.  74G  to  G'25,  121  j'ears. 
But  if  we  were  to  take  the  date  of  li.o.  C06  for  the  fall  of  Nineveh,,  both  periods  would 
be  exactly  equal— namely,  140  years. 


RECENT  ASSYRIAN  DISCOVERIES.  277 

that  of  the  whole  history  of  Assyria,  is  enhanced  by  their 
connection  with  one  of  the  most  startling  of  modern  histor- 
ical discoveries. 

§  2.  Among  the  Eastern  travellers  who  had  been  possessed 
w'ith  the  desire  to  explore  those  vast  mounds  upon  and  near 
the  Tigris — in  the  neighborhood  where  Nineveh  was  known 
to  have  stood — which  local  tradition  set  down  as  the  works 
of  Nimrod,  Mr.  (now  the  Right  Hon.)  Austex  Hexry  Lay- 
ARD  had  been  especially  fascinated  by  those  within  the  angle 
formed  by  the  Tigris  and  Great  Zab,  to  whicli  the  name  of 
Nimrud  was  specifically  given.  While  seeking  for  means 
to  explore  them,  his  zeal  w^as  quickened  by  the  success  of  M. 
Botta,  who,  after  some  mere  gleanings  at  Koyiii^jik  (which 
afterwards  proved  to  be  on  the  site  of  Nineveh  itself)  in  1842, 
had  turned  his  attention  to  Khormhad^  and  had  there  dis- 
covered an  Assyrian  edifice,  "the  first,  probably,  which  had 
been  exposed  to  the  view  of  man  since  the  fall  of  the  Assyr- 
ian empire."^ 

The  impression  made  by  this  first  discovery  ought  not  to 
be  obliterated  by  the  flood  of  knowledge  since  acquired. 
"Pie  (M.  Botta)  soon  found  that  he  had  opened  a  chamber 
wliich  was  connocted  with  others,  and  constructed  of  slabs 
of  gypsum,^  covered  with  sculptured  representations  of  bat- 
tles," sieges,  and  similar  events.  His  wonder  may  easily  be 
imagined.  A  new  history  had  been  suddenly  opened  upon 
him— the  records  of  an  unknown  people  Avere  before  him. 
He  w^as  equally  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  age  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  monument.  The  art  shown  in  the  sculptures — 
the  dresses  of  the  figures — their  arms,  and  the  objects  which 
accompanied  them — were  all  new  to  him,  and  afibrded  no 
clue  to  the  epoch  of  the  erection  of  the  edifice,  and  to  the 
people  who  were  its  founders.  Numerous  inscriptions  were 
cut  between  the  bas-reliefs,  and  evidently  contained  the  ex- 
planation  of  the  events  thus  recorded  in  sculpture.  The  na- 
ture of  these  inscriptions  aflforded,  at  least,  evidence  that  the 
building  was  of  a  period  preceding  the  conquest  of  Alexan- 
der;  for  it  was  generally  admitted  that,  after  the  subjuga- 
tion of  the  west  of  Asia  by  the  Macedonians,  the  cuneiform 
writing  ceased  to  be  employed.      But   too  little  was  tlien 

2  The  edifice  was  completely  uncovered  iu  1S45.  See  Layard,  "Niueveh  and  its  Ke 
jnaiiis,"  vol.  i.  pp.  10  seq.  We  still  speak  of  the  site  of  Sargon's  capital  as  Khorsa- 
bad;  but  the  village  of  that  name  was  purchased  and  removed  by  M.  Botta,  iu  order 
to  excavate  the  mound  on  which  it  stood.  The  name  is  probably  from  Khorsaic-abad 
(the  abode  of  Khosroes),  one  of  those  Persian  names  which  many  of  the  villages  in  this 
part  of  Assyria  have  obtained  from  their  vicinity  to  the  mountains  of  Kurdistan. 

3  The  reader  sbould  bear  in  mind  that  the  bas-reliefs  in  the  Assyrian  bniUlingf!  are 
for  the  most  part  of  the  gypsum  and  alabaster  found  iu  the  neighborhood.  Some  are 
of  limestone. 


278  THE  OLD  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

known  of  this  character  to  enable  M.  Botta  to  draw  any  in- 
ference from  the  peculiar  arrangement  of  the  wedges,  which 
distinguishes  the  varieties  used  in  diftVrent  countries.  How- 
ever, it  was  evident  that  the  monument  appertained  to  a  very 
ancient  and  very  civilized  people ;  and  it  was  natural,  from 
its  position,  to  refer  it  to  the  inhabitants  of  Nineveh,  a  city 
which,  although  it  could  not  have  occupied  ct  site  so  distant 
from  the  Tigris^  must  have  been  in  the  vicinity  of  tlie  place." 
It  turned  out  that  Mr.  Layard's  attention  was  fixed  as  much 
too  far  south  as  M.  Botta's  was  too  far  north,  but  with  the 
happy  result,  not  only  of  converging  upon  the  true  Nine- 
veh, but  discovering  two  others  of  the  great  capitals  of  As- 
syria. 

§  3.  It  was  in  1845  that  Mr.  Layard  Avas  at  length  ena- 
bled* to  begin  his  explorations  at  JVimnid;  and  the  Arab 
Sheikh,  who  first  received  the  traveller  into  his  hut,  gave  a 
curious  foretaste  of  his  success.  "  The  palace,"  said  he, "  was 
built  by  Athuk,  the  Jdayah,  or  lieutenant,  of  Nimrod" — 
that  very  Nimrod,  "  out  of  whose  land  went  forth  Asshur, 
and  builded  .  .  .  Ccdahy''  Such  is  the  wondrous  tenacity 
of  tradition,  for  the  mounds  of  Nimrud  were  soon  found  to 
contain  the  ruins  of  Calah. 

Those  who  love  to  see  results  enlivened  by  the  processes 
which  unfold  them  can  read  in  Mr.  Layard's  first  book^  the 
steps  by  which  he  realized — and  has  enabled  us  to  realize, 
not  only  by  description,  but  by  the  objects  in  our  Museum — 
those  "visions  of  palaces  underground,  of  gigantic  monsters, 
of  sculptured  figures,  and  endless  inscriptions,"  which  "  float- 
ed before  his  excited  brain  "  that  night.  Our  present  con- 
cern is  with  one  building  which  he  discovered— that  one  of 
the  four  palaces  built  on  the  platform  already  mentioned^  as 
marking  the  royal  quarter  of  Calah,  whicli  is  called  the 
"North-western  Palace."  First,  to  see  its  present  state,  as. 
an  example  of  the  royal  ruins  of  Assyria,  let  us  follow  the 
explorer,  abridging  as  we  go.  "  I  would  wish  " — says  Mr. 
Layard,  in  recapitulating  his  discoveries  —  "before  leaving 

*  Writing  these  paragraphs  under  the  conviction  that  a  history  of  ancient  Assyria 
would  be  wanting  in  completeness  and  interest  without  some  account  of  the  history 
of  these  discoveries,  we  feel  equally  bound  to  repeat  Mr.  Layard's  grateful  acknowl- 
edgment to  the  one  man  who  first  supplied  the  means.  "It  is  to  Sir  Steatfokp 
Canning  "  (Lord  Stratford  de  Redclyffe)  "  we  are  mainly  indebted  for  the  collection 
of  Assyrian  monuments  with  which  the  British  Museum  will  be  [is  now]  enriched ; 
without  his  liberality  and  public  spirit  the  treasures  of  Nimrud  would  have  been  re- 
served for  the  enterprise  of  those  who  have  appreciated  the  value  and  importance  of 
the  discoveries  at  Khorsabad." 

s  Genesis  x.  11,  12.  Here  we  see  the  name  of  Asshur  preserved  in  the  same  form  as 
the  Greek  name  of  the  province,  Aturia. 

6  "  Nineveh  and  its  ReTiiuius,"  2  vols.  1349.     Abridged  edition  in  1  vol.,  1SC». 

f  See  above,  chap.  xi.  5  0. 


MR.  LAYAED'S  DISCOVERIES  AT  NIMRUD. 


279 


Nimrud  and  re-burying*  its  palaces,  I  would  wish  to  lead  the 
reader  once  more  through  the  ruins  of  the  principal  edifice, 
and  to  convey  as  distinct  an  idea  as  I  am  able  of  the  exea- 


Plan  of  the  Mouud  of  Nimrud. 


vated  halls  and  chambers,  as  they  appeared  when  fully  ex- 
plored.    On  approaching  the  mound,  not  a  trace  of  building 

8  This  is  not  a  figure  of  speech.  The  sculptures,  etc.,  not  removed  were  cover^l 
again  with  rubbish  of  the  excavations,  to  preserve  them  from  the  atmosphere  and 
from  the  Arab  iconoclasts.  At  Khorsabad,  the  gypsum  slabs  first  uncovered  by  M. 
Botta  crumbled  faster  than  they  could  be  copied. 


280  THE  OLD  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

can  be  perceived,"  and  so  fortli  of  the  externa,  appearance 
<of  the  mounds.  "By  a  tliglit  of  steps  rudely  cut  into  the 
earth,  near  the  western  face  of  tlie  mound,  we  descend  about 
twenty  feet,  and  suddenly  find  ourselves  between  a  pair  of 
colossal  lions,  winged  and  human-headed,  forming  a  portal. 
Before  those  wonderful  forms  Ezekiel,  Jonah,  ancl  others  of 
the  pi'ophets  stood,  and  Sennacherib  bowed.  Leaving  be- 
hind us  a  small  chamber,  in  which  the  sculptures  are  dis- 
tinguished by  a  want  of  finish  in  the  execution  and  consider- 
able rudeness  in  the  design  of  the  ornaments,  we  issue  from 
between  the  winged  lions  and  enter  the  remains  of  the  prin- 
cipal hall.  On  both  sides  of  us  are  sculptured  gigantic 
winged  figures,  some  with  the  heads  of  eagles,  others  entire- 
ly human,  and  carrying  mysterious  symbols  in  their  hands. 
To  the  left  is  another  portal,  also  formed  by  winged  lions. 
One  of  them  has,  however,  fallen  across  the  entrance,  and 
there  is  just  room  to  creep  beneath  it.  Beyoiid  this  portal 
is  a  winged  figure,  and  two  slabs  with  bas-reliefs  ;  but  they 
have  been  so  much  injured  that  we  can  scarcely  trace  the 
subject  upon  them.  Further  on  there  are  no  traces  of  walls, 
although  a  deep  trench  has  been  opened.  The  opposite  side 
of  the  hall  has  also  disappeared,  and  we  only  see  a  high  wall 
of  earth.  On  examining  it  attentively,  we  can  detect  the 
marks  of  masonry,  and  we  soon  find  that  it  is  a  siplid  struc- 
ture, built  of  bricks  of  unbaked  clay,  now  of  the  §mne  color 
as  the  surrounding  soil,  and  scarcely  to  be  distinguished 
from  it.  The  slabs  of  alabaster,  fallen  from  their  original 
position,  have,  however,  been  raised,  and  we  tread  in  the 
midst  of  a  maze  of  small  bas-reliefs,  representing  chariots, 
horsemen,  battles,  and  sieges. 

"Having  walked  about  one  hundred  feet  amidst  these 
scattered  monuments  of  ancient  history  and  art,  we  reach 
another  door-way,  formed  by  gigantic  winged  bulls  in  yellow 
limestone.  One  is  still  entire,  but  its  companion  has  fallen 
and  is  broken  into  several  pieces  ;  the  great  human  head  is 
at  our  feet,  We  pass  on,  without  turning  into  the  part  of 
the  building  to  which  this  portal  leads.  Beyond  it  we  see 
another  Avinged  figure,  holding  a  graceful  flower  in  its  hand, 
and  apparently  presenting  it  as  an  offering  to  the  winged 
bull.  Adjoining  this  sculpture  we  find  eight  fine  bas-reliefs. 
There  is  the  king,  hunting  and  triumi)hing  over  the  lion  and 
wild  bull;  and  the  siege  of  the  castle,  with  the  battering- 
ram.  We  have  now  reached  the  end  of  the  hall,  and  find 
before  us  an  elaborate  and  beautiful  sculpture,  representing 
two  kings,  standing  beneath  the  emblem  of  the  supreme 
deity,  and  attended  by  winged  figures ;  between  them  is  the 


DESCRIPTION   OF  NORTH-WEST  PALACE.  281 

sacred  tree.  In  front  of  this  bas-relief  is  tlie  great  stone 
platform  upon  wbieli,  in  days  of  old,  may  have  been  placed 
the  throne  of  the  Assyrian  monarch  when  he  received  his 
captive  enemies  or  his  courtiers.  To  the  left  of  us  is  a  fourth 
outlet  from  the  hall,  formed  by  another  pair  of  lions.  We 
issue  from  between  them  and  find  ourselves  on  the  edge  of  a 
deep  ravine,  to  the  north  of  which  rises,  high  aV)Ove  us,  the 
lofty  pyramid.  Figures  of  captives  bearing  objects  of  trib- 
ute— ear-rings,  bracelets,  and  monkeys — may  be  seen  on 
walls  near  this  ravine;  and  two  enormous  bulls,  and  two 
winged  figures  above  fourteen  feet  highj  are  lying  on  its 
very  edge. 

"As  the  ravine  bounds  the  ruins  on  this  side,  we  must  re- 
turn to  the  yellow  bulls.  Passing  through  the  entrance 
formed  by  them,  we  enter  a  large  chamber,  surrounded  by 
eagle-headed  figures  :  at  one  end  of  it  is  a  door-way,  guarded 
by  two  priests  or  divinities,  and  in  the  centre  another  portal 
with  winged  bulls.  Whichever  waj'  we  turn,  we  find  our- 
selves in  the  midst  of  a  nest  of  rooms;  and,  without  an  ac- 
quaintance with  the  intricacies  of  the  place,  we  should  soon 
lose  ourselves  in  this  labyrinth.  The  accumulated  rubbish 
being  generally  left  in  the  centre  of  the  chambers,  the  whole 
excavation  consists  of  a  number  of  narrow  passages,  panelled 
on  one  side  with  slabs  of  alabaster,  and  shut  in  on  the  other 
by  a  high  wall  of  earth,  half  buried  in  which  may  here  and 
there  be  seen  a  broken  vase,  or  a  brick  painted  with  brilliant 
colors.  We  may  wander  through  these  galleries  for  an  hour 
or  two,  examining  the  marvellous  sculj)tures,  or  the  numer- 
ous inscriptions,  that  surround  us.  Here  we  meet  long  rows 
of  kings,  attended  by  their  eunuchs  and  priests;  there,  lines 
of  winged  figui-es,  carrying  fir-cones  and  religious  emblems, 
and  seemingly  in  adoration  before  the  mystic  tree.  Other 
entrances,  formed  by  winged  lions  and  bulls,  lead  us  into 
new  chambers  :  in  every  one  of  them  are  fresh  objects  of 
curiosity  and  surprise.  At  length,  wearied,  we  issue  from 
the  buried  edifice  by  a  trench  on  the  opposite  side  to  that 
by  which  we  entered,  and  find  ourselves  again  upon  the 
naked  platform.  We  look  around  in  vain  for  any  traces  of 
the  wonderful  remains  we  have  just  seen,  and  are  half  in- 
clined to  believe  that  we  have  dreamed  a  dream,  or  have 
been  listening  to  some  tale  of  Eastern  romance.  Some  who 
may  hereafter  tread  on  the  spot  where  the  grass  again  grows 
over  the  ruins  of  the  Assyrian  palaces  may  indeed  suspect 
that  I  have  been  relating  a  vision.'" 

§  4.  The  ground-plan  of  the  palace  may  be  described,  in  a 

^  Layai(i,  "  Nii.eveh  and  us  Remains,"  vol.  ii.  i)p.  109-114. 


282 


THE  OLD  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 


word,  as  consisting  of  a  great  central  court,  open  to  the  sky 
(about  130  feet  by  100  feet),- surrounded  by  six  large  gal- 
leries and  many  small  square  rooms,  opening  into  one  anoth- 
er— the  galleries  being  remarkable  for  tlie  length  and  nar- 
rowness of  their  proportions :  the  largest,  Avhich  appears  to 
have  been  the  throne-room,  is  more  than  170  feet  long  by 
less  than  35  feet  wide.  The  whole  building  was  360  feet 
long  by  300  feet  wide.  The  one  of  the  smaller  chambers 
which  was  first  discovered  was  lined  with  slabs  of  alabaster 
about  8  feet  high,  and  from  6  to  4  feet  in  breadth,  unsculp- 
tured,  but  with  the  same  inscription  of  about  20  lines  on  the 


Plan  of  Palace  of  Asshnr-nasir-pal. 

middle  of  each  slab  ;  and  even  the  slabs  of  the  pavement 
were  similarly  inscribed,  not  only  on  their  upper  but  on 
their  under  surfaces,  which  had  also  transferred  a  cast  of  the 
writing  to  the  asphalt  bedding  of  the  floor.  From  its  repe- 
tition in  various  parts  of  the  building,  this  inscription  is 
called  "  the  Standard  Inscription  of  Nimrud."  Another  re- 
markable inscription  is  engraved  (according  to  the  Assyrian 
fashion)  across  a  figure  of  the  monarch,  which  is  sculptured 
in  low  relief  within  an  arched  recess,  on  one  side  of  the  en- 
trance to  the  temple  of  Nin,  which  he  built  at  Nimrud.     The 


THE  STANDARD  IXSCRIPTION  OF  NIMRUD.  283 

divine  emblems  over  his  head,  and  the  triangular  altar  in 
front  of  the  figure,  show  that  the  king  was  worshipped.'^  It 
is  in  this  inscription  that  he  mentions  his  building  of  the  pal- 
ace now  described,  which  had  been  founded  by  Shalmaneser 
I.,  but  allowed  to  go  to  ruin.  A  third  important  inscription 
is  on  an  obelisk  in  white  stone,  also  found  at  Nimrud,  and 
now  in  the  British  Museum.  It  is  twelve  or  thirteen  feet 
high,  on  a  base  of  two  feet  by  less  than  14  inches,  and  in 
shape  similar  to  the  black  obelisk  which  has  given  to  this 
king's  son  the  name  of  the  "  Black  Obelisk  King."  It  is 
covered  with  a  detailed  record  of  his  exploits  in  war  and  the 
chase,  which  are  also  related  in  his  otiier  inscriptions.  The 
fullest  of  all  these  annals  is  that  on  an  immense  monolith 
slab,  which  formed  the  threshold  of  the  temple  just  men- 
tioned. 

§  5.  The  king's  name  was  at  first  read  Asshi(r-idcmni-]jal; 
a  form  which  seemed  to  give  the  startling  result  that  the 
original  Sardancqyalus  (or  at  least  one  of  the  kings  who  bore 
that  name)  was  the  mightiest  and  most  splendid  monarch 
of  the  Old  Dynasty — the  Sardancqxdus  whom  the  Greeks 
called,  by  way  of  distinction,  "  Sardanapalus  the  Conquer- 
or." But  we  are  now  told  that  the  true  name  is  Asshur- 
nasir-p^l;  ihiiXjis,  Asshur ^y^'otects  {in y  or  his)  son.^^  Across 
the  breast  of  his  statue  we  read  his  style  and  titles,  and  the 
extent  of  his  empire  :  '^AssJatr-nasir-pal,  the  great  king,  the 
powerful  king,  king  of  hosts,  king  of  Assyria  ; — tlie  son  of 
Tiglath-pileser^  the  great  king,  the  powerful  king,  king  of 
hosts,  king  of  Assyria; — the  son  oi  Iva-lush,  the  great  king, 
the  powerful  king,  king  of  x\ssyria.'"  He  possessed  the 
countries  from  the  banks  of  the  Tigris  to  Lebanon  :  he  sub- 
jected to  his  power  the  great  seas,  and  all  the  lands  from 
the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun." 

This  comprehensive  claim  is  definitely  explained  by  the 
narrative  of  the  ten  campaigns  which  he  made  in  his  first 
six  years,  and  which  it  is  the  less  necessary  to  describe,  as 
they  extend  nearly  over  the  same  ground  as  those  of  Tiglath- 
pileser  I.  ;  though  they  were  somewhat  wider,  and  probably 
more  complete.     Thus,  to  the  north-east,  in  the   mountains 

1"  A  similar  stela  of  this  king  was  fonud  near  Diarhekr,  and  is  now  in  our  Museum. 
It  was  the  mention  in  his  annals  of  the  erection  of  this  monument  near  that  of  Tig- 
lath-pileser  that  led  to  the  discovery  of  both,  as  above  stated. 

11  M.  Oppert  prefers  this  form,  oh  grammatical  grounds,  to  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's 
latest  reading,  AssJmr-izir-x>al ;  but  both  agree  in  the  sense. 

12  There  is  nothing  strange  in  finding  the  father  of  the  king  called  by  a  name 
which  we  have  seen  to  be  equivalent  in  meaning  to  Tiglatfd-Xin :  and  indeed  the 
reading  of  the  last  syllable  in  the  latter  form  of  the  name  is  doubtful.  In  his  L'rpat 
historical  inscription,  the  king  styles  himself  the  son  of  Tiglathi-Ninip  {—  Tifjlathi- 
Nin),  son  of  Iva-lush  (or  Vul-htsh),  son  of  Asshiir-dan-il. 


284  THE  OI.D  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

of  Kurdistan  and  Armenia,  he  claims  to  have  ])onetrated  to 
a  region  "never  approached  by  the  kings,  liis  iiithers/'  Sev- 
eralexpeditians  were  made  into  the  mountains  of  Armenia 
and  of  Zagrus.  Mesopotamia  had  to  be  reconquered,  and 
the  boundary  along  tlie  middle  Euphrates  recovered.  Here 
he  built  two' cities^  naming  that  on  the  right  bank  after  tlie 
god  Asshur,  and  that  on  the  left  bank  after  himself."  From 
Northern  Mesopotamia  he  made  an  invasion  of  Syria,  the 
account  of  which  is  extremely  interesting.  Carcliemish,  on 
the  Euphrates,  once  the  strongiiold  o^  Egypt,  was  taken  from 
the  Hittites;  and  the  king  having  traversed  the  skirts  of 
Lebanon  and  the  valley  of  Orontes,  and  offered  sacrifice  on 
the  shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  received  the  submission  of 
the  chief  cities  of  Phoenicia— Tyre,  Sidon,  Byblus,  and  Ara- 
dus  are  distinctly  named — and  reached  the  Amanus,  where 
he  set  up  a  sculptured  memorial,  and  cut  timber,  whicli  was 
conveyed  to  Nineveh.  The  white  obelisk  already  mentioned 
appears  to  have  been  set  up  on  his  return  from  this  expedi- 
tion ;  and  the  visitor  to  our  Museum  sees  at  this  day  the 
beautiful  grain  of  the  cedar  used  in  the  Assyrian  palaces." 
As  in  the  annals  of  Tiglath-pileser,  the  records  of  the  chase 
are  given  with  as  much  minuteness  as  those  of  war;  and  the 
king  had  a  park  stocked  with  wild  animals  (like  the  "  para- 
dise "  of  a  Persian  prince),''  the  supply  of  which  was  kept 
up  by  tributes  and  presents.'" 

§  6.  Both  sets  of  exploits  are  illustrated  by  that  wonder- 
ful series  of  bas-reliefs — wonderfnl  for  their  artistic  execu- 
tion, their  exact  details,  and  their  vivid  reality — which  Mr. 
Layard  has  brought,  partly  from  the  principal  gallery  of  the 
North-west  Palace  of  Kunrad,  and  partly  fi'om  the  two  ad- 
jacent temi)les.  Wonderful,  most  of  all,  is  the  imi)ression 
which  is  received  from  a  perusal  of  the  scenes  on  the  walls 
ot  the  "  Nimrud  Gallery,"' and  the  accompanying"  Koyunjik 
Gallery"  (ot  the  age  of  Sennacherib  and  his  successor)  in  the 
British  Museum,  concerning  the  true  character  of  this  tyj^e 
of  Oriental  despotisms.     AH  breathes  the  spirit  of  Nimrod, 

13  Que  of  these  cities  may  have  been  the  ^^  Tel-Asshur  {Telasscir  or  Thelasar),"  in 
which  "dwelt  the  children  of  Edeyi"  Avhen  they  were  conquered  by  Sennacherib  (2 
Kings  xix.  12 ;  Isaiah  xxvii.  12)  ;  for  we  find  the  people  Bcth-Adina  among  those  on 
the  Euphrates  subdued  by  Asshur-nasir-pal. 

i<  The  section  of  the  wood  has  been  recently  polished,  to  show  its  grain  and  its 
soundness.  The  "  cedar  work"  of  the  Assyrian  palaces  is  mentioned  by  Zephaniah 
(ii.  14). 

15  Xenoph.  "  Anab."  i.  4,  10 ;  "  Cyr,"  5.  3,  5  14,  etc. 

»«  Thus  the  Phoenicians  sent  animals  called  ■pagciU,  supposed  by  some  to  he  ele- 
phants; and  the  elephant  is  presented  to  the  life  on  the  "  Bl'ick  01)er.sk"  of  this 
king's  son.  There  are  special  records  of  this  king's  hunting  exploits  on  the  broken 
obelisk,  and  on  the  altar  ni  front  of  his  divine  efliigy.  The  mention  of  the  crocodile 
on  the  broken  obelisk  do<!s  no'  iirove  the  gift  t'>  be  from  Egypt. 


BAS-KELIE1\S  IN  THE  BRITISH   MUSEU.M.  285 

tlie  "  mighty  liuiiter,"  hotli  of  men  and  beasts  ;  and  all — it* 
we  may  be  allowed  so  to  turn  the  Hebrew  intensive  phrase 
— is  done  "  before  the  Lord  " — by  the  help  and  to  the  great- 
er glory  of  those  gods  whose  name — whether  true  or  false— 
has  ever  been  invoked  to  sanctify  the  excesses  of  a  despot's 
cruel  will.  Everywhere  the  king,  with  the  emblem  of  divin- 
ity often  hovering  above  him,  rides  down  his  foes,  bends  his 
bow  against  their  battlements,  or  receives  their  abject  submis- 
sion, which  is  rewarded  with  torture  and  death.  No  detail 
is  spared  of  the  carnage  of  the  battle-field,  or  the  cruelties 
inHicted  on  the  prisoners.  In  one  place,  headless  corpses,  or 
convulsed  wretches  pierced  with  spears  and  arrows,  are 
floated  down  the  stream  (for  most  of  the  battle-scenes  and 
sieges  are  upon  the  banks  of  a  river) ;''  in  another  the  scribes 
are  counting  the  heads  as  they  are  laid  before  the  king. 

And  these  pictures  are  the  faithful  illustrations  of  his  an- 
nals. In  his  first  campaign  a  captive  chief  of  the  Kirkhi^on 
the  Upper  Tigris,  was  carried  to  Arbela,  and  there  flayed 
and  hung  up  upon  the  town  wall.  In  the  second,  a  rebel- 
lious city  on  the  Euphrates  was  given  up  to  plunder;  and 
some  of  the  ringleaders  were  burnt,  others  crucified,  and  the 
rest  mutilated  of  their  ears  and  noses;  proceedings  summed 
up  in  a  phrase — "  while  the  king  was  arranging  these  mat- 
ters " — which  reminds  us  of  Caesar's  "A^s  rehus  comjjositisy 
The  king's  own  Avords  are  needed  to  do  justice  to  his  treat- 
ment of  another  revolted  city:  "  Their  men,  young  and  old, 
I  took  prisonei-s.  Of  some  I  cut  ofl"  the  feet  and  hands ;  of 
others  I  cut  oft*  the  noses,  ears,  and  lips  ;  of  the  young  men's 
ears  I  made  a  lieap ;  of  the  old  men's  heads  I  built  a  mina- 
ret.  I  exposed  their  heads  as  a  trophy  in  front  of  their  city. 
The  male  children  and  the  female  children  I  burnt  in  the 
flames.  The  city  I  destroyed  and  consumed  and  burnt  with 
fire."  Such  boasts,  illustrated  by  such  pictures,  reveal  the 
self-confessed  character  of  the  Assyrian  empire  ;  and,  if  the 
first  feeling  excited  by  these  monuments  is  admiration  at  the 
recovery  of  a  lost  chapter  in  the  history  of  nations,  the  next 
is  a  renewed  sympathy  with  the  prophets  who  denounced 
such  an  empire,  and  a  confirmation  of  that  unmitigated  ha- 
tred of  all  despotism  which  is  one  of  the  best  lessons  taught 
by  history. 

§  7.  These  sculptures  from  the  North-west  Palace  of  Nim- 
rud  are  in  the  best  style  of  Assyrian  art,  which — as  in  the 
case  of  Egypt— is  most  truthful  and  vigorous  in  its  earliest 

'■^  In  several  cases,  the  river  is  doubtless  meant  for  the  Euphrates,  in  others  for  the 
Upper  Tigris.  One  of  the  most  curious  scenes  represents  fugitives  swimming  a  river 
on  inflated  skins,  to  gain  their  fortress  on  the  farther  bank. 


286  THE  OLD  A8SYKIAN  EMPIRE. 

examples.  In  the  human  figures  the  profiles  are  sharply 
outlined  and  most  expressive,  the  limbs  are  delineated  with 
peculiar  accui-acy,  and  the  muscles  and  bones  are  faithfully, 
though  somewhat  too  strongly,  marked.  The  composition, 
though  sometimes  grotesque  through  the  want  of  perspec- 
tive— for  which,  indeed,  bas-relief  does  not  give  much  scope 
— is  very  expressive  and  animated ;  the  pictures  clearly 
tell  their  own  story.  The  scenes  of  battle  and  siege,  with 
all  the  appliances  of  movable  towers  and  battering-rams,  the 
testudo  and  terehra^  seem  in  real  action  ;  and  there  is  a  lion- 
hunt^  which  is  pronounced,  by  so  good  a  judge  as  Mr.  Lay- 
ard,  to  be — "from  the  knowledge  of  art  displayed  in  the 
treatment  and  composition,  the  correct  and  effective  deline- 
ation of  the  men  and  animals,  the  spirit  of  the  grouping,  and 
its  extraordinary  preservation — probably  the  finest  specimen 
of  Assyrian  art  in  existence."  These  earlier  bas-reliefs  show 
few^  traces  of  color,  and  those  entirely  local  and.  distinctive, 
as  on  the  hair,  beard,  and  eyes,  on  the  sandals  and  bows,  on 
the  tongues  of  the  eagle-headed  figures,  and  very  faintly  on 
a  garland  round  the  head  of  a  Avinged  priest,  and  on  the  rep- 
resentation of  fire  in  the  bas-relief  of  a  siege. 

But  the  colors  as  well  as  forms  of  the  painted  bricks  and 
fresco  ornaments  on  the  walls  are  perfect  models  of  good 
taste ;  as  are  also  the  patterns  on  the  robes  of  the  figures  ; 
and  the  engravings,  both  geometrical  and  of  men  and  ani- 
mals, on  a  large  number  of  bronze  bowls  ;  and  the  carvings 
on  tablets  of  ivory,  from  this  N.W.  Palace.  Many  of  the 
ivories  are  gilt,  and  quantities  of  gold-leaf  were  found  among 
the  ruins.  The  bowls  and  ivories  are  also  remarkable  for 
their  unmistakably  Egyptian  patterns  ;  and  there  are  other 
Egyptian  objects,  as  the  scarabceus  and  the  cmx  ansata  (or 
ring-handled'  cross).  There  is  also  a  collection  of  bronze 
v:eights,  inscribed  with  tlieir  values,  both  in  cuneiform  and 
in  Fhcenician  characters — "  2,  3,  5,  etc.,  manahs  of  the  coun- 
try," "  2  shekels,"  "  one-fifth,"  apd  so  forth  ;  which  seem  to 
indicate  commercial  dealings  with  Phoenicia. 

These,  with  many  minor  objects  of  art  and  luxury,  as  well 
as  those  depicted  on  the  sculptures,  prove  the  great  progress 
already  made  by  the  Assyrians  in  manufactures  —  such  as 
"  the  metallurgy  which  produced  the  swords,  sword-sheaths, 
daggers,  ear-rings,  necklaces,  armlets,  and  bracelets  of  this 
period  ;  tlie  coach-building  which  constructed  the  chariots, 
the  saddlery  which  made  the  harness  of  the  horses,  the  em- 
broidery which  ornamented  the  robes" — all,  in  short,  proves 
that  "  the  Assyrians  were  already  a  great  and  luxurious  peo- 
ple, that  most  of  the  useful  arts  not  only  existed  among  them 


TEMPLES  AND  PYUAMIl)  OF  NIMRUD.  28; 

but  were  cultivated  to  the  highest  pitch,  and  that  in  dress, 
furniture,  jewelry,  etc.,  they  were  not  very  much  behind  tiie 
moderns."''' 

§  8.  Besides  the  North-west  Palace,  Asshur-nasir-pal  built 
the  two  temples  (already  incidentally  referred  to)  at  the 
north-west  corner  of  the  platform.  Adjoining-  to  one  of 
these,  and  standing  out  from  the  angle  of  the  platform,  was 
the  high  tower  (or  ziggiirat)^  the  ruins  of  which  form  the 
celebrated  i^yramul  (or  rather  conical  mound)  of  jS^imrud.^^ 
It  appears  to  have  been  a  royal  mausoleum,  begun  by  As- 
8liur=nasir-pal,  and  finished  by  his  son,  Shalmaneser  II.  "Its 
basement,"  says  Mr.  Layard,  "  was  encased  with  massive 
masonry  of  stone,  relieved  by  recesses  and  other  architect- 
ural ornaments.  The  upper  part,  built  of  brick,  was  most 
probably  painted,  like  the  palaces  of  Babylon,  with  figures 
and  mythic  emblems.  Its  summit  I  conjecture  to  have  con- 
sisted of  several  receding  gradines,  like  the  top  of  the  black 
obelisk,  and  I  have  ventured  to  crown  it  with  an  altar,  on 
which  may  have  burnt  the  eternal  fire."^°  To  these  works 
of  state  and  religion  may  be  added  one  of  utility,  the  Canal, 
which  not  only  supplied  the  city  Avith  wattr,  but  appears  to 
have  irrigated  the  whole  country  in  the  angle  between  the 
Tigris  and  the  Great  Zab.  It  is  named  as  the  work  of  As 
sluir-nasir-pal,  both  in  his  annals  and  on  the  tablet  set  up  in 
the  tunnel  oi  Xcgouh  {the  Ao^e),  through  which  it  was  origi- 
nally supplied  from  the  Zab.^^ 

§  9.  All  these  works  indicate  the  establishment  or  renewal 
by  Asshur-nasir-pal  of  a  new  royal  residence  at  N^imrud^ 
which  the  inscribed  bricks  and  the  king's  own  record  of 
its  building  identify  with  Calah.  "Here,  in  a  strong  and 
healthy  position,  on  a  low  spur  from  the  Jehel  MaJclub,  pro- 
tected on  either  side  by  a  deep  river,  the  new  capital  grew 
to  greatness.  Palace  after  palace  rose  on  its  lofty  platform, 
rich  with  carved  wood-work,  gilding,  painting,  sculpture,  and 
enamel,  each  aiming  to  outshine  its  predecessors ;  while 
stone  lions,  sphinxes,  obelisks,  shrines,  and  temple-towers 
embellished  the  scene,  breaking  its  monotonous  sameness  by 
variety.  The  lofty  zir/gnrat  attached  to  the  temple  of  Xin 
(or  Hercules),  dominating  over  the  whole,  gave  unity  to  the 
vast  mass  of  palatial  and  sacred  edifices.  The  Tigris,  skirt- 
ing the  entire  western  base  of  the  mound,  glassed  it  in  its 

1^  Rawlinson,  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  p.  353. 

19  Respecting  the  Assyrian  ziggnrats  in  general,  see  chap.  xyI.  §  16. 

20  Layard,  "Nineveh  and  Babylon,"  p.  653. 

21  This  stone  was  nnfortunately  broken  before  the  inscription  conld  be  properly 
copied.  For  a  full  description  of  the  canal  see  Layard,  "  Nineveh,"  vol.  i.  pp.  SO,  SI ; 
Rawlinson,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  p.  195, 19G. 


288  THE  OLD  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

waves,  and,  doubling  the  apparent  height,  rendered  less  ob- 
servable the  chief  weakness  of  the  architecture.  When  the 
setting  sun  lighted  up  the  whole  with  the  gorgeous  hues 
seen  only  under  an  Eastern  sky,  Calah  must  have  seemed  to 
the  traveller  who  beheld  it  for  the  first  time  like  a  vision 
from  fairy-land.""  The  old  residence  of  Asshur  was  not, 
however,  deserted  by  this  king  and  his  successors.  Besides 
various  notices  of  it  in  his  annals,  its  repairs  are  mentioned 
on  the  truncated  obelisk  which  records  his  hunting  exploits 
in  Syria ;"  and  the  remarkable  statue  of  his  son,  Shalmane- 
ser  II.,  seated  on  a  throne  covered  with  inscriptions — a  mon- 
olith in  black  basalt,  now  in  the  British  Museum — was  found 
at  Kileh-Sherghat. 

§  10.  This  Shalmaxeser  II.,  the  "Black  Obelisk  King,"  is 
conspicuous  in  the  Assyrian  annals  for  the  length  of  his  35 
years'  reign  (e.c.  858-823),'^*  the  interesting  nature  of  his 
principal  monuments,  and  the  mention  on  them,  for  the  first 
time,  of  kings  of  Israel  and  Syria,  whose  names  occur  in 
Scri[)ture.  The  chronicles  of  Israel  and  Judah,  according  to 
their  plan,  mention  no  king  of  Assyria  till  one  exacts  a  trib- 
ute, and  another  makes  a  conquest,  in  the  land  itself,  about 
a  century  later;  but  the  annals  of  Shalmaneser  show  tiie 
beginning  of  the  process  by  which  the  conquest  of  the  great 
Syrian  kingdom  of  Damascus  prepared  the  w^ay  for  the  first 
captivity  of  the  Israelites. 

This  king,  not  content  with  his  father's  palace,  built  an- 
other in  the  centre  of  the  Kimrud  platform ;  and  it  was  af- 
terwards rebuilt  almost  entirely  by  a  later  king,  probably 
Tiglath-pileser  II.  But  the  edifice  Avas  so  utterly  desti'oyed 
by  Esar-haddon,  Avho  used  the  materials  in  the  construction 
of  the  S.W.i\'7r/?/7^fZ  palace,  that  even  the  plan  can  no  longer 
be   traced.      Amidst  a  few   gleanings  of  slabs  Mr.  Layard 

22  Rawlinson,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  p.  357.  Mr.  Fergussou  has  ventured  on 
a  restorntion  of  the  river  front  of  the  palaces  of  Calah.  (See  the  frontispiece  to  Lay- 
ard's  "Monuments  of  Nineveh.'")  Even  to  the  present  day  the  pyramid  gives  a 
picturesque  unity  to  the  long  line  of  the  Nimrud  mounds.  (See  the  vignette  to  this 
chapter.)  It  is  worthy  of  particular  notice  that  this  king  speaks  of  conveying  ma- 
terials to  Nineveh— ii  strong  argument  for  either  extending  that  name  so  as  to  include 
Calah,  or  regarding  it  as  the  name  of  the  Assyrian  capital  /o»-  the  time  being.  See 
note  A  to  chapter  xi. 

23  This  is  the  ohelisk  of  which  we  have  only  the  upper  part  (in  the  British  Museum). 
Both  this  and  the  fragments  of  his  other  broken  ohelisk  were  found  at  Koj/uvjik, 
having  unquestionabl)^  been  removed  thither  from  Kileh-Sherrjhat,  according  to  the 
practice  of  the  later  kings. 

24  This  is  the  longest  reign  of  any  Ass^yrian  king,  and  is  only  exceeded  by  the  43 
years  of  the  Babylonian  Nebuchadnezzar.  Iva-lush  IV.,  Shalmaneser's  grandson, 
reigned  29  years ;  but  no  other  monarch  in  Ptolemy's  list  much  exceeds  '20  years. 
(Rawlinson^  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  p.  357,  note.)  The  name  of  this  king  has 
been  variously  read  as  Bivantibar  or  Divanvhra.i\m\  Shalmamtbar ;  but  the  best 
authorities  are  now  agreed  on  Shalmaneser.  M.  Oppert  makes  him  lbs  5th  (instead 
of  the  2d)  of  the  name. 


SHALMANESER  II.  AND   HIS    "BLACK  OBELISK. 


283 


found  two  gigantic  winged  bulls — gatekeepers,  like  those  in 
the  older  palace — and  one  of  the  most  precious  monuments 
of  Assyria.     This  is  the  celebrated  Obelisk^  in  black  tnarble^ 


Black  Obelisk,  from  Nimrna. 

smaller  than  the  white  obelisk  of  the  king's  father,  but  of 
finer  material  and  workjnanship.^'  This  obelisk  was  found, 
on  its  side,  10  feet  below  the  surface,  and  now  stands  erect 
in  the  middle  of  the  '"''Xbnrud  Saloon"  of  our  Museum.     \\ 

25  The  BInck  Obelisk  is  about  7  feet  high,  and  22  inches  wicle  on  the  broader  side 
of  the  base :  the  other  is  12  or  13  feet  high  and  2  feet  wide  at  the  base.  The  shattered 
obelisk  of  Asshnr-nasir-pal  (not  the  one  merely  broken  in  half)  must  have  been  larger 
still,  for  its  area  at  top  was  2  feet  S  inches  by  nearly  2  feet,  implying  a  height  of  from 
15  to  20  feet.  Both  obelisks  taper  slightly,  and  are  terminated  at  top  by  3  steps  or 
gradines,  instead  of  the  -piwamidimi  of  the  Egyptian  obelisks.  By  this  diflerence, 
and  that  of  ihe  section  (the  Egyptian  being  square,  the  Assyrian  oblong),  the  As- 
syrian obelisk  seems  to  be  marked  as  a  native  form.  The  truncated  obelisk  has  3 
gradines  ;  the  terminaiiou  of  the  other  broken  one  is  doubtful. 

13 


290  THE  OLD  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

may  be  called  ah  illustrated  history  of  tli"  twentv-seven 
campaigns  of  kSlialmaneser  ;  the  upper  half  being  occupied 
by  twenty  bas-ieliefs  in  sunken  compartments,  five  on  each 
face  ;  and  the  lower  half,  as  well  as  the  spaces  between  the 
reliefs,  and  the  gradines  at  the  top,  being  covered  with  the 
cuneiform  text.  The  minute  letters  of  the  inscription  are 
sharply  cut,  and  the  whole  is  in  the  best  state  of  preserva- 
tion. The  bas-relieis  represent  the  king  receiving  the  trib- 
ute of  five  nations,  each  nation  filling  the  four  com])artments 
in  one  horizontal  row.'^^  "  The  gifts  brought  are,  in  part,  ob- 
jects carried  in  the  hand — gold,  silver,  copper  in  bars  and 
cubes,  goblets,  elepliants'  tusks,  tissues,  and  the  like — in  ])art, 
animals,  such  as  horses,  camels,  monkeys  and  baboons  of  dif- 
ferent kinds,  stags,  lions,  wild  bulls,  antelopes,  and — strangest 
of  all — the  rhinoceros  and  the  elephant.""  Tiie  first  impres- 
sion produced  by  the  sight  of  these  animals  and  of  the  two- 
humped  Bactrian  camel — that  there  may,  after  all,  be  some 
truth  in  the  Bactrian  and  Indian  wars  of  Ninus  and  Semiia- 
mis — is  corrected  by  the  enumeration  of  the  five  nations. 
The  first  of  these  is  Isijael,  of  whom  more  presently;  the 
second  are  the  people  o^  Kirzan^  on  the  borders  of  Armenia, 
which  still  retains  the  name  ;  the  central  row  represents  the 
Muzri^  in  northern  Kurdista^i  f'"^  the  fourth,  the  Tsukhi^  or 
Shuhites^  from  the  Euphrates  ;  and  the  last,  the  Patena^  from 
the  Orontes. 

§  11.  The  interest  which  this  obelisk  excited  was  enhanced 
by  the  discovery  that  the  king  who  is  seen,  in  the  highest 
row,  prostrating  himself  before  the  Assyrian  monarch,  and 
whose  followers  bring  a  tribute  of  gold  and  silver  in  various 
forms,  is  styled  in  the  inscription  "Jehu,  son  of  Omri,"  a  pat- 
ronymic derived  from  the  founder  of  the  capital  city  of  Sa- 
maria.^^  When  the  full  inscription  was  deciphered,  there 
was  found  a  still  earlier  point  of  contact  between  Assyria 

26  To  this  there  is  oue  exception.  The  first  compartment  of  the  bottom  row  seems 
to  belong  uot  to  the  fifth  nation,  but  to  the  first  or  second. 

^'^  Rawliuson,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  p.  3G7. 

2»  These  are  the  people  who  bring  the  Bactrian  camel,  the  Indian  rhinoceros,  and 
elephant  (which  is  depicted  so  as  to  be  clearly  distinguished  from  the  African),  and 
other  animals  almost  certainly  Indian,  among  them  a  sacred  ox— all  pointing  to  a 
traflic  with  India.  The  proud  Assyrian  may  have  demanded  these  gifts,  at  whatever 
labor  and  risk  to  his  Eastern  subjects.  The  idea  that  the  sculptor  invented  them,  to 
extend  the  range  of  the  king's  conquests,  is  excluded  by  the  absence  of  any  such 
claim  in  the  inscription.  The  Egyptian  monumenls  show  that  the  Indian  elepliant 
was  also  brought  to  the  Pharaohs  as  a  tribute  from  some  people  of  Western  Asia. 
(Wilkinson,  "  Ancient  Egyptians,"  vol.  v.  p.  170  ;  vol.  i.  plate  iv.) 

■-9  1  Kings  xvi.  24.  The  Assyrians  were  familiar  with  Samaria  under  the  name  of 
Bcth-Khuniri  (the  house  or  city  of  Omri).  Besides,  Jehu  would  probably  seek  to  le- 
gitimate his  usurpation  by  claiming  descent  from  the  founder  of  the  dynasty  he 
overthrew,  as  well  of  the  capital ;  and,  for  aught  we  know,  the  claim  may  have  had 
some  ground. 


NAME  OF  JEHU,  KING  OF  ISRAEL. 


291 


Prisouers  presented  by  the  Chief  Eunuch  (Ninirud  Obel 


and  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  and  one  most  strikingly  confirma- 
tive— as,  we  may  observe  in  passing,  every  new  Assyrian 
discovery  is  more  and  more  confirmative^" — of  the  Scripture 
history. 

To  explain  this,  we  must  glance  at  the  position  now  occu- 
pied by  Sykia  between  Assyria,  on  the  one  side,  and  Isi-ael 
and  Phoenicia  on  the  other.  The  valley  of  the  Orontes  was 
still  occupied  by  the  Hittites,  the  old  foes  of  Egypt,  who  ex- 
tended eastward  to  the  Euphrates  ;  but  the  conquest  of  their 
eastern  tribes  by  Asshur-nasir-pal  appears  to  have  been  per- 
manent. South  of  them,  towards  Coele-Syria,  was  the  king- 
dom of  Hamatli ;  and  the  part  of  Syria  between  the  eastern 
chain  of  Lebanon  and  the  desert  was  occupied  by  a  powerful 
kingdom — 

^  "Whose  deli,uhtf;il  seat 

Was  fair  Damascus,  on  the  fertile  banks 
Of  Abana  and  Pharphar— lucid  streams." 

In  that  city — one  of  the  oldest  in  the  w^orld,  which  the  native 
tradition  made  the  resting-place  of  Abraham  on  his  journey 
from  Charran  into  Canaan,'''  and  which  David  reduced  in  his 
war  with  Hadadczer,  king  of  Zobah,  then  a  great  Syrian 
kingdom  farther  uorth^^ — a  certain  Mezoii^  who  seems  tohave 
been  outlawed  by  Hadadezer,  had  established  himself  at  the 
head  of  an  irregular  band,  in  the  declining  days  of  Solo- 
mon.    "And  he  was  an  adversary  to  Israel  all  the  days  of 

30  So  striking  has  this  agreement  been,  from  the  very  beginnings  of  cuneiform  sci- 
ence, that  the  present  writer  remembers  when  his  own  skepticism  took  the  form  of  a 
doubt  Avhether  the  concord  of  interpreters  miglit  not  be  explained  by  their  u'^e  (to 
An  extent  of  which  they  were  unconscious)  of  the  common  Jcr.ij  they  possessed  in  Scrip- 
ture history  ;  but  the  results  obtained  have  long  since  outgrown  any  possibility  of 
being  thus  explained. 

31  Nicolaiis  Damasc-  Fr.  30 ;  comp.  Genesis  xv.  2. 

32  2  Sam.  viii.  5,  G ;  1  Chron.  xviii.  5. 


292  THE  OLD  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

Solomon  ;  .  .  .  .  and  he  abhorred  Israel,  and  reigned  ovei 
Syria.""-^^ 

According  to  the  native  historian,  Nicolas  of  Damascus — 
an  eminent  rhetorician  in  the  service  of  Herod  the  Great — 
the  former  king  of  Damascus  was  named  Hadacl  f^  and 
either  his  descendants  recovered  the  throne,  or  the  line  of 
Bezon  affected  descent  from  him  ;  for  all  the  kings  we  know 
of,  down  to  the  usurpation  of  Hazael,  bear  the  name  of  Ben- 
HADAD  (the  S071  'of  Hcidacl).  The  kingdom,  thus  hostile  from 
its  origin,  appears  in  constant  conflict  with  one  branch  or 
the  other  of  the  Hebrew  monarchy.  Ben-hadad  I.  of  Scrip- 
ture (probably  the  Hadad  IH.  of  Nicolaiis  Damascenus) — 
after  taking  part,  in  turn,  with  each  kingdom  against  the 
other,  and  so  weakening  both^^ — availed  himself  of  the  civil 
war  at  the  accession  of  Omri  to  add  several  cities  of  Israel 
to  his  dominion,  and  seems  even  to  have  exercised  rights  of 
suzerainty  in  the  new  capital  of  Israel/"  But  the  attemjDt 
of  his  successor,  Ben-hadad  II.  (or  Hadad  IV.) — who  appears 
at  the  head  of  32  confederate  kings — to  take  Samaria  and 
crush  Israel  altogether,  led  to  his  utter  defeat  by  Ahab,  and 
to  a  new  alliance,  in  which  the  former  relations  of  dependence 
were  reversed  :  "And  Ben-hadad  said  unto  him  (Ahab),  the 
cities  which  my  father  took  from  thy  father  I  will  restore  ; 
and  thou  shalt  make  streets  for  thee  in  Damascus,  as  my  f\i- 

ther  made  in  Samaria So  he  made  a  covenant  with 

him,  and  sent  him  away."" 

Now,  among  the  campaigns  of  Shalmaneser  II.,  no  less 
than  five  were  directed  against  Syria;  and  the  express  men- 
tion  of  ''^Khazail  (Hazael)   of  Damascus"  in  the  last  two 

leaves  no  doubt  that  the  " of  Damascus,"  mentioned  in 

the  first  three,  was  no  other  than  Ben-hadad."*  It  was  in 
the  ninth  year  of  Shalmaneser  that  the  king  of  Damascus, 
alarmed,  doubtless,  by  the  growing  power  of  Assyria,  an- 
ticipated her  attack  at  tlie  head  of  a  gi-eat  confederacy, 
among  wdiora  were  the  kings  of  the  Hittites,  and  those  of  the 
Phoenicians,  the  king  of  Hamath,  and  Aiiab  of  Jezreel^^  who 
contributed  10,000  men  and  20  chariots,  out  of  the  whole 
army  of  77,900  men,  1940  chariots,  and  1000  camels.     Ben-. 

33  1  Kings  xi.  28-25. 

34  He  makes  the  descendants  of  Hadad  reign  for  ten  generations,  omitting  Kezon 
altogether.  3^  \  Kings  xv.  19,  20 ;  2  Chron.  xvi.  3. 

36  1  Kings  XX.  34 ;  comp.  Nic.  Dam.  Fr.  31,  au  fin. 

37  1  Kings  XX.  1-34. 

38  The  characters  nsed  -will  not  make  Ben-hndad,  thongh  some  read  Bcri-nlri.  It  is 
not  improbable  that  Bmhadad  is  used  as  the  rerjidar  title  of  the  Syrian  king,  like 
Pharaoh  and  Ccesar,  and  that,  like  them,  each  king  had  a  proper  name  l)esides. 

39  This,  which  has  lately  l)*.en  determined  as  the  reading  of  a  phrase  formerly 
doubtful,  corresjjonds  ])recisely  to  the  fact  that  Ahab's  favorite  residence  wag  at  his 
summer  palace  at  Jezrecl. 


WAIi  WITH  IIAZAEL  OF  SYRIA.  293 

hadad's  own  force  Avas  20,000  men  and  1200  chariots;  and  it 
is  interesting,  as  bearing  on  the  rehxtions  between  Egvpt  and 
Assyria,  to  find  1000  men  sent  by  the  king  of  Eovpt."'"  The 
allies  were  defeated,  with  the  loss  of  20^000  men;  but  the 
Assyrian  king  mentions  no  conquest  of  ten-itory,  nor  even 
imposition  of  tribute  ;  and  another  campaign,  after  five  years, 
ends  with  another  claim  of  barren  victory." 

Three  years  later,  Shalnianeser  collected  his  forces  for  a 
decisive  blow,  and  led  102,000  men  across  the  Euphrates. 
The  allies  were  put  to  flight,  and  the  confederacy  was  dis- 
solved ;  and  Ben-hadad,  sick  and  depressed  after  such  a 
blow,*'  incurred  the  fate  which  has  befallen  many  a  defeated 
king,  from  the  treachery  of  his  servant  Hazael!''  Accord- 
ingly, it  is  against  "  Khazail  of  Damascus"  that  Shalmaneser 
pursues  his  advantage  in  the  following  year,  and  defeats  him 
in  the  strong  position  he  had  taken  up*^in  the  passes  of  An^ 
tilibanus.  On  the  return  of  the  Assyrian  king,  three  years 
later,  Hazael  seems  to  have  made  no  resistance  to  the  plun- 
der  of  his  cities  by  the  invader,  who  passed  on  to  receive  the 
tribute  of  Tyre,  Sidon,  and  Byblus.  In  this  state  of  things 
we  can  readily  understand  that,  the  frontier  of  Israel  being 
uncovered  on  the  east  and  north,  Jehu  would  ofier  his  sub- 
mission to  Assyria ;  but,  as  there  was  no  actual  invasion  of 
the  kingdom,  the  event  is  not  recorded  in  the  chronicles  of 
Israel.^  The  mention  of  Ahab  is  said  to  be  repeated  on  the 
monolith  set  up  by  Shalmaneser  by  the  side  of  his  father's, 
^t  Korkhar^  \\Qiiv  ]Jiarheh%  on  the  tsupnaf^ov  eastern  branch 
of  the  Tigris.  The  only  other  campaign  which  requires  no- 
tice is  that  of  his  eighth'year  against  Babylonia.  Taking  ad- 
vantage of  a  civil  war  between  king  Merodach-sum-adiifand 
his  younger  brother,  Shalmaneser^overran  the  country  as 
far  as  the  south  of  Chaldjea,  at  that  time  under  its  separate 
kings,  whom  he  reduced  to  tribute.  "The  power  of  his 
army,"  he  says,  "  struck  terror  as  far  as  the  sea." 

§12.  The  other  campaigns  would  be  only  wearisome  to 
describe,  even  if  we  had  the  space.  They  are  related  in  a 
much  dryer  style  than  those  of  the  preceding  king,  and  ex- 
tend, for  the  most  part,  over  the  same  regions ;  the  novelty, 
besides  the  wars  with  Damascus,  being  the  receipt  of  tribute 
from  the  Bartsu  or  Partsu^  who  are  supposed  by  some  to  be 
the  Persians^  or  rather  their  Turanian  predecessors.  Twentv- 
three  campaigns  were  made  by  Shalmaneser  in  person,  and 
three   or  four  othei's  by  a  nobleman  named  I)ayn-As8hui\ 

"  This,  if  the  reading  he  correct,  is  the  one  soh'tavy  ilKlicntioii  of  any  hostile  rela« 
tions  between  Egypt  and  Assyria  under  the  Old  Monaichv. 
41  2  Kings  viii.  7.  '  42  2  Kings  viii.  15. 


21)4  THE  OLD  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

whose  exploits  are,  of  course,  reganled  as  tlie  kiiif^'s  ;  an(\ 
the  result  is  an  amusing  mixture  of  the  first  and  third  pei-- 
sons  in  the  annals.  Of  the  truly  Assyrian  spirit  in  Avhich 
the  wars  were  conducted,  one  specimen  may  suffice:  "I  slew 
his  fighting  men,  and  carried  away  his  spoil  ;  I  overthrew, 
beat  to  pieces,  and  consumed  with  fire  towns  without  num- 
ber; I  swept  the  country  with  my  troops,  and  impressed  on 
the  inhabitants  the  fear  of  my  presence." 

This  and  the  preceding  reign  had  established  the  true 
Empire  of  Assyria^  which  now  extended  on  the  west  to  tlie 
Mediterranean,  embracing  the  whole  coast  of  Syria  and  Phte- 
nicia,  as  far  south  as  Mount  Carmel,  or  rather  Joppa,  for 
Israel  must  be  regarded  as  a  vassal  kingdom.  As  the  bor- 
der of  the  Euphrates  had  thus  been  passed  to  the  west,  so 
had  the  range  of  Zagrus  to  the  east,  and  the  Semitic  yoke 
was  imposed  upon  the  Aryans  of  the  table-land  of  Iran.  But 
these  people,  afterwards  so  mighty,  were  as  yet  but  scattered 
tribes,  dispersed  in  unfortified  towns  and  villages,  and  neither 
united  under  a  king  nor  possessing  a  capital.  The  weakness  of 
the  tribes  on  her  frontiei-s  explains  the  rapid  growth  of  Assyria. 

§  13.  The  last  years  of  Shalmaneser  were  troubled  by  a  re^ 
be'llion  of  his  eldest  sou,  Ass/iur-dam'n-pa I,  who  was  acknowl- 
edged as  king  by  no  less  than  twenty-seven  of  the  most 
important  cities  of  Assyria,  including  Asshur,  Arbela,  and 
Amida  (Diarbekr).  Tlie  dominion  of  Shalmaneser  appears 
to  have  been  confined  to  Calah  and  Xineveh  during  the  last 
five  years  of  his  reign,  which  are  assigned  in  the  Assyrian 
Canon  to  Asshur-danin-pal."  The  rebellion  was  at  length 
put  down  by  a  younger  son,  Shamas-Iva,''  who  succeeded 
his  father,  and  reigned  13  years  (b.c.  823-81 0).  We  owe  the 
account  of  the  rebellion  to  a  square  arch-headed  stela  of  this 
king,  with  his  effigy  in  bas-relief,  and  an  inscription  in  the 
hieratic  character,  containing  the  annals  only  of  his  first  four 
years,  found  at  the  central  palace  oi  Kirnrud^'"  He  relates 
expeditions  against  the  Xairi,  Media,  and  (the  most  impor- 
tant) against  Babylonia,  where  he  gained  a  great  victoiy 
over  the  king,  Merodorach-belatru-ikbi,  and  his  Chaldoean, 
Snsianian,  and  Arama?an  allies,  and  forced  that  king  to  flee 
into  the  desert.  A  newly  disco vei-ed  fragment  shows  that 
he  was  still  occupied,  during  his  last  three  years,  with  expe- 
ditions against  Babylonia  and  elsewhere." 

43  The  aniinls  of  Shalmniieser  also  eiul  in  the  5th  year  before  his  deaths 

44  This  uamc  is  also  read  Shatnas-{or  Samsi-)Vnl,  and  by  M.  Oppert  Samfd-Hou. 
The  second  element,  the  name  of  a  yod,  which  enters  also  into  several  other  royal 
names,  is  one  of  which  the  p/iojicfjc  value  is  very  nncertaiu. 

45  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  "  Inscrii)tions,"  plates  29  to  34. 

46  See  Rawliuson,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  Appendix  to  vol.  iv.  note  B. 


IVA-LU8H,  OR  VUL-LUSH  lY.  29r. 

§  14.  IvA-LUSH  (or  Yul-lush)  IV.,"  son  of  Sliamas-Iva,  m'sls 
another  enterprising  warrior.  Of  the  29  years  of  his  reign 
(B.C.  810  to  781),  26  were  occupied  by  military  expeditions, 
seven  of  which  were  against  Media,  three  into  the  central 
regions  of  Zagrns,  and  th.ree  into  Palestine,  indicating  an  ex- 
tension of  the  empire  both  to  the  east  and  to  the  south-west. 
We  possess  no  detailed  annals  of  his  campaigns,  like  those 
of  the  former  kings  ;  but  his  few  monuments  are  very  inter- 
esting. From  inscribed  bricks  at  JVhnrud,  we  find  that  he 
added  some  rooms  to  the  palaces  at  Calah,  and  other  bricks, 
found  in  tlie  mound  oi N^ebbi-Yunus^  mark  liim  as  tlie  first 
Assyrian  king  who  is  known  to  have  built  a  palace  at  Nin- 
eveh.*^ He  calls  himself  "the  restorer  of  noble  buildings 
that  had  gone  to  decay."" 

His  chief  monuments  are  a  genealogical  tablet,  found  at 
Kimrud.imd  a  pair  of  statues  of  the  god  Nebo.  On  the  for- 
mei-,  he  describes  himself  as  ruling  from  the  country  of  Sile- 
7na,  on  the  east,  over  hands  extending  from  the  foat  of  the 
Caucasus  to  the  Persian  Gulf,^"  and  embracing  (besides  many 
other  names)  Elam,  and  parts  of  Persia  and  ]\Iedia  ;  and  on 
the  west,  beyond  the  Euphrates,  over  Syria,  Phoenicia  (Tyre 
and  Sidon),  the  "city  of  Omri"  (Samaria),  Edom,  and  the 
country  of  the  Philistines,  to  "  the  sea  of  the  setting  sun," 
that  is,  the  Mediterranean.  He  says  that  he  took  a  king 
of  Syria  (whose  name  is  doubtfully  read  JIari/t)  in  his  capi- 
tal of  Damascus. 

§  15.  In  Babylonia  lie  appears  to  have  exercised  a  sort  of 
regal  power,  receiving  homage  from  the  Chaldaeans,  and  oifer- 
ing  sacrifices  to  the  chief  gods  of  the  country — Bel,  Nebo, 
and  Xergal — in  the  chief  cities,  Babylon,  Borsippa,  and  Cutha. 
And  here  arises  a  most  interesting  question,  connected  with 
the  two  statues  of  Nebo  which  were  found  by  Mr.  Rassam 
in  a  temple  of  the  god  dedicated  by  this  king,  adjoining  to 
the  S.E.  palace  oi  JSrhnrud.'"  They  are  nearly  alike,  and  of 
a  form  so  constrained  and  disproportioned,  and  workmanship 
so  rude  and  inferior  to  contemporary  sculptures,  as  evident- 
ly to  show  a  conventional  model.     The  inscription  across  the 

*''  Both  the  elements  of  this  name  are  of  uncertain  phonetic  value.  M.  Oppert 
reads  it  Honlikhons :  and  on  the  statues  of  Nebo  mentioned  below  it  has  been  read 
Phalukha,  which  is  merely  another  form  of  Vul-lush.  On  the  strength  of  the  liistaut 
resemblance  in  this  ibrm  of  the  name,  he  has  bee.'i  identified  with  the  Pul  of  Scrip- 
ture ;  but  this  is  contradicted  by  the  chronoloirj'. 

4s  The  citj  of  Nineveh  itself  had  existed  from  unknown  antiquity,  originally  under 
its  own  kings.     It  is  often  mentioned  before  this  time,  especially  in  Egyptian  records. 

^^  M.  Lenormant  ascribes  to  him  the  broken  obelisk  (mentioned  above,  §  9)  which 
records  the  restoration  of  the  capital  Asshar. 

5"  "  The  sea  of  the  rising  sun :"  which  some  take  for  the  Caspian. 

SI  Tlio  statues  are  in  the  British  Museum.  Six  other  statues  were  found  with 
them ;  four  were  colossal,  and  two  resembled  those  in  the  Museum. 


296 


THE  OLD  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 


middle  of  both  figures 
records  that  tliey  were 
dedicated  to  Xebo  by 
an  officer,  who  was  gov- 
ernor of  Calali  (and  oth- 
ei-  places),  as  a  votive 
offering  for  the  life  of 
/lis  lord,  Iva-lush,  and 
of  his  lady,  Sammu- 
rainit.  Here  then,  at 
length,  we  have  an  his- 
torical Semiramis,  at  a 
time,  and  of  a  character, 
totally  different  from  the 
legend,  but  under  cir- 
cumstances of  great  in- 
terest. As  it  was  never 
the  custom  of  the  East 
thus  to  associate  a  queen 
consort  with  the  king"'* 
— in  fact  Sammurandt 
is  the  only  princess  men- 
tioned in  the  Assyrian 
annals — we  may  safely 
infer  tliat  this  queen  liad 
a  royal  dignity  in  her 
own  right ;  and  what 
that  was  may  be  inferred 
from  the  legendary  con- 
nection of  Semiramis 
with  Babylon.  She 
may  very  probably  have 
been  the  daughter  and 
heiress  of  that  king  of 
Babylon  who  was  con- 
quered by  Shamas-Iva. 
or,  at  all  events,  a  prin- 
cess married  to  Iva-lush 
to  legitimate  his  acts  of 
sovereignty  in  Babylo- 
nia. It  is  quite  in  accordance  with  Eastern  custom  that, 
while  worship])ing  the  native  gods  in  their  own  count i-y 
in  right  of  liis  wife,  lie  should  build  their  temples,  in  lier 

52  ludeecl  it  is  almost  a  misnomer  to  nse  the  honorable  name  of  queen  consort  in  this 
couuevction.  It  is  one  great  vice  of  the-  Oriental  despotisms  that  the  queen  for  the 
time  being  means  only  the  most  favored  lady  of  the  harem. 


Nebo  (from 


n  the  British  Museum). 


IVA-LUSH  AND  SAMMURAMIT.  297 

honor,  in  his  own  capital/^  Herodotus,  whose  omission  of 
the  mythical  legend  of  Semiramis  adds  an  historical  value 
to  his  account  of  her  connection  with  Babylon  (at  least  as 
to  the  main  fact),"*  places  her  a  century  and  n  half  before 
Kitocris,  the  wife  of  Xabopolassar — not  a  bad  approxima- 
tion to  the  probable  date  of  the  real  queen.  In  short — 
as  M.  Lenormant  puts  the  case  with  French  felicity — Ii^a- 
lush  and  Sammuramit  were  "  the  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
of  Mesopotamia."  Hence  the  peculiar  significance  of  the 
style  adopted  by  Iva-lush,  as  "  the  king  to  whose  son  (not 
to  himself),  Asshur,  the  chief  of  the  gods,  has  granted  ihe 
kingdom  of  Babylon."  The  result  of  the  union,  however, 
seems  to  have  been  very  different  from  the  modern  parallel ; 
and  it  is  not  improbable  that  tlie  son,  thus  established  on  the 
throne  of  Babylon,  founded  thei'c  a  rival  branch  of  the  royal 
family,  whicli  was  ready  to  claim,  if  it  did  not  actually  over- 
turn, the  kingdom  of  Assyria  itself 

That  the  latter  catastrophe,  involving  the  utter  destruction 
of  Nineveh,  actually  happened,  within  about  40  years,  by  the 
conspiracy  of  Arbaces,  the  satrap  of  Media,  and  Belesys,  a 
Chaldaean  priest  of  Babylon — as  related  by  Ctesias — is  a 
story  beset  by  improbabilities,  contradictions,  and  anticipa- 
tions of  facts  and  names;  but  it  seems  that  some  revolution 
did  occur  about  that  time,  which  gave  to  Babylon  a  moment- 
ary supremacy. 

§  16.  The  entire  absence  (so  far  as  we  yet  know)"^of  new 
buildings,  or  any  other  monuments,  of  itself  marks  this  perio,d 
of  about  forty  years  as  one  of  decline,  and  probably  of  inter- 
nal disturbance.  Still  the  Assyrian  Canon  fills  up  this  inter- 
val with  the  names  of  three  kings,  the  first  of  whoiii,  Shal- 

53  This  arirnmeut  must  not  be  pro??pd  too  fnr,  as  'N'ebo  was  a  god  of  both  conntrie?  ; 
bni,  of  the  two,  how  miich  raoie  he  was  honored  iu  Babylonia  is  at  once  seen  by  a 
mere  comparison  of  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  royal  names. 

s*  The  Babylonian  annals,  from  which  the  Chaldaean  priests  gave  information  to 
Herodotus,  would  naturally  record  the  name  of  Sammuramit  alone. 

^^  What  records  of  this  period  may  be  hidden  in  the  mound  of  yebbi-Ytimui—fvnm 
a  brick  of  which  we  have  just  seen  a  sign  of  the  period  when  the  Assyrian  monarchs 
began  to  reside  at  Nineveh — is  a  question  whose  solution  is  postponed  by  the  fa- 
natical opposition  of  the  Arabs  to  any  meddling  with  the  mound  which  local  tra- 
dition sanctified  by  the  name  of  the  prophet  at  v.-hose  preaching  Nineveh  repented, 
The  question  of  Jonah's  own  age  is  too  difficult  to  be  discussed  here ;  but  it  would 
add  much  to  the  interest  of  this  period  of  the  history  if  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Dral^e 
could  be  established  — that  the  prophet  preached  at  Nineveh  under  Iva-lush  IT. 
(formei-ly  called  Adram-melerh  IT.)— the  very  time  when  the  empire  was  at  the  height 
of  its  glory,  and  on  the  eve  of  its  decline.  (See  "Notes  on  the  Prophecies  of  Ilosea 
and  Jonah,"  by  the  Rev.  W.  Drake,  Cambridge,  1S53.)  The  period  of  "forty  days" 
allotted  by  the  prophet  (Jonah  iii.  4)  has  a  striking  correspondence  with  the  forty 
years  of  weakness  indicated  by  the  history ;  and  the  grace  granted  on  the  repent- 
ance of  the  king  and  people  might  well  consist  in  the  vn'ti/jatum  of  the  crisis  pre- 
pared by  the  faults  of  the  rulers,  and  in  the  period  of  greater  prosperity  enjoyed  un- 
der the  new  dynasty. 

13* 


298  THE  OLD  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE 

MAXESER  III.,  is  now  found  to  have  been  an  active  wai-rior." 
Evei-y  one  of  liis  ten  years  (b.c.  781-771)  liad  its  military 
expedition,  mainly  in  Eastern  Armenia;  and  two  were  against 
the  Syrians  of  Damascus.  In  his  successor,  Asshur-danin-il 
11.^  we  trace  the  decline  of  the  military  spirit,  for  he  remains 
quietly  at  home  9  years  of  his  18  (b.c.  771-753);  while  the 
last  king  of  this  series,  Asshur-Lush,  gives  only  2  years  out 
of  7  or  8  (b.c.  753-746)  to  a  Avar  in  the  mountains  of  Zagrus, 
which,  as  his  only  one,  was  most  probably  defensive.  This  is 
the  king  whom  some  make  the  Sardanapalus  of  Ctesias. 

§  17.  The  Assyrian  empire  was,  as  we  have  already  shown, 
from  its  very  constitution,  ever  liable  to  a  sudden  collapse. 
Its  conquests  were  mere  raids,  attended  by  slaughter,  plun- 
der, and  the  imposition  of  tribute ;  and  followed  by  no  at- 
tempt to  unite  the  conquered  provinces  with  the  central 
power,  or  to  gain  the  good-will  of  the  subject  populations. 
The  empire  had  no  internal  cohesion ;  and  each  successive  king 
liad  to  master  it  anew  by  his  own  exploits.  The  first  attempt 
to  lead  a  quiet  life  at  home  would  give  the  signal  ibr  a  general 
I'evolt ;  and,  from  all  that  we  can  gather  of  the  condition  of 
Babylon,  that  kingdom  stood  up  beside  Assyria,  ready  to  seize 
the  abandoned  emj)iie,  or  at  least  to  resume  its  independencCc 

In  the  absence  oi'distinct  information  from  the  monuments, 
it  is  only  a  probable  conjecture  that  some  such  revolution 
is  marked  by  the  Babylonifin  Era  of  Naeonassar,  b.c.  747, 
which  coincides  (within  a  year  or  two)  with  the  end  of  the 
reign  ot  the  last-named  Assyrian  king,  according  to  Ptolemy 
and  the  Assyrian  Canon, and  with  the  close  of  the  Sixth  DiinaS' 
ty  of  Berosus.  But  as  this  era  also  corresponds  nearly  with 
the  accession  of  an  Assyrian  king,  who  began  a  new  course  of 
foreign  conquest,  we  may  suppose  it  to  mark,  not  the  beyin- 
ning  of  a  revolt,  but  the  recognition  of  the  independence 
which  Babylonia  had  gained  under  the  weak  kings  who 
closed  the  old  Assyrian  dynasty." 

§  18.  And  here  we  have  a  probable  solution  of  the  great- 
est, indeed  almost  tlie  only  serious,  difficulty  in  harmonizing 
the  Assyrian  annals  with  the  chronicles  of  the  Hebrew  mon- 
archy. In  the  reign  of  Menahem^  King  of  Israel,  we  read 
that  "  Pul,"*  the  King  of  Assyria,  came  up  against  the  land  ; 

"«  From  Sir  H.  Kawliuson's  newly  discovered  tablet.  (Rawlinsou's  "  Five  Mon- 
archie?,"  vol.  iv.  Appendix  B.) 

57  The  exact  epoch  of  the  era  of  Nabonassar  corresponds  to  the  15th  of  February, 
ij.o.  747,  of  our  calendar,  M.  Oppert  and  others  deny  that  the  epoch  has  any  politic- 
al significance;  and  this  question  must  be  regarded  as  still  "sub  judice." 

6n  The  LXX.  render  the  name  Phaloch  (<ta\(;.x),  which  is  identical  with  the  Phahtkha 
read  by  some  on  the  statues  of  Nebo.  Various  readings  of  the  LXX.  are  *a\w9. 
<l-oi.X«/and  *ot.«.  Pul  is  certainly  an  abbreviation,  for  no  Assyrian  name  consists  of 
a  single  element. 


QUESTION  CONCERNING  THE  PUL  OF  SCKIPi  URE.      29H 

and  Meiiaheni  gave  Pul  1000  talents  of  silvei',"  etc.  ;  and, 
content  with  this  tribute,  "  the  King  of  Assyria  turned  back, 
and  stayed  not  there  in  the  land."""  Presently  afterwards, 
in  the  reign  of  the  usur\^ev,  Pekah,  who  had  murdered  Peka- 
hiah,  the  son  of  Menahera,  we  are  told  of  the  exj3edition  in 
which  (as  we  shall  presently  see  in  the  projjer  place)  Tiglath- 
pileser  II.  carried  the  Israelites  on  the  east  of  Jordan  into 
captivity. 

This  latter  expedition  is  duly  recorded  in  the  annals  of 
Tiglath-pileser;  but,  before  it,  he  mentions  the  reduction  of 
Samaria,  and  the  receipt  of  tribute  from  Menahem.  Now, 
as  the  Assyrian  annals  give  a  series  of  kings'  names,  none  of 
which  at  all  resemble  Pul,  after  Iva-lush  lY.  (or  Phalukha), 
who  is  excluded  on  chronological  grounds,*'"  the  first  and 
simplest  alternative  is  to  identify  Pul  and  Tiglath-pileser, 
and  for  this  there  are  some  arguments  worth  notice.'^'  But 
it  is  quite  evident  that  the  Jewish  chroniclers  meant  tw^o  dif- 
ferent kings  by  Pul  and  Tiglath-pileser;''^  and,  if  they  were 
one,  it  is  quite  incredible  that  the  writer,  who  gives  the  full 
name  of  Tiglcith-pileser  so  accurately,  should  just  before  cor- 
rupt it  into  PkL^^  There  remains  the  ingenious  hypothesis 
of  Professor  Rawlinson,  that  Pul  was  a  king  of  the  branch 
of  the  royal  family  reigning  in  Babylonia,  ax\(\  not  improba- 
bly over  Assyria  also  as  suzerahi.  He  might  be  a  predeces- 
sor of  Nabonassar  ;  and  if,  as  a  descendant  of  Iva-lush  and 
Semiramis,  he  bore  the  same  name  as  the  former,  the  identi- 
fication which  chronology  forbids  in  the  case  of  the  ancestor 
may  be  applied  to  the  descendant.  Perhaps  we  may  even 
trace  the  name  of  this  Babylonian  king  in  the  legendary  Be- 
lesi/s  of  Ctesias.  After  ail,  we  can  only  hope  that  future  dis- 
coveries will  give  a  satisfiictory  explanation, 

55  2  Kiugs  XV.  19,  20. 

«"  For  Menahem  reigned  only  10  years,  and  the  interval  between  Iva-lush  and 
Tiglath-pileser  II.  is  ^5  years  (is.o.  TS1-T46).  The  apparently  decisive  argument  from 
the  names  of  the  intervening  kings  is,  however,  qualified  by  the  confessed  doubt 
about  their  phonetic  reading;  and  we  have  lost  their  annals,  except  the  brief  chrono- 
logical notices  of  the  uewlj'-discovered  Canon.  Srill,  that  Canon  would  surely  have 
found  room  for  so  important  an  expedition,  which  must  have  fallen  either  hi  the 
leign  of  the  nnwarlike  Asshur-lush,  or  at  the  close  of  that  of  his  predecessor,  just 
when  a  less  important  expedition  against  the  Syrians  of  Hadrach  is  duly  chronicled. 

61  See  the  statement  of  them  by  Rawlinson  ("Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  p.  388, 
note),  who,  however,  rejects  the  identification.  The  middle  element  of  Tigivithi-jJal' 
zira  might  possi&i//  give  the  name  Pul. 

62  See  especially  f  Chron.  v.  26.  e:  Comp.  2  Kiugs  xv.  29,  with  ver.  19,  20. 


Excavations  at  Koyunjik. 


CHAPTER  XIIL 


THE    NEAV    ASSYRIAN    EMPIRE,  PART    I.      TIGLATH-PILESER    II.5 
SHALMAXESER,  AND    S ARGON. B.C.   745-704. 

5  1.  Diiration  of  the  empire.  Its  seveu  known  kings.  Chronological  epochs  com- 
pared. §  2.  TiGL.vTu-riT.ESER  II.  Ilis  obscure  origin.  His  palaces  at  yimrui. 
Subjects  on  his  bas-reliefs.  Meutioji  of  Menahem.  §3.  Annals  of  Tiglath-pileser. 
Conquest  of  Babylonia.  §  4.  His  wars  in  Syria  and  Palestine.  §  5.  Great  Syrian 
War.  Destruction  of  the  ki)igdoni  of  Damascus.  Captivity  of  the  Israelites  east 
of  Jordan.  Conquests  in  Phoenicia,  etc.  Ahaz,  King  of  Judah,  made  tributarj-. 
§  G.  Shalaiankbeu  IV.  Conquest  of  Samaria  (completed  by  Sargon),  and  final 
captivity  of  Israel.  Maritime  campaign  against  Sidon.  §  7.  Saegox  or  Sarktn, 
a  military  adventurer.  His  annals.  War  in  Chaldsea  and  Elam.  Conquest  of 
Samaria  completed.  Wars  in  Syria  and  Philistia.  Defeat  of  the  Egyptians  at 
Raphia.  §  8.  Invasion  of  Arabia.  Capture  of  Ashdod.  Submission  of  the  King 
of  Ethiopia.  §  9.  Great  war  with  Merodach-Baladan  and  the  Elamites,  and  con- 
quest of  Babylonia.  Transjjlantations  of  conquered  peoples.  §  10.  Embassies 
from  an  island  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  from  Cyprus.  §  11.  His  town  and,  palace 
at  Hisr-Sargon  (Khorsabad) ;  and  buildings  at  Calah  »nd  Nineveh. 

§  1.  The  Xew  or  Low^er  Assyrian  Empire  was  governed 
ill  its  duration  of  120  or  139  years  (b.c.  745-625  or  600)  by  a 


TIGLATH-PILESER  II.  301 

succession  of  seven  known  kings,'  among  whom  we  recognize 
the  well-known  Scriptural  names  of  Tlglath-pilese)\  Shalma- 
■n£ser,  Sargon,  Setinacherib,  and  Esar-haddon :  while  in  the 
sixth,  Asshur-hani-pal^  we  at  length  find  the  name  of  the 
mythic  Sm'danapalus,  though  the  final  catastrophe  of  Nine- 
veh befell  under  his  son,  Asshur-emid-ilin,  the  Assaracus  of 
the  Greeks,  or  perhaps  under  one  more  successor.  Except 
the  last  one  or  two,  respecting  whom  there  is  much  uncer- 
tainty, we  are  now  at  length  free  from  serious  doubts  about 
their  names,  their  order  of  succession,  their  chronology,  and 
the  principal  events  of  their  reigns;  while,  as  to  some  ofthem 
(the  celebrated  Sennacherib,  for  instance),  our  chief  embar' 
rassment  arises  fi'om  the  abundance  of  their  records. 

We  have  also  reached  a  sure  chronological  epoch  ;  for  the 
modern  authorities,  who  have  differed  up  to  this  point,  are 
all  agreed  in  placing  the  new  foundation  of  the  empire  by 
Tiglath-pileser  II.  within  a  year  or  two  of  b.c.  747,  the  Era 
OF  Nabonassar.  It  is  worth  while  to  observe  that  this 
epoch  is  just  6  years  later  than  that  commonly  accepted  for 
the  foundation  of  Kome  (b.c.  753),  and  one  generation  after 
the  chronology  of  Greece  becomes  fixed  by  the  first  recorded 
Olympic  victory  (b.c.  776)  ;  and  that  it  agrees  almost  exact- 
ly with  the  time  when  Pheidon  of  Argos  is  said  to  have  first 
coined  money  in  Gi'eece  (b.c.  748). 

§  2.  TiGLxVTH-PiLESER  II.  either  first  became  the  king,  or,  at 
all  events,  the  independent  king  of  Assyria,  in  b.c.  745,^  and 
reigned  18  or  19  years,  to  b.c.  72/.  Without  attaching  any 
weight  to  the  story  repeated  by  some  later  Greek  writers, 
that  he  was  originally  a  vine-dresser  in  the  royal  gardens/" 
we  may  infer  that  he  v^-as  an  adventurer  of  obscure  origin 
from  his  never  mentioning  his  father's  name  in  his  inscrip- 
tions, which  speak  in  general  terms  of  "  the  kings  his  fathers  " 
and  the  "palaces  of  his  fathers"  at  Calah,  which  continued 
to  be  the  capital.  There,  besides  repairing  the  central  edi- 
fice of  Shalmaneser  11.,' he 'built  a  new  palace  at  the  south- 
eastern angle  of  tlie  JVimrud  platform. 

Both  wore  barbarously  torn  to  pieces  by  Esar-haddon, 
when,  wishing  to  emulate  former  kings  as  a  builder,  he  ob- 
tained the  materials  for  decorating  his  own  palace  by  strip- 

1  M.  Oppert  adds  an  eighth  ov  even  a  ninth :  see  end  of  thi:^  chnpter. 

2  This  date  is  fixed  by  the  Assyrian  Canon  and  the  Canon  of  Ptolemy,  in  whioli  'A 
is  consecutive  with  the  reign  of  Asshnr-lnsh.  BntM.  Oppert — who,  as  we  have  seen, 
puts  all  the  Old  Assyrian  kings  higher  up— infers,  from  an  elaborate  compriiison  of 

he  Scripture  chronology  with  the  Assyrian  monuments,  that  Tiglath-pileser  came  to 
the  throne  in  «. c.  769,  and  achieved  h^s  independence  of  Babylon  in  u.v,.  74". 

3  That  is,  if  he  is  the  kinir  mcmt  by  LelitaraH,  a  name  apnarently  formed  from  the 
inf^er  part  of  his  name,  Pal-T)iird.  E^K  we  have  seen  that  M.  Oppert  places  Belitara9 
much  earlier. 


302  THE  NEW  A8SYKIAN  EMPIRE. 

ping  those  of  his  predecessors  of  tlieir  bas-reliefs.  The  south- 
east palace  was  almost  completely  destroyed,  whether  in 
M^ar  or  revolution,  and  the  last  king  of  Nineveh  built  a  new 
palace  over  its  remains.'  Amidst  the  ruins  of  the  central 
edifice  Mr.  Layard  found  many  of  the  alabaster  slabs  with 
which  its  walls  had  been  lined^  removed  and  heaped  on  the 
pavement.  They  w^ere  placed  as  the  spoiler  had  left  them 
above  2500  years  before,  "  in  rows  one  against  the  otlier,  like 
the  leaves  of  a  gigantic  book.  Every  slab  was  sculptured  ; 
and  as  they  followed  each  other  according  to  the  subjects 
upon  them,  it  w^as  evident  that  they  had  been  moved,  in  the 
order  in  which  they  stood,  from  their  original  positions,  and 
had  been  left  as  they  were  found,  preparatory  to  their  re- 
moval elsewhere.  That  they  had  not  been  thus  collected 
prior  to  their  arrangement  against  the  Avails  was  evident 
from  the  flict  that  the  Assyrian  sculptors  carved  the  bas-re- 
liefs, thouo-h  not  the  great  bulls  and  lions,  after  the  slabs  had 
been  placed.  The  backs  of  the  slabs  had  also  been  cut  away, 
in  order  to  reduce  their  dimensions,  and  to  make  the  work  of 
transport  more  easy.  The  bas-reliefs  resembled,  in  many  re- 
spects, some  o'f  those  discovei-ed  in  the  S.W.  Palace,  in  which 
the  sculpt  wed  faces  of  the  slabs  were  turned  towards  the  walls 
of  unhaked  brick.  It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  the  one 
building  had  been  destroyed,  to  supply  materials  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  other."  This  conclusion  is  placed  beyond 
doubt  by  the  occurrence,  among  the  sculptures  in  the  South- 
w^est  Mmriid  palace  of  Esar-haddon,  of  some  which  their 
subjects  and  inscriptions  identify  as  belonging  to  Tiglath- 
pileser  IT. 

Among  these  is  the  important  monument  referred ^  to 
above,  iif  which  the  king  is  represented  in  his  war-chariot, 
with  an  inscription  i-ecofding  the  receipt  of  tribute  from  sev 
eral  princes,  among  whom  is  the  name  of  Menahem.  king 
of  Samaria.  Some  of  the  unreraoved  sculptures  contain 
remarkable  pictures  of  sieges.  One  represents  a  testudo  on 
wheels,  protecting  a  pair ''of  boring  spears,  on  an  artificial 
mound  raised  against  a  tower  of  a  city,  which  is  also  (like 
those  of  the  Assyrians)  built  on  an  embankment :  the  king, 
whose  height  is  equal  to  that  of  mound  and  tower  togethei-, 
bends  his  bow  ao-ainst  the  city,  under  cover  of  a  huge  wicker 
shield  held  before  him  by  an  attendant;  while,  besides  a 
corpse  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  mound,  another  falling,  and  a 
person  apparently  in  an  imploring  attitude  on  the  turret  top, 
the  effect  is  lieightened  by  three  prisoners  impeded.     Such 

4  Enough  has  been  lefr,  however,  to  enable  Mr.  Loftiis  to  make  out  its  srouud-plau, 
which  mav  be  seen  in  the  Assyrian  basement  room  at  the  British  Museum. 


AXXALS  OF  TIGLATH-riLESER.  80?. 

scenes,  wliich  the  Assyi'ian  despots  loved  to  have  before  their 
eyes  in  their  palaces,  have  come  down  to  us  to  illustrate 
many  passag-es  in  which  the  prophets  speak  of  enemies 
'''' building  forts''''  (these  are  often  seen  in  the  scul23tiires), 
^'casting  mounds^^^  and  ^^  setting  battering-rams^''  against  Je- 
rnsalem  ;  and  the  relief  now  described  exactly  illustrates  the 
passage  in  Isaiah  :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  concerning  the 
ki)ig  of  Assgria,  He  shall  not  come  into  this  city,  nor  shoot 
an  arroio  tJiere,  nor  come  before  it  icith  sJdelds,  nor  cast  abank 
against  it.'-'" 

§  3.  Through  the  destruction  of  his  palaces,  the  records  of 
Tiglath-pileser  have  come  down  to  us  in  a  very  fragmentary 
form  ;  but  enough  remains  to  show  that  he  was  engaged  in 
constant  wars  for  the  re-establishment  of  the  empire.  His 
first  enterprise  was  against  Babylonia,  which  had  now  fallen 
into  confusion.  There  is  no  mention,  in  his  annals,  of  Na- 
bonassar,  whom  Ptolemy's  Canon  represents  as  now  reign- 
ing at  Babylon  ;  but  he  names  several  princes  of  the  up})er 
country,  whom  he  attacked  and  defeated,  taking  Kiir-Gala- 
zu  and  Sippara  ;  while,  in  the  maritime  region  of  Chaldtea, 
he  received  the  submission  of  ^lerodach-Buhidan,  the  son  of 
Yakin,  whose  capital  was  the  city  of  Bit-Yakin.'^ 

§  4.  Thus  secured  against  the  rival  kingdom,  Tiglath-pile- 
ser was  able  to  turn  his  attention  to  that  great  object  of  poli- 
cy with  the  later  Assyrian  kings,  the  reduction  of  Syria  and 
Palestine  :  countries  which  were  already  regarded  as  tribu- 
tary.' The  newly  discovered  canon  shows  that  lie  was  en- 
gaged for  three  years  (b.c.  742-740)  in  the  conquest  of  Ar- 
pad,*'  near  Damascus,  and  his  own  annals  relate  a  series  of 
campaigns — apparently  from  his  fourth  year  to  his  eighth 
(b.c.  742-736) — in  which  he  reduced  Damascus,  Samaria,  and 
Tyre  (whose  kings  are  mentioned  by  the  familiar  names  of 
Kezin,  Menahem,  and  Hiram),  and  the  Arabs  on  the  frontier 
of  Egypt,  who  were  governed  by  a  queen  named  Khahiba." 
But  these  conquests  did  not  reach  Jud?ea,  Philistia,  or  Idu- 

5  Isaiah  xxxvii.  33  ;  comp.  2  Kings  xix.  32  ;  Je-.em.  xxxii.  i'4  ;  xxxiii.  -1 ;  Ezek.  xvii. 
17 ;  see  the  wood-cut  in  La3'ard's  "  Niueveh,"  p.  270,  smaller  ed. 

«  Probably  the  father  of  the  celebrated  Merodach-Baladan.     (See  below,  §  9.) 

^  We  have  seen  that  this  was  the  position  of  the  kingdoms  of  Damascus  and 
Samaria.  With  regard  to  that  of  Jndah,  though  the  treaty  of  Ahaz  with  Tiglath- 
])i;eser  is  the  first  connection  recorded  in  the  annals  of  both  countries,  Professor 
Rawlinsou  has  conjectured  that  the  suzerainty  of  Assyria  had  been  admitted  as 
early  as  the  reign  of  Amaziah,  because  "the  kingdom  was  confirmed  in  his  hand" 
(2  Kings  xiv.  .5),  the  very  expression  used  of  .Meuahem's  cnntirmation  by  Pul  (2  Kings 
XV.  19).  But  historical  facts  can  not  safely  be  inferred  from  such  mere  verbal  co- 
incidences. 6  This  mention  of  Arpad  illustrates  Isaiah  x.  9. 

"  "The  Arabs  of  the  tract  bordering  on  Egypt  seem  to  have  been  regularly  gov- 
erned liy  queens.  Thiee  such  aic  mentioned  in  the  inscriptions."  (Rawliusou,  ''ol. 
ii.  \).  '.V:Xi,  note  ) 


304  THE  NEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIlll^i 

mtea.  His  second  attack  on  the  kingdom  of  Israel  may  have 
been  provoked  by  the  usurpation  oTPekah,  and  his  murder 
of  Menaheni's  son,  Pekahiah,  the  vassal  of  Assyria  ;  and  it 
was  on  this  occasion  that  Tiglath-pileser,  king  of  Assyria, 
came  and  took  Ijon,  and  Abel-beth-maachah,  and  Janoah, 
and  Kedesh,  andHazor,  and  Gilead,  and  Galilee,  all  the  land 
of  Xaplithali,  ^nd  carried  them  captive  to  Assyria.'"  This 
captivity  included  that  part  of  the  Israelites  east  of  Jordan 
Avlio  dw'elt  in  tiic-  land  of  Gilead,  and  a  portion  of  the  tribes 
ot  Zebulon  and  Naphthali  in  the  northern  part  of  Galilee,  a 
population  so  affected  by  the  neighborhood  of  Pli«nicia  as 
to  have  acquired  already  the  name  of  "Galilee  of  .the  Gen- 
tiles."" But,  to  use  the  words  of  Isaiah,  in  the  same  pas- 
sage, these  tribes  were  but  "  lightly  afflicted,"  in  compari-  ' 
son  with  "a  more  grievous  affliction"  which  was  to  befall 
tliem,  in  connection  with  the  utter  destruction  and  dreadful 
carnaiie,  which  he  describes  in  some  of  the  grandest  passages 
of  his  prophecies,  as  about  to  fall  upon  the  kingdom  of  Da- 
mascus ;  while  the  devastating  triumph  of  Assyi'ia  would 
spread  from  Coele-Syria  to  Arabia  and  Egypt. '^ 

§  5.  The  cause  of  this  catastrophe  was  an  alliance  between 
Rezin,  king  of  Syria,  and  Pekah,king  of  Israel,  to  dethrone 
Ahaz,  the  "new  king  of  Jndah,  and  to  set  up  in  his  place  a 
creature  of  their  o\Vn,  who  is  called  "the  son  ofTabeal;"'^ 
with  the  manifest  object  of  organizing  a  powerful  resistance. 
to  the  proo-ress  of  Assyria.  The  exact  order  of  events  is  ob- 
scure ;  but  it  seems  that  the  confedei-ates  invaded  Judah 
from  different  quarters,  and,  while  Rezin  defeated  the  Jews 
and  carried  awav  a  oreat  multitude  of  captives  to  Damascus, 
Pekah   gained   a^  still   more   decisive  victory,  in   which   "he 

10  2  Kiiif's  XV. -25-29.  This  event,  so  important  in  the  history  of  Israel,  is  only 
sli^-hlly  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  Tiglath-pileser;  and  it  is  not  clear  to  which  year 
of  his  rei^n  it  should  be  referred.  Perhaps  it  formed  the  last  of  the  four  campaigns 
named  above.  At  all  events,  the  annals  of  Tiglath-pileser  seem  to  mention  two 
separate  expeditions  against  Pekah;  and  two  separate  captivitios-the  former  less 
extensive  and  severe  than  the  latter— appear  to  be  indicated,  not  only  in  Isaiah  ix.  1 
(see  the  following  note),  but  by  the  comparison  of  2  Kings  xv.  2'.>,  with  1  Chron  v. 
26.  The  former  jiassago  mentions  only  a  few  places  in  the  extreme  north  of  Galilee, 
and  Gilead  alone  of  the  Transjordanic  countries;  while  the  latter  specifies  the  whole 
Transjordanic  region,  and  says  notliing  of  Galilee.  The  regicnis  to  which  the  cap- 
tives are  carried  in  the  two  cases  would  be  different  only  if  A-^sipia  is  to  be  taken 
iu  its  narrower  sense ;  nor  can  any  argument  be  drawn  from  the  order  of  2  Kings  xv. 
29  before  2  Kings  xvi.,  as  the  former  is  a  mere  summarij  of  the  reign  of  Pekah,  down 
to  his  death  (ver.  30).  .   ,      ,  e 

11  Isaiah  ix.  1.  This  pas«ncre  is  best  explained  by  the  well-known  rnterchange  ot 
the  Helirew  preterite  and  future.  On  this  first  occasion  '^  he  lic,],thi  afiiicted  the  land 
of  Zebulon  and  the  land  of  Naphthali;"  but  -afterwards  he  would  more  grievously 
afflict"  (them  or  Israel  at  large),  either  in  the  final  captivity,  or  rather  in  eonncctiou 
with  the  destruction  of  Svria.  For  the  whole  prophecy  seems  to  Ir.iply,  what  the 
nature  of  the  case  suggests,  that  Israel  was  again  severely  chastised  for  Fekah's  con- 
federacy with  Kezin.  '7f '''*^  "''-.V'-    ,_ 

13  Isaiah  vii.  C, ;  fen-  the  whole  narrative  see  2  King«  xvi,  U9  ;  2  Chr'm.  xxvm.  l-  ; 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  DAMASCUS.      305 

ftlew  in  Judah  120,000  men  in  one  clay,  Avhich  were  all  val- 
lant  men,"  among  them  the  king's  son  and  other  princes  ;  and 
"the  children  of  Israel  carried  away  captive  of  their  brethren 
200,000  women,  sons,  and  daughters,  and  took  also  away 
much  spoil  from  them,  and  brought  the  spoil  to  Samaria.'"* 
Jerusalem  was  besieged ;  but  Ahaz  w^fs  moved  by  the  en- 
couragement of  Isaiah  to  a  vigorous  resistance,'^  and  the 
siege  was  doubtless  raised  the  sooner  from  the  eagerness  of 
both  kings  to  carry  off  their  prisoners  and  spoil. 

But  this  was  only  a  respite.  The  operations  of  Rezin  on 
the  south-eastern  frontier  deprived  Judah  of  Elath  (^Elana), 
her  great  port  on  the  Red  Sea,  and  raised  the  Edomites 
against  her,  while  the  Philistines  invaded  her  on  the  west 
and  south.  In  this  extremity  Ahaz  appealed  to  Tiglath-pi- 
leser,  with  the  most  unreserved  admission  of  his  vassalage 
— "I  am  thy  servant  and  thy  son'''' — supported  by  a  tribute 
from  the  treasures  of  the  temple.'^  The  Assyrian  king  first 
attacked  Rezin, '^  who  was  defeated  and  slain — either  in  bat- 
tle, or  by  one  of  those  barbai-ous  executions  Avhich  we  see  in 
the  Assyrian  monuments  inflicted  on  rebellious  kings. 

At  all  events,  the  scenes  on  those  monuments  and  the 
boasts  in  their  inscriptions  furnish  an  ample  comment  on  the 
prophetic  warning  of  the  horrors  which  this  conquest  was  to 
bring  on  Israel,  as  well  as  Syria:  "For  every  battle  of  the 
warrior  is  v/ith  confused  noise  and  garments  rolled  in  blood; 
but  this  shall  be  with  burning  and  fuel  of  fire."  "Through 
the  wrath  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  the  land  dai-kened,  and  the 
people  shall  be  as  the  fuel  of  the  fire  ;  no  man  shall  spare  his 
brother;  ....  they  shall  eat  every  man  the  fiesh  of  his  own 
arm.  For  all  this  his  anger  is  not  turned  away,  but  his  hand 
is  stretched  out  still.  Thou,  O  Assyrian,  art  the  rod  of  mine 
anger,  and  the  staff  in  their  hand  is  mine  indignation." 

Other  neighboring  nations  are  alluded  toby  Isaiah  as  feel- 
ing the  scourge  of  this  great  conquest ;  and  the  prophet 
Amos  speaks  particularly,  not  only  of  the  people  of  northern 
Israel  and  Damascus,  but  also  of  the  Philistines  of  Gaza, 
Ashdod,  Ashkelon,  and  Ekron  ;  the  Phoenicians  of  Tyre  ;  the 
Edomites,  the  Ammonites  of  Rabbah,  and  the  ]\[oabites  of 
Kirioth.''^     From  the  annals  of  Tiglath-pileser  we  find  that 

^*  2  ChroD.  xxviii.  5-S.  The  release  of  These  captives,  at  the  command  of  tho 
prophet  Obed,  is  a  redeeming  incident  of  this  war,  too  touching  to  be  passed  ovei-. 

1°  2  Kings  xvi.5. 

1^  This  language,  viewed  in  connection  with  the  attack  of  the  confederates  and  the 
exemption  of  Judah  in  previous  Assyrian  invasions,  goes  far  to  prove  a  former  ad- 
mission of  vassalage  to  Assyria.  Bm  the  want  of  any  previous  mention  of  tribute 
from  Judah  on  the  Assyrian  monuineiits  tells  the  other  way. 

1"  2  Kings  xvi.9.  A  mutilnted  inscription  in  the  Briti?h  Museum  is  said  to  COl* 
tain  an  imperfect  notice  of  his  defeat  and  death.  i*  Amos  1.  li. 


BOG  THE  NEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

he  chastised  the  Arabs  of  the  peninsula  of  Sinai,  and  received 
the  submission  oi  Mi femia,'"'  k'mg  of  Tyre,  of  i\^/ia?um^kms!; 
of  Gaza,  of  Mitlnti,  king  of  Ascalon,  and  of  the  people  of 
Aradus,  the  Moabites,  the  Ammonites,  and  the  Idumieans. 
The  king  of  Judah,  at  whose  entreaty  the  war  had  been  made, 
was  summoned  to  Damascus  to  pay  his  homage  to  the  con- 
queror,'" whose  exactions  appear  to  have  reduced  Judah  to 
great  misery.  "Ahaz  made  Judah  naked,"  says  the  chroni- 
cler, and  "Tiglath-pilneser" — for  so  he  writes  the  king's 
name  —  "distressed  him,  bui  strengthened  him  not.  For 
Ahaz  took  away  a  portion  out  of  the  Lord's  house,  and  out 
of  the  Iiouse  of  the  king,  and  of  the  princes,  and  gave  it  to 
the  king  of  Assyria;  but  he  helped  him  not:'"'  which  may 
mean  that  he  left  him  unprotected  against  the  wild  tril)es 
around  him.  In  the  annals  of  the  Assyrian  king  we  find  a 
record  of  his  receipt  of  tribute  from  a  king  of  Judah,  wdjom 
he  calls  Yahii-khazi,  which  seems  to  stand  for  Jehoahaz?'' 
We  also  learn  from  his  annals  that  on  his  return  to  Damas- 
cus Tiglath-pileser  had  another  encounter  with  a  son  of  Re- 
zin,  whose  capital  he  took  and  destroyed. 

It  was  in  these  campaigns  against  Syria  and  Israel  that 
Tio'lath-pileser  set  the  exampleof  tiiat  far-sighted  but  cruel 
policy,  which  attempted  to  eradicate  the  feeling  of  local  pa- 
triotism by  transporting  conquered  peoples  in  mass  to  dis- 
tant parts  of  his  empire — a  policy  steadily  pursued  afterwards 
by  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  kings.  The  Syrians  of  Da- 
mascus were  removed  to'  /i7r,  the  very  place  Avhence  the 
prophet  Amos  traces  their  original  migration ;  but  its  posi- 
tion is  very  uncertain.'*^  The  whole  Israelite  population  east 
of  the  Jordan,  comprising  the  tribes  of  Reuben,  Gad,  and 
half  Manasseh,  were  removed  to  Halah,  and  Habor,  and  Hara 
(«*.  e.,  Harran),  and  to  the  river  Gozan  ;  names  which  have  been 
clearly  proved  to  denote  the  land  of  Mesopotamia  Proper, 
upon  and  west  of  the  Khabour — the  very  country  from  which 
Abraham  started,  at  all  events  on  the  final  stage  of  liis  rai- 

19  Professor  Rawliusou  points  out  the  resemblance  of  this  name  to  the  Matgcnus, 
who  is  mentioned  by  Menancler  "(Fr.  1)  as  the  father  of  Dido  and  Pygmalion. 

20  2  Kint^'s  xix.  10.    '  ^^  2  Chron.  xxviii.  20,  21. 

22  The  kings  of  this  name  in  Scripture  are  much  too  remote  from  this  period  to  be 
meant;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  name  stands  for  Ahaz.  One  plausi- 
ble conjecture  is  that  Jehoahaz  was  his  real  name,  but  the  official  chroniclers  of  Ju- 
dah expressed  their  abhorrence  for  his  memory  by  striking  off  the  sacred  prefix, 
just  as  he  had  been  refused  burial  in  the  royal  sepulchre  (2  Chron.  xxviii.  21). 

23  2  Kings  xvi.  9  ;  Amos  i.  5 ;  ix.  7.  Kir  is  joined  with  Elam  in  Isaiah  xxii.  G :  and 
this  conjunction  is  used  in  support  of  the  theory  which  derives  the  Semitic  popu- 
lation of  Syria,  as  well  as  of  Palestine  and  Phoenicia,  from  the  great  plain  at  the  head 
of  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  more  prevalent  opinion  makes  Kir  the  valley  of  the  Ktir 
or  Ci/rm;  but  wc  have  no  proof  that  the  Assyrian  empire  extended  to  tha  north  of 
the  mountain.-  of  Armenia.     (See  the  "  Diet,  of  ihc  Bible,"  art.  Kir.) 


SHALMANESER  IV. 'S  CONQUEST  OF  SAMARIA.  P.07 

gration  to  Palestine.  Was  it  altogether  without  design  tliat 
both  populations  were  deported  to  their  ancestral  homes  ? 
In  Galilee  the  territory  occupied  by  Tiglath-pileser  seems  to 
have  reached  as  far  south  as  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  where 
Megiddo  (Jfagidu)  is  named  as  a  frontier  fortress,  in  con- 
nection with  Manasseh  {Mcmatsuah)  and  the  city  of  Dur  or 
Dora  (Dw'u)^  upon  the  sea-coast. 

These  campaigns  appear  to  be  placed  by  the  newly  dis- 
covered Assyrian  Canon  in  the  years  b.c.  734,  733,  and  732; 
and  on  the  same  authority,  the  last  year  of  Tiglath-pileser  II. 
is  B.C.  728-7. 

§  6.  Tiglath-pileser  II.  was  succeeded  by  a  king  whose 
name,  omitted  from  the  Assyrian  Canon,  and  not  found  on 
any  monuments,  is  supplied  both  by  the  Book  of  Kings  and 
by  the  historian  Menander.^"  This  was  Siialmaneser  IY., 
who  is  familiar  to  us  in  Scripture  as  the  destroyer  of  the 
kingdom  of  Samaria,  though  it  seems  that  he  did  not  live  to 
complete  the  conquest.  He  reigned  seven  j^ears  (b.c.  727- 
721).  In  connection  with  the  fall  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel, 
his  reign  is  memorable  for  the  first  collision  between  the  As- 
syrian and  Egyptian  empires. 

An  attentive  reader  of  the  Scripture  narrative  will  observe 
three  stages  in  his  transactions  with  Hoshea,  the  last  king  of 
Israel,  who  had  obtained  the  throne  by  murdering  the  usurp- 
er Pekah.  From  the  character  given  of  him  by  the  sacred 
writer,  and  from  other  indications,^^  it  is  probable  that  Ho- 
shea had,  at  least,  a  patriotic  sympathy  with  that  movement 
for  reform  in  Israel  which  breathes  in  the  earnest  exhorta- 
tions of  the  prophet  his  namesake,  and  wliich  was  fostei-ed 
by  Hezekiah,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Judah  in  Ho- 
shea's  third  year  (b.c.  726).  It  was  probably  about  this  time 
that  Hoshea  seized  the  occasion  of  a  new  reign  in  Assyria  to 
refuse  the  payment  of  tribute ;  but  he  submitted  on  Shal- 
maneser's  marching  against  him,^°  not,  however,  till  at  least 
one  of  his  cities  had  been  treated  after  the  true  Assyrian 
fashion — "  as  Shalman  spoiled  Beth-arbel  in  the  day  of  bat- 
tle: f/ie  mother  teas  dashed  in  pieces  upon  her  children.'^'''" 
This  was  the  first  campaign. 

It  was  not  long  before  Hoshea  ventured  again  to  refuse 
the  tribute,  in  reliance  on  the  support  promised  by  the  v.ar- 

24  His  rnomxmeuis  may  probably  have  been  destroyed  by  the  usurper  Sargon,  -who 
succeeded  him.  Some  see  in  the  omission  of  his  name  from  the  royal  lists  a  sign 
that  he  himseif  was  a  usurper ;  but  this  is  mere  conjecture. 

-2  '.■!  Kings  xvii.  2  :  see  the  "  Student's  Old  Testament  History,"  ch.  xxiv.  §5 1>,  10. 

"'•  '  Kings  xvi.  3. 

-''  Hosea  x.  14.  Here  is  a  precedent  for  the  retribution  invoked  in  Psalm  cxxxvii. 
0  :  f>)r  the  spirit  of  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  warfare  was  the  same. 


308  THE  NP:W  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

like  Sabaco,  king  of  Egypt.^®  But,  l)efore  his  ally  could  marcL 
to  his  support,  he  was  seized  by  Shaliuaneser — perhaps  on  a 
summons  to  the  court  to  plead  his  excuse — and  thrown  intc 
prison;  "cut  oif" — says  the  prophet — "as  the  foam  upon 
the  water. "^^  This  second  blow  was  followed  up  by  an  in- 
vasion, in  which  "the  king  of  Assyria  came  up  tlwoughoui 
all  the  Jand^''  and  laid  siege  to  Samaria,  in  the  fourth  year  of 
Hezekiah  and  the  seventh  of  Hoshea  (b.c.  723).  The  city 
was  besieged  for  three  years,  till  the  6th  of  Hezekiah  and 
the  9th  of  tioshea,^"  when  it  w^as  taken  (Josephus  says,  by 
storm^'),  and  the  whole  remaining />eo/>/e  of  Israel  were  car- 
ried captive,  partly  to  join  their  brethren  of  the  former  cap- 
tivity "in  Halah  and  Habor  by  the  I'iver  of  Gozaii,"  and 
partfy  in  the  far  remoter  "cities  of  the  Medes.'"'^  (The  men- 
tion of  "the  king  of  Assyria" — no  longer  by  the  name  of 
Shalmaneser — in  the  latter  part  of  this  narrative,  is  in  re^ 
markable  agreement  with  the  fact  that  Shalmaneser  died 
before  Samaria  was  taken.) 

It  may  have  been  during  the  progress  of  the  siege  that  he 
undertook  a  maritime  campaign  against  Tyre  with  sixty 
ships  manned  by  800  rowers  from  the  Phoenician  cities  of 
Sidon,  Old  Tyre,  and  Acco.'^  The  Tyrians,  under  their  king 
EIuUpus,  with  only  twelve  ships,  gained  a  sea-hght  and  took 
500  prisoners.  The  Assyrians  then  blockaded  the  city  and 
cut  oif  its  aqueducts  ;  but  the  Tyrians  dug  pits  and  held  out 
for  five  years.  Here  the  fragment  breaks  off;  but  the  failure 
of  the  blockade  may  be  probably  inferred  from  the  absence 
of  the  "  gods  of  Tyre  "  in  Kabshakeh's  list  of  Assyrian  con- 
quests.^* 

§  7.  Shalmaneser  died  during  the  last  year  of  the  siege  of 
•Samaria,  leaving  only  an  infant  son,  Nin'qj-ilmja  (i.  e.,  Ninip 
is  my  god).  The  king's  long  absence  may  have  prepared 
the  way  for  a  dynastic  revolution,^^  especially  if  he  himself 
had  been  originally  an  adventurer.  The  throne  was  seized 
by  the  Tartan,  or  general-in-chief,  a  man  of  obscure  birth, 
who  assumed  a  royal  name  significant  of  his  elevation,  Sar- 
GON,  or,  more  properly,  Sarkin  or  Sar-yukix  (the  king  [^is] 
sstfbUs/red).^^      The    one    solitary   mention    of  his  name  in 

28  1  Kings  xvii.  4.     See  chap.  vii.  §  14.  29  Hosea  x.  7. 

3"  2  Kings  xvii.  5  ;  xviii.  9, 10. 

^^  Joseph.  "  Aut."  ix.  3 ;  compare  the  highly  poetical  description  in  Isaiah  xxviii 
1-4.  32  2  Kings  xvii.  G  ;  xviii.  11. 

33  Meuaiicler,  op.  Joseph.  "Ant."  ix.  13.  It  is  prohable,  however,  that  Jos.ephns- 
here  as  elsewhere — has  confounded  Shalmaneser  with  Sargon,  and  that  this  Tj-rian 
war  behmgs  to  the  latter  king.  34  2  Kings  xviii.  33, 34. 

35  See  the  remarks  of  Rawlinson,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  406,  407. 

36  M.  Opi)ert,  who  prefer.s  the  form  Sarkin,  makes  his  original  name  Iielpatisaf<r,our. 
His  obscure  (that  is,  at  al!  events,  not  royal)  descent  is  inferred,  as  in  the  case  of 


CAMPAIGNS  OF  8ARG0N.  309 

Scripture,  and  that  but  incidentally  in  a  prophecy,"  and  the 
confusion  in  our  present  text  betw'een  hini  and  his  son  Sen- 
nacherib, had  brought  his  very  existence  into  doubt,  till  the 
discovery  of  his  annals  in  his  magnificent  palace  at  Khorsa- 
bad  revealed  him  as  one  of  the  "most  splendid  kings  and 
most  successful  warriors  of  Assyria.'^  He  came  to  the 
throne,  as  he  tells  us,  in  the  same  year  in  which  Merodach- 
Baladan  became  king  of  Babylon, "that  is  according  to  the 
Canon  of  Ptolemy,  in  March,  kc.  721;  and  this  date  is  con- 
firmed by  the  capture  of  Samaria.  His  reign  lasted  seven- 
teen years,  till  August,  b.c.  704,  of  which  his  annals  embrace 
fifteen.     They  open  with  the  following  statements  : 

"  This  is  what  I  have  done  from  the  beginning  of  my  reio'n 
to  my  fifteenth  campaign.  I  defeated,  in  the  plains  of  Chal- 
dnea  {Kalou)  Khumbanigas,  king  of  Elam."  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  Lower  Chaldgea  had  been  made  tributary  to 
Tiglath-pileser  H.,  while  native  princes  ruled  in  Upper  Bab- 
ylonia. He  goes  on :  "  I  besieged,  took,  and  occupied  the 
city  of  Samaria,  and  carried  away  27,280  persons  who  dwelt 
in  it.  I  changed  the  former  establishments  of  the  country 
and  set  over  them  my  lieutenants."  This  Avas  in  the  first 
year  of  his  reign.  The  small  number  of  captives,  so  precisely 
stated,  proves  the  straits  to  which  the  city  had  been  reduced. 
The  people  of  the  country  had  probably  been  carried  into 
captivity  by  Shalmaneser,  when  "he  came  up  throughout  all 
the  land.'""  The  new  constitution  of  the  country  is  emphat- 
ically mentioned,  as  it  was  contrary  to  tlie  usual  Assyrian 
policy  of  setting  up  dependent  kings.  It  was  required  by 
the  occupation  of  Samaria  by  deported  settlers  from  Upper 
Babylonia  and  Hamath,  for  it  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  the 
country  was  left  desolate  till  Esar-haddon  colonized  it  from 
Lower  Babylonia." 

Sai-gon's  next  campaign  was  against  Yahu-hid^  an  usurp 
ing  king  of  Hamath,  above  Coele-Syria,  at  the  head  of  a  re- 
bellion of  several  Syrian  towns ;  among  which  it  is  strange 

Tiglath-pileser  IL,  from  his  merely  general  meutiou  of  former  khigg,  of  Babylonia  as 
well  as  Assyria,  as  his  ancestors.  From  this,  and  his  name,  he  may  probably  have 
been  a  Babylonian  ;  an  idea  supported  by  his  repairs  of  the  temples  of  the' Baby- 
lonian tetrapolis.  It  appears  from  the  Ccmon  of  Eijonymon^  Officers  that  Sargon 
reigned  during  his  first  three  years  in  the  name  of  the  infant  son  of  Shalmaneser, 
and  only  assumed  sole  authority  in  r,.c.  T18.  But  if,  as  there  seems  litUe  doubt,  his 
nuuals  date  from  his  actual  accession  in  b.o.  721,  as  his  first  year,  the  fall  of  Samaria 
would  be  brought  down  to  the  same  date. 

3^  Isaiah  xx.  1. 

38  The  records  of  Sargon  and  his  successors  are  edited  and  translated  in  M.  Op- 
pert's  "Inscriptions  des  Sargonides."  An  equally  important  work  is  his  recent 
"Momoire  sur  les  Rapports  de  I'Egypte  et  de  TAssyrie  dans  I'Antiquite,"  1869.  Sar- 
gon's  annals  exist  in  two  forms— on  a  cylinder,  and  in  an  inscription  on  the  wall  of 
the  great  hall  of  Khorsabad. 

»»  1  Kings  xvii.  5.  4o  See  below,  §  9. 


310  THE  NEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

to  find  Damascus  and  Samaria  reappear  so  soon.  Kar-kar, 
their  stronghold,  was  stormed  and  burned  ;  the  insurgent 
was  taken  and  flayed ;  the  other  rebel  chiefs  were  killed,  and 
their  towns  destroyed.  Sargon,  bent  on  punishing  Sabaco 
for  the  aid  given  to  Hoshea,  marched  against  Gaza,  which 
belonged  to  Egypt.  We  have  already  had  occasion  to  men- 
tion his  great  victory  at  Raphia  over  "  Hanun,  king  of  Gaza, 
and  Sabaco  (Sal/e),  sultan'^'  of  Egypt ;"  of  whom  the  former 
was  carried  prisoner  to  Assyria,  while  the  latter  fled.  "  They 
came  into  my  presence :  I  routed  them  " — are  the  words  of 
the  king.     (b.c.  718-17.) 

§  8.  The  next  four  years  were  occupied  with  vrars  to  the 
north  and  east  of  Assyria.  To  this  period  chiefly,  but  part- 
ly to  his  later  years,  belong  his  conquests  to  the  north  and 
east,  over  the  Armenians,  the  Albanians,  the  Syrians  of  Con> 
magene,  the  people  of  the  Taurus  and  Cilicia,  the  Medes,*^ 
Parthians,  and  the  mountaineers  of  Zagrus,  and  his  defeat 
of  Sntuk-Xakhunfa^  the  king  of  Elam,  Avho  had  his  capital 
at  Susa."  Sargon  records  that  he  "  subdued  the  uncultivated 
plains  of  the  remote  Arabia  which  had  never  before  given 
tribute  to  Assyria."  On  this  occasion  he  transported  some 
Arabs  to  Samaria,  where  Nehemiah  mentions  an  Arabian 
element  in  the  population.*'  He  adds :  "  I  imposed  tribute 
on  Pharaoh  {Fir'u)  of  Egypt ^ow  Tsamsi,  queen  of  Arabia,  on 
Ithamar  the  Saboean,  in  gold,  spices,  horses,  and  camels." 
(b.c.  714-713.) 

Three  years  later,  a  rebellion  of  Ashdod  led— after  some 
putting  down  and  setting  up  of  kings,  Avhicli  it  is  needless 
to  recount — to  the  capture  of  that  city,*'  which  gave  Sargon 
the  command  of  the  maritime  route  into  Egypt;  and  he 
peopled  this  important  post  with  captives  taken  in  his  east- 
ern wars:  "  I  set  Over  them  my  lieutenant  to  govern  them, 

41  There  is  some  dispute  about  this  title,  which  Sir  H.  Rawliusou  reads  Tar-danu 
(explaining  it  as  a  title  of  honor,  high  in  rank),  while  M.  Oppert  makes  it  Sil-tan,  and 
considers  it  equivalent  to  the  Hebrew  Shiltoti  and  the  Arabic  Sultan.  Either  term 
denotes  a  rank  below  that  of  king.  That  Sargon  did  not  regard  Shebek  as  king  of 
Eqvvt  is  clear  from  the  great  inscription  of  Khorsabad,  where  mention  is  made  in 
the  very  next  paragraph  of  a  "  Pharaoh  of  Egypt "  who  paid  tribute  to  Assyria  (corap. 
ch.  vii.).  Raphia  (still  called  Refah)  lay  between  Gaza  and  Rhinocurura,  the  frontier 
town  of  Egypt,  about  a  day's  march  from  each. 

42  The  cimipletion  of  the  conquest  of  Media  explains  the  settlement  of  the  captive 
Israelites  "  in  the  cities  of  the  Medes.' 

43  The  inscriptions  of  this  king  have  been  found  at  Susa. 
4*  Nehern.  iv.  7 ;  comp.  ii.  10. 

45  jt  is  on  this  occasion  that  we  have  the  only  mention  of  Sargon  in  the  Scrii)ture 
(Is.  XX.  1).  The  mission  of  the  "  Tartan"  (?.  c,  cliief  general)  must  have  precede;!  that 
of  the  king,  probably  to  install  the  vassal,  whose  rejection  afterwards  provoked  Sar- 
gon to  march  against  the  city.  Probably  the  "three  years,"  during  which  Isaiah 
gave  a  sign  to  the  Esryptianizing  party  at  Jerusalem,  mark  the  whole  duration  of  the 
war  of  Ashdod  (b.c.  T12-T10,  inclusive).  In  n.c.  712  Sargon  himself  was  reducing 
Milid  (probably  Meliteue). 


CONQUEST  Oi    BABli^UX  I  A.  31] 

and  I  treated  them  as  Assyrians'''* — a  phrase  which  always 
implies  the  complete  subjugation  of  a  country,  as  opposed  to 
mere  vassalaoe.  This  stroke  of  policy  explains  the  ease^with 
which  succeeding  Assyrian  kings  enter  Egypt,  and  the  ob- 
stinate resistance  of  Aslidod  to  Psammetichus."  There  is 
no  mention  in  the  annals  of  Sargon  of  that  invasion  of  Egvpt, 
which  some  writers  suppose  him  to  have  made.  It  would 
rather  seem  that  he  was. content  with  the  tribute  and  sub- 
mission brought  to  him  in  order  to  avert  invasion.  He  rep- 
resents the  kings  as  resorting  to  him  in  consequence  of  "  the 
immense  terror  which  my  majesty  inspired."^'  This  cam- 
paign of  Ashdod,  in  Sargon's  eleventh  year  (b.c.  Vll-VlO), 
was  Sargon's  last  expedition  to  the  west.*'' 

§  9.  The  remainder  of  this  reign  was  fully  occupied  with 
aftairs  nearer  home.  The  chief  of  these  vcas  the  conquest  of 
Babylonia,  where  Merodach-Baladan  had  been  on  tlie  throne 
twelve  years."^  This  "  king  of  Chaldiva,"  says  Sargon, 
"  called  to  his  aid  Khumbanigas,  king  of  Elam,  and  raised 
against  me  all  the  nomad  tribes  " — the  Arama?ans  of  Irak- 
Araby^  whom  we  have  seen  repeatedly  in  arms  against  the 
kings  of  Assyria.  The  extent  to  which  Merodach-Baladan 
intrigued  among  the  vassals  of  Assyria  is  proved  by  his  em- 
bassy to  congratulate  Hezekiah  on  his  miraculous  recovery 
from  his  mortal  illness.  But  the  promptness  of  Sargon  left 
the  king  of  Judah  no  opportunity  to  declare  openly  for  his 
ally  ;  and  his  ostentatious  display  of  his  resources  to  the  am- 
bassadors of  Babylon  called  forth  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah, 
that  this — and  not  Assyria — Avas  the  power  to  which  Judali 
was  destined  to  succumb,  though  not  in  his  days.^° 

Sargon  marched  against  Babylon  with  all  his  forces;  and 
Merodach-Baladan,  retreating  into  Chaldai^a,  took  up  a  well 
fortified  post  in  front  of  Bit- Yakut,  or  Dur-Takiji,'"  on  tlie 

48  See  chap.  viii.  §  0. 

<7  Respectiiiir  the  submission  of  the  king  of  Ethiopia,  Avhich  Sargou  here  clair.i.^, 
see  chap.  vii.  §  16. 

48  If  the  date  assigned  to  the  events  noticed  in  1  Kings  xviii.  13  and  Isaiah  xxxvi. 
1,  were  correct,  we  must  infer  an  attack  on  Judah  ai  the  same  time  that  the  Tartar, 
was  sent  to  Ashdod,  and  Ave  must  then  (as  some  have  rashly  proposed)  read  Sargon 
for  Sennacherib;  for  the  "14th  year  of  Hezekiah"  is  b.c.  713-712,  nine  years  before 
the  accession  of  Sennacherib.  But  we  shall  presently  see  how  perfectly  the  whole 
narrative  hangs  together  with  Sennacherib's  account  of  his  Syrian  expedition  (see 
the  folh)wii)g  chapter). 

49  It  is  the  mention  of  this,  in  Sargon's  12th  year,  that  gives  us  the  synchronism 
of  the  two  kings. 

°<>  2  Kings  XX. ;  Isaiah  xxxix. ;  2  Chron.  xxxii.  31.  In  the  last  passage  the  embassy 
is  said  to  have  been  "to  inquire  of  the  wonder  done  in  the  land"— an  inquiry  most 
natural  in  a  people  so  devoted  to  astronomy  as  the  Babylonians  ;  and  a  good  pretext 
for  the  other  ol>jects  of  the  embassy. 

51  That  is,  the  Jiotise  or  toicn  of  Yakin,  the  grandfather  of  Merodach-Baladan.  The 
names  oi Merodach-Baladan  mean  "Merodach  has  given  us  a  sou."  He  is  the  Mardo- 
cempalus  of  Plolemy. 


312  THE  NEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

Euphrates,  near  its  mouth.  Defeated  there,  he  threw  him- 
selt  into  the  city,  and  was  taken  prisoner  at  its  capture. 
His  life  was  spared,  but  his  kingdom  was  placed  under  an 
Assyri.tn  viceroy,  Kahu-pakilidi!"'^  Following  that  policy  of 
transplantation,  of  which  no  Assyrian  king  made  moi-e  con- 
stant use,  Sargon  settled  his  captives  from  Commagene  in 
Lower  Chaldsea  and  Susiana,  and  we  can  have  little  doubt 
that  it  was  after  the  conquest  of  Babylon  that  he  sent  to 
Samaria  tliose  colonists  from  "  Babylon,  and  Cuthah,  and 
Sepharvaim,"  wliose  struggles  form  an  interesting  episode  in 
the  Scripture  history.^^  Among  the  spoils  of  Merodach-Bala- 
dan's  camp  are  mentioned  his  golden  tiara,  sceptre,  throne, 
and  parasol,  and  his  silv'er  chariot. 

§  10.  At  Babylon,  Sargon  received  two  embassies,  bring- 
ing the  tribute  sent  l)y  islanders  who  dwelt,  he  says, "  in  the 
midst  of  the  seas  "  that  washed  the  two  extremities  of  his 
empire.  The  one  was  from  Jjpii%  king  <^{  Asmuii^  supposed 
to  be  an  island  of  the  Persian  Gulf:  the  other  from  "the 
seven  kings  of  the  country  of  latnan  (Cyprus),  v>'ho,"  he  says, 
"  have  fixed  their  abode  at  seven  days'  voyage"'  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  sea  of  the  setting  sun,  and  whose  name  was  never 
pi'onounced  by  any  one  of  the  kings  my  fathers,  in  Assyria 
and  in  Chaldaea."  But  his  glory — he  adds — had  reached 
them,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  and,  abasing  their  pride, 
they  presented  themselves  at  Babylon  with  their  tribute  of 
works  in  metal,  gold,  silver,  vases,  and  ebony.  Tlie  fact  that 
he  sent  an  expedition  thither  is  confirmed  by  a  stela  found 
at  Larnaca,  the  ancient  Citium,  in  Cyprus,  similar  to  some 
already  noticed,  bearing  the  effigy  and  titles  of  Sargon." 
These  embassies  are  assigned  by  an  inscription  to  the  year 
708  B.C.  If  the  supposition  be  correct,  that  Sargon  conduct- 
ed the  maritime  campaign  against  Tyre,  which  Josephns  as- 
scribes  to  Shalmaneser,  that  war  may  be  reckoned  a  failure 
amidst  so  mau}^  successes  —  a  fact  rather  confirmed  than 
contradicted  by  the  brief  conclusion  of  the  following  boast: 
"Arbiter  of  combats,  I  traversed  the  sea  of  Jamnia  like  a 
fish.     I  annexed  Koui  and  Tyre." 

But  more  serious  reverses  beset  his  closing  years,  especial- 
ly from  a  new  insurrection  in  Babylonia,  wliere  Merodach- 
Baladan  recovered  the  throne.     Sargon,  perhaps  too  aged  to 

52  The  Canon  of  Ptolemy  places  here  a  king  of  Babylon  named  Arceauus,  whomM. 
Oppert  supposes  to  be  Sargon  himself:  Sarkinn  =z  {S)arcpamis. 

£3  2  Kings  xvii.  24  seq.  The  colonists  from  Hamath  (above  Cosle-Syria)  Avere  prob- 
al)ly  sent  in  after  his  devastation  of  that  land  in  the  second  campaign-  As  to  the 
distinction  between  this  settlement  and  that  under  Esar-haddon,  see  below,  chflp, 
xiv.  5  0. 

**  The  real  distance  of  Cyprus  from  the  coast  of  Syria  is  65  miles. 

''^  This  tal^let  is  in  the  Berlin  Museum. 


SARGON'S  PALACE  AT  KHORSABAD.  313 

trtke  the  field,  intrusted  the  suppression  of  this  rebellion  to 
liis  son  Sennacherib  ;  and  a  tablet  has  been  discovered  at 
Koyunjik\  containing  a  report  from  the  son  to  the  father  of 
his  ill  success.  This  seems  to  belong  to  the  interval  after 
the  cessation  of  Sargon's  annals  in  B.C.  706.  These  reverses 
may  have  provoked  the  conspiracy  which  effected  his  assas- 
sin ation  in  August,  B.C.  704. 

§  11.  By  a  curious  fsxte,  this  king,  whose  very  existence 
was  so  long  doubted,  was  the  first  whose  monuments  were 
discovered,  when  his  palace  at  Ivhorsabad  revealed  itself  to 
the  researches  of  M.  Botta  in  1842.''  It  is  from  the  walls  of 
that  palace,  and  the  various  tablets  on  gold,  silver,  and  other 
materials,  and  from  the  clay  cylinders  discovered  in  the  ruins, 
that  Sargon's  annals  have  been  obtained.  At  the  beginning 
of  his  reign,  his  residence  was  at  Calah  (N'imrud),  where  two 
inscriptions  record  his  repairs  of  the  north-west  palace — 
that  of  Ass/ncr-}iasir-paV  He  also  rebuilt  the  walls  of 
Nineveh ;  but  it  was  his  ambition  to  replace  that  capital  by 
a  new  city  and  royal  residence,  which  the  inscriptions  at 
Khorsahad  prove  to  have  been  entirely  his  w^ork,  neither 
prepared  by  former  nor  improved  or  mutilated  by  later 
kings.  The  fidelity  of  tradition  preserved  the  builder's 
Dame  centuries  after  his  work  had  become  a  shapeless 
mound  ;  for  an  Arab  geographer  calls  that  mound  "  the  old 
rained  city  of  Sarghun.'''' 

The  site  chosen,  about  10  miles  X.N.E.  of  Nineveh,  was  at 
the  foot  of  the  Maklouh  hills,  watered  by  streams  which  now 
make  it  a  pestilential  waste  ;  and  we  have — what  is  rare  in- 
deed in  the  history  of  great  cities — the  king's  own  account 
of  its  foundation  :  "At  the  foot  of  the  ]Musri  hills,  to  replace 
Kineveh,  I  raised,  after  the  divine  will  and  the  wishes  of 
my  heart,  a  city  which  I  called  Ilisr-t^argina^'''''''^  i\\Q  splendid 
marvels  and  superb  streets  of  which,  he  adds,  were  blessed 
by  great  gods  and  goddesses  whom  he  names.  Describing 
the  "  palace  of  incomparable  splendor,"  which  he  built  in  this 
cit)-,  "for  the  abode  of  his  royalty,"  he  recounts  the  choice 
kinds  of  timber;  the  beams  cased  with  enamelled  tiles; 
the  spired  stairceise  imitated  from  a  Syrian  temple ;  the 
stones  from  the  mountain  sculptured  with  art;  the  decora- 
tions of  the  lintels  and  jambs  of  the  gates.  Of  its  ornamen- 
tation and  treasures  he   says :  "  My   palace  contains  gold, 

68  See  chap.  xii.  §  2. 

s^  One  of  these  contains  the  name  otJudah  {Jahovda).  If  is  convenient  to  mention 
here  Sarpjon's  restoration  of  the  great  sanctuaries  of  the  Bahylonian  tetrapolis — at 
Sippara,  Nipnr,  Babylon,  and  Borsippa. 

*'*  Other  forms  of  the  name  are  Bit-Sargina  and  Dur-Sargimi  (the  hojise  ov  fort  of 
Sargon). 

14 


314 


THE  NEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 


silver,  ana  vessels  of  both  these  metals  ;  colors  ;  ii'on ;  tfie 
productions  of  many  mines  ;  stulFs  dyed  with  saffron,  blue 
and  purple  robes,  amber,  skins  of  sea-calves,  pearl, sandal-wood, 
and  ebony  ;  Egyptian  horses  ;  asses,  mules,  camels ;  booty* 
of  every  kind."  These  magnificent  boasts  are  sustained  even 
by  the  ruins  that  survive  after  twenty-five  centuries.  "  Com- 
pared with  the  later,  and  even  with  the  earlier  buildings  of  a 
similar  kind  ere(;ted  by  other  kings,  it  was  not  remarkable 
for  its  size.  But  its  oniamentation  was  unsurpassed  by  that 
of  any  Assyrian  edifice,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  great 
palace  of  Asshur-bani-pal  at  Koyimjik.  Covered  with  sculp- 
tures, both  internally  and  externally,  generally  in  two  lines, 
one  over  the  other,  and,  above  this,  adorned  Avith  enamelled 
bricks,  arranged  in  elegant  and  tasteful  patterns ;  approached 
by  noble  flights  of  steps  and  through  splendid  propylaea ; 
having  the  advantage,  moreover,  of  standing  by  itself,  and 
of  not"  being  interfei'ed  with  by  any  other  edifice,  it  had  pe- 
culiar beauties  of  its  own,  and  may  be  pronounced  in  many 
respects  the  most  interesting  of  the  Assyrian  buildings. 
United  to  this  palace  Avas  a  town, 
inclosed  by  strong  walls,  which 
formed  a  square  two  thousand  yards 
each  way.  Allowing  fifty  square 
yards  to  each  individual,  this  space 
would  have  been  capable  of  accom- 
modating eighty  thousand  persons. 

"  The  progress  of  mimetic  art  un- 
der Sa]-gon  is  not  striking ;  but 
there  are  indications  of  an  advance 
in  several  branches  of  industry,  and 
of  an  improved  taste  in  design  and 
ornamentation.  Transjxwent  glass 
seems  now  to  have  been  first  brought 
into  use,^°  and  intarflios  to  have  been 
first  cut  npon  hard  stones.  The/'«r- 
niture  of  the  period  is  generally  superior  in  design  to  any 
previously  represented,  and  the  modelling  of  sword-hilts, 
maces,  armlets,  and  other  ornaments,  is  peculiarly  good. 
The  enamelling  of  bricks  was  carried,  under  Sargon,  to  its 
greatest  perfection  ;  and  the  shape  of  vases,  goblets,  and 
boats,  shows   a   marked   improvement   npon   the    works   of 


Glass  Vase,  bearing  the  name  o 
Sar<?OD,  from  Nimnid. 


59  At  all  events,  the  earliest  knmvn  specimens  are  of  this  reign.  Amnng  them  is 
the  celebrated  glass  vase,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  inscribed  with  the  name  of 
Sargon.  Respecting  the  Assyriaji  glass  in  general,  and  especially  its  iridescent  col- 
ors, due  to  partial  decomi)osition,  see  Sir  David  Brewster's  "  Notes  on  Assyriau 
Glass,"  in  the  Appendix  to  Layard'.s  "Nineveh  and  Babylon." 


PKOGEESS  OF  AKT. 


315 


former  times.  The  advance  in  animal  forms,  traceable  in 
the  scnlptures  of  1  iglatb-pileser,  continues;  and  the  draw- 
ing of  horses'  heads,  in  particular,  leaves  little  to  desire.""" 

««  Rawlinsou,  "Five  Mouarchies,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  424-42G.     For  a  full  de^crintion  of  thp 

^'S-'^S  t?!oT"r"^  1'"^'  ^^^"^  '-^"^  its  temples,  see  th^  lam]  work  "oi.T^p 
266,  260,  356-385,  40T,  40s :  vol.  u.  pp.  241,  257  ;  and  Mr.  Layard's  works. 


King  puuishiug  Prisouers  (Khorsabad). 


yrians  flaying  their  P~rJ«ocers. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   NEW    ASSYRIAN   EMPIRE    {cOUCluded).      SEXXACHERIB  AND 
HIS    SUCCESSORS. B.C.    704-625. 

:.  Sf-nnaciierii!.  Coincidence  cf  sac-ed,  secular,  and  monumental  hiistory.  His 
voluminous  aunals.  §  2.  Prcba'ole  troubles  in  Sargon's  later  years.  Revolt  of 
Babylonia.  Its  conquest  by  Sennacherib.  §  3.  Reconquest  of  Phoenicia,  etc. 
Great  victory  of  Altaku  o-"er  the  Egyptians  and  Ethiopians.  §  4.  His  first  attack 
on  Hezekiah.  Devastatioi:  of  Judah.  Siege  and  defense  of  Jerusalem.  Heze- 
kiah  submits,  by  payment  of  a  tribute,  but  saves  his  city  and  people.  Destriiction 
of  Sennacherib's  army,  §  5.  His  other  campaigns.  Wars  with  Babylon.  Mari- 
time invasion  of  Susiar.a.  New  revolt  of  Babylonia.  Victory  of  Khaluli.  The 
king's  description.  §  G.  Babjion  probably  revolts  again.  Signs  of  disturbance. 
Sennacherib  murdeied  by  his  sons.  His  character  as  drawn  by  himself.  His  pal- 
ace at  Nineveh  (JToj/wmjjX-).  §  7.  EsAR-UADuoN,  king  both  of  Assyria  and  Babylon. 
His  auT:als.  War  against  Sidon.  Captivity  and  release  of  Manassch.  New  colo- 
nization Of  Samaria.  §  8.  First  appearance  of  the  Cnnmcrians.  Wars  in  Cilicia, 
Idnrc^ja,  Ai-abia,  Media,  etc.  §  9.  His  wars  with  Egypt.  §  10.  His  great  build- 
Ir.gs.  Palaces  at  Calah,  Babylon,  and  Nineveh  (Xebhi-Yimiis).  His  character  and 
place  in  history.  §  11.  Assucr-ha-nt-pat..  His  invasion  of  Egypt.  Wars  in  Phoe- 
nicia and  Cilicia.  Contact  with  Gyges,  King  of  Lydia.  §  12.  Great  wars  with 
Siisiana  and  Babylon  —  represented  on  his  bas-reliefs  in  the  British  Museum. 
Cruelties  to  the  captives.  §  13.  His  palace  at  KoTjimjik—heautUul  sculptures  of 
hunting  scenes,  etc.  §14.  His  relation  to  Sardanapalus.  §15.  Assluir-emid-ilin. 
His  palace  at  Ximrud.  Evidences  of  the  decline  and  destruction  of  Nineveh. 
§  16.  Fragmentary  stories  of  Herodotus  and  other  writers.  Attacks  of  the  Medes, 
Cyaxares^takes  Nineveh.  §  IT.  Share  of  Babylon  and  Nabopolassar  in  the  event 
SaracK.s,  the  last  king,  burns  himself  with  his  palace.  §  IS.  Causes  of  the  fall  of 
Assyria  in  the  nature  of  her  empire.  §  19.  Vivid  descriptions  of  the  prophets 
Ezekiel,  Nahum,  and  Zeph^iuiah.  §  20.  Epoch  of  the  Fall  of  Nineveh.  Difl'ereut 
views. 

§  1.  In  the  reign  of  Sennacherib/  the  son  and  successor 
of  Sargon,  we  have  the  most  definite  results  of  the  recent 
Assyrian  discoveries.      In  most  cases  the  names  recovered 

'  In  Assyrian,  Sin-akhi-irib,  i.  e.,  Sin  (the  Moon  God)  has  mulh'pUed  (vvj)  hrcthrcn. 


SENNACHERIB.  317 

from  the  monuments  of  Eg^^pt  and  Assyria  are  cither  strange 
to  history,  or  they  are  variously  read,  or  it  requires  some  in- 
genuity and  perhaps  faith  to  identify  them  with  known  per- 
sons. But  here  is  a  name  familiar  to  our  childhood,  from  its 
occurrence  in  one  of  the  most  striking  scenes  of  Jewish  his- 
tory— the  more  familiar,  perhaps,  from  its  uncouth  sound; 
occurring  in  Herodotus  with  the  slightest  difference  of  or- 
thography,^ and  now  plainly  deciphered  in  the  king's  own 
inscriptions.^  More  than  this,  the  great  enemy  of  Judah 
and  Hezekiah,  whose  conquests  are  boasted  by  "  railing 
Kabshakeh"  just  before 

"He  melted  like  snow  at  the  breath  of  the  Lord," 

has  left  us  his  own  records  in  the  longest  of  Assyrian  annals  ; 
and  his  palace  at  Koynnjik\  perhaps  the  {grandest  yet  dis- 
played, was  the  first  discoveied  on  the  site  of  Xineveh  itself, 
and  the  one  from  which  our  Museum  possesses  the  richest 
gleanings,  even  exceeding  those  from  the  N.W.  palace  of 
Mimrud. 

His  reign  lasted  24  years  (b.c.  704-680),*  for  all  but  three 
of  which  (at  least)"  we  possess  his  annals  in  the  remarkable 
document  called  the  "  Taylor  Cylinder,"  a  six-sided  prism  of 
terra-cotta,  inscribed  with  480  lines  of  writing  in  an  exceed- 
ingly fine  and  minute  character.®  Besides  this  and  some 
other  monumental  records,  Eusebius  gives  some  frao^ments 
from   Polyhistor,  which   are  the   sole  "authority  for  the  last 

2  2aiax"pi/3o9,  Herod.  ii.  141. 

3  His  name  is  one  of  the  few  about  the  phonetic  value  of  which  there  is  so  little 
doubt  that,  amidst  the  varied  spellings  (differing  chiefly  in  consequence  of  the  usages 
of  the  modern  languages  employed  by  the  interpreters)  the  sound  is  essentially  the 
same ;  while  all  are  agreed  upon  the  meaning. 

*  After  all  the  pains  taken  to  settle  the  synchronisms  of  Assyrifin,  Jewish,  and 
Egyptian  history,  there  is  still  a  slight  difference  among  the  best  atithorities,  between 
the  years  704  and  702  «.o. ;  but  the  lately  discovered  Assyrian  Canon  seems  to  fix 
Sennacherib's  accession  in  the  former  year. 

5  The  canvpaigni^,  however,  are  interrui)ted  by  unknown  intervals,  and  are  not  al- 
ways assigned  to  their  respective  years. 

«  The  date  of  the  Taylor  Cylinder  (which  may  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum)  is  iu 
the  year  of  office  of  Bel-Simiani,  who  stands  in  the  Table  of  Epomjins  both  for  the  IGth 
and  -ilst  years  of  Sennacherib.  Sir  H.  Rawlinsou  assigns  the  former  date  to  the  cyl- 
inder, M.  Oppert  the  latter.  An  abstract  of  the  document  first  appeared  iu  Sir  H. 
Eawlinson's  "Outlines  of  Assyrian  History,"  1S52 :  and  full  translations  have  been 
made  by  Mr.  Fox  Talbot  ("Journal  of  the  Asiatic  Societv,"  vol.  xix.  pp.  135-lSl)  and 
by  M.  Oppert  ("Inscriptions  des  Sargonides,"  pp.  41-^3)'.  For  the  king's  first  four 
years,  we  have  also  in  the  British  Museum  the  "  Bellini  Cylinder,"  inscribed  with  an 
account  of  his  first  two  campaigns  and  of  his  earlier  buildings  at  Nineveh.  It  is 
translated  in  Mr.  Fox  Talbot's  "Assyrian  Texts,"  pp.  1-9.  The  annals  of  his  first  six 
years  are  recorded  in  two  inscriptions,  one  on  the  pair  of  colossal  bulls  flanking  the 
entrance  to  his  palace  at  Koyn.njik,  and  the  other  (in  duplicate)  on  the  two  pairs  of 
bulls  on  the  fafade  at  each  side  of  the  entrance.  The  other  original  materials  for 
Seunacheril)'s  history  are  the  inscriptions  on  the  walls  of  his  palace,  on  detached 
slihs,  on  tablets  of  clay,  and  on  the  monnmeuts  carved  by  him  on  the  rocks  at  Bavi- 
liu.  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nahr-el-Kelb  in  Syria,  and  in  other  parts  of  his  dominions. 


318  THE  NEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIKE. 

few  years  of  Sennacherib's  reign,  excejDtthe  Scriptural  notice 
of  his  death. 

§  2.  The-  troubles  of  the  latter  part  of  Sargon's  reign  left 
his  son  master  of  little  beyond  Assyria  Proper.  We  find 
Babylon  in  open  revolt,  and  Sennacherib  does  not  attempt 
its  reconquest  till  the  third  year  of  his  reign.  The  Canon  of 
Ptolemy  marks  a  period  of  anarchy  for  the  two  years  be- 
tween the  death  of  Arceanus  (Sargon)  and  the  accession  of 
Belibus  in  b.c.  702.  The  annals  of  Sennacherib  begin  witli  a 
victory  over  Merodach-Baladan  and  liis  Elamite  allies,  at 
Kis,  in  Chaldaea,  followed  by  tlie  capture  of  Babylon,  where 
he  sets  up  a  vassal  king,  named  Bel-ipni  (Belibus).  Mero- 
dach-Baladan once  more  escaped.  We  pass  over  the  vast 
items  of  captured  cities,  pi-isoners,  and  plunder.  In  his  sec- 
ond campaign  (b.c.  701)  he  restored,  and  perhaps  extended, 
his  power  in  Media,  Parthia,  Armenia,  Albania,  and  Comma- 
gene. 

§  3.  The  third  campaign  of  Sennacherib,  in  b.c.  700,  brings 
his  annals  into  contact  with  the  Scripture  history ;  and  the 
results  are  as  wonderful  for  the  light  gained  from  the  appar- 
ent disci-epancies,  as  for  their  striking  agreement  in  all  essen- 
tial points.  The  evidence  is  the  stronger,  as  we  possess  two 
or  three  repetitions  of  the  story  in  different  inscriptions.^ 

He  first  marched  against  Phoenicia,  Avhich  liad  revolted, 
like  Babylon  at  the  other  extremity  of  the  empire — under 
Eloidi  or  LuUya  (Elula?us),  king  of  the  Sidonians  ;  and  the 
revolt  extended  to  "  the  Great  and  Little  Sidon,  Betzitti, 
Sarepta,  Ecdippa,  and  Akko."  The  Assyrian — who  strikes 
this  key-note  of  his  annals,  "  I  have  reduced  beneath  my 
power  all  who  lifted  up  the  head" — relates  neither  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  insurrection  nor  the  details  of  his  con- 
quest. "  Teri'ified  at  the  reputation  of  his  majesty,"  Elouli 
flies  across  the  sea,  and  Toubaal  is  made  king  in  his  room. 
The  rebel  cities  submit,  and  tribute  is  brought  by  the  kings 
of  Sidon,  Aradus,  Azotus,  Ammon,  Moab,  and  Edom,  all  of 
whom  are  named.^  Sidka,  of  Ascalon,  who  alone  resisted, 
was  carried  captive  to  Assyria,  with  his  family  and  his  gods. 

Sennacherib  advanced  south  to  Migron  (which  some  sup- 

■'  After  much  consideration,  we  feel  pretty  certain  that  M.  Oppert  is  right  in  reject- 
ing Sir  H.  Rawlinsou's  suggestion  of  two  camjxdgiifi.  No  form  of  historical  hypoth- 
esis is  more  suspicions  than  the  duplication  of  events  or  persons  to  get  over  a  difli- 
cuUy.  The  points  in  the  Bihle  which  have  been  thought  to  require  it  may  be  ex- 
plained otherwise;  and  the  annals  of  Sennacherib  appear  to  leave  no  room  for  the 
second  expedition. 

^  It  is  interestins.',  esjiecially  with  reference  to  the  newly  discovered  Moabitc  inscrip- 
tion, in  which  the  nationnl  God  Chnnonh  is  so  often  mentioned,  and  Mesha,  king  of 
Moab,  calls  him.self  son  of  a  king  in  whose  name  "  Chemosh  "  is  an  element,  to  find 
iheMoabite  king  of  Sennacherib's  inscription  named  Kammush-unadbi, 


RECONQUEST  OF  PHGEXICIA.  319 

pose  to  be  Ekron),  where  the  (Assyrian)  lieutenants  and  dig- 
nitaries had  joined  with  the  people  in  expelling  Padi,  a  king 
•'inspired  with  friendship  and  zeal  for  Assyria,"  and  had 
given  him  up  to  "  Hezekiah,  king  of  Jndah."  Sennacherib's 
great  victory  at  Altaku  over  the  forces  of  Egypt  and  Ethio- 
pia, which  the  men  of  Migron  had  called  to  their  aid,  has 
been  related,  and  the  light  it  throws  on  the  state  of  Egypt 
explained,  in  the  proper  place/  It  now  remains  to  show  the 
part  of  Judah  in  the  campaign. 

In  relating  the  prosperity  which  rewarded  the  piety  of 
Hezekiah,  the  sacred  historian  says  —  "And  the  Loi-d  was 
with  him,  and  he  prospered  whithersoever  he  went  forth: 
and  he  rebelled  against  the  King  of  Assyria^  and  served  hini 
not.  He  smote  the  Philistines,  even  unto  Gaza,  and  the  bor- 
ders thereof,'""  etc.  Hence  it  appears  that  Hezekiah  —  tak- 
ing advantage  probably  of  the  weakness  of  Egypt  and  Ethio- 
pia after  the  battle  of  Raphia  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the 
troubles  of  Sargon's  later  years  on  the  other,  had  extended 
his  power  as  far  as  the  maritime  plain  of  Philistia,  and  de- 
clared his  independence  of  Assyria  ;  for  the  words  "  he  served 
him  not"  imply  no  iiiodified  form  of  disobedience.  To  chas- 
tise this  revolt  would  be  the  first  object  of  Sennacherib  after 
the  submission  of  Migron,  where  tlie  "  lieutenants  and  dig- 
nitaries" were  killed,  and  their  bodies  crucified  as  traitors, 
and  Padi  was  restored. 

§  4.  "Hezekiah  of  Judah"  made  no  attempt  to  retain  the 
Ekronite  king,  but  "  did  not  submit  himself"  The  ensuing 
account  of  the  capture  of  "44  walled  cities  and  an  infinite 
number  of  towns,  by  the  force  of  fire,  massacre,  battles,  and 
besieging- towers,"  wuth  the  captivity  of  200,150  persons, 
and  innumerable  cattle,  forms  a  truly  Assyrian  comment  on 
the  text,  "  Xow  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  king  Hezekiah  did 
Sennacherib,  king  of  Assyria,  come  up  against  all  the  fenced 
cities  of  Judah,  and  took  them."^^ 

9  Chap.  vii.  §  16. 

10  2  Kings  xviii.  7,  8  (comp.  1  Chrou.  iv.  41  ;  Isaiah  xiv.  2(X-3-2).  The  passage  stands 
at  the  l)eginniiig  of  Hezekiah's  reign,  as  a  summaiy  of  his  prosperity,  not  in  order 
of  time.  His  religious  reformation  must  have  occupied  some  years  ;  and  according- 
ly, in  the  fuller  account  of  2  Chrou.  xxix.-xxxi.,  the  next  event  recorded,  "  after  these 
tilings  and  the  establishment  thereof,"  i.s  the  invasion  of  Jndah  by  Sennacherib. 
(Here  also  the  margin  of  our  Version  gives  the  mistaken  date  of  the  14th  year  of 
Hezekiah.) 

11  2  Kings  xviii.  13  ;  Isaiah  xxxvi.  1 ;  2  Chron.  xxxii.  1.  The  date  in  Kinns  and  Tsa- 
iah,  which  can  not  possibly  apply  to  this  occasion  (see  chap.  xiii.  §  t»)-  is  not  given  iu 
Chronicles.  On  the  contrary,  the  invasioji  is  i)laced  afcer  the  "establishment"  of 
Hezekiah's  religious  reformation,  for  the  completion  of  which  the  years  of  peace  eii 
suing  upon  Sargon's  last  Syrian  campaigns  would  aft'ord  free  scope.  The  error  oi" 
the  date  may  have  arisen,  partly  from  the  displacement  of  the  account  of  Hezekiah's 
illness,  which  was  in  his  fourteenth  year,  and  partly  from  the  fact  that  the  invasion 
was  iu  the  fourteenth  year  (inclusive)  after  his  illness. 


320  THE  NEW  ASSYKIAN  EMPIRE. 

The  agreement  in  what  foHows  is  even  more  strikino;.  The 
Book  of  (Jltfonldes  records  tlie  vigorous  prepaiations  of  Heze- 
kiah  to  defend  Jerusalem  against  the  siege  which  Sennache- 
rib appears  to  have  formed.'"  "As  for  him" — say  the  an- 
nals, after  describing  the  devastation  of  Judaea — "  I  shut 
him  up  in  Jerusalem,  the  city  of  his  power" — a  sort  of  apolo- 
gy for  not  taking  it — "  like  a  bird  in  its  cage.  I  built  tow- 
ers I'ound  the  city  to  hem  him  in,  and  raised  banks  of  ^arth 
against  the  gates,  so  as  to  prevent  escape.  Those  wdio  came 
out  of  the  great  gate  of  the  city  were  seized  and  made  pris- 
oners"— perhaps  impaled,  as  we  see  in  a  picture  of  a  siege 
on  the  walls  of  Semiacherib's  palace.  "  The  towns  which  I 
had  spoiled  I  severed  from  his  country,  and  gave  them  to 
Mitinti,  king  of  Azotus,  to  Padi,  king  of  Migron,  and  to  Is- 
mihil,  king  of  Gaza,  so  as  to  make  his  country  small.  Then 
tiie  immense  fear  of  my  majesty  terrified  this  Hezekiah  of 
Judah  ;"  whose  real  spirit,  however,  is  recorded  on  better 
testimony  —  how  "he  gathered  the  people  together  in  the 
street  of  the  gate  of  the  city,  and  spake  comfortably  mito 
them,  saying.  Be  strong  and  courageous,  be  not  afraid  noi 
dismayed  for  the  king  of  Assyria,  nor  for  all  the  multitude 
that  is  with  him  :  for  there  be  more  w^ith  us  than  with  him. 
With  him  is  an  arm  of  flesh ;  but  with  us  is  the  Lord  our 
God,  to  help  us,  and  to  fight  our  battles.  And  the  people 
rested  themselves  upon  the  words  of  Hezekiah,  king  of  Ju- 
dah."'^ 

At  first  sight  it  might  seem  that — to  quote  a  famous  say- 
ing in  a  connection  which  brings  its  profanity  to  light— 
"  Providence  was  on  the  side  of  strong  battalions."  For  not 
only  does  Sennacherib  proceed  to  tell  us  that  "Hezekiah," 
moved  by  the  fear  imputed  to  him,  "  dismissed  the  garrison 
which  he  liad  assembled  for  the  defense  of  Jerusalem,'*  and 
sent  after  me  to  Nineveh,  the  city  of  my  sovereignty,  with 
30  talents  of  gold  and  800  talents  of  silver ^^^  and  other  gifts 
which  he  enumerates  ;  but  we  read  in  the  Book  of  Kings 
that  "  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah,  sent  to  the  king  of  Assyria, 
saying,  I  have  offended  ;  retnrn  from  me  :  that  which  thou 
puttest  on  me  will  I  bear.  And  the  king  of  Assyria  appointed, 
unto  Hezekiah  300  talent^:,  of  silo  er  and  ^0  talents  of  gold P^^ 

12  The  opinion  that  Sennacherib  appeared  in  person  before  Jernsalem  on  this  oc- 
casion, seems  contradicted  by  2  Chron.  xxxii.  2,  9,  and  2  Kings  xix.  32.  That  the 
siege  and  the  occupation  of  Judsea  were  so  strict  as  to  suspend  all  cultivation  of  the 
land,  appears  from  2  Kings  xix.  21).  i3  o  Chron.  xxxii.  7,  9. 

1*  It  will  be  observed  that  the  king's  narrative  confirms  the  account  of  the  defense 
given  in  Chronicles.  On  the  other  hand,  the  submissiim  of  Hezekiah,  omitted  in  the 
C/iromcies— like  other  calamitous  events  in  the  history  of  Judah— is  duly  recorded  in 

IS  2  Kings  xviii.  14-lG.     The  agreement  in  the  amount  of  gold  ie  very  .«!trikiiig; 


SIEGE  AND  DEFENSE  OF  JERUSALEM.  321 

Studied  in  connection  with  the  attend.int  circumstances,  this 
is  the  record  of  a  treaty  of  submission,  at  the  cost  of  a  heavy 
tribute,  instead  of  the  utter  destruction  which  the  Assyrian 
kings  were  wont  to  inflict  on  rebellious  cities  and  their  kings. 
The  firm  resistance  ofHezekiah  saved  his  capital,  his  own 
life,  and  his  people  from  captivity,  and  reserved  them  for 
that  deliverance  from  the  conqueror  in  which  we  see  the  final 
issue  of  his  trust  in  God. 

During  these  proceedings,  Sennacherib  was  besieging  La- 
chish  with  his  full  force.  ^^  He  seems  to  have  counted  on 
the  submission  of  Jerusalem,  while  he  himself  was  clearing 
the  way  to  Egypt.  The  victory  of  Altaku  may  have  been 
less  complete  than  his  annals  represent  it ;  and  the  sequel 
proves  that  there  was  good  reason  to  expect  a  renewed  at- 
tack from  Tirhakah.  Meanwhile,  liaving  stripped  Hezekiah 
of  his  wealth  and  strength,  he  designed  to  follow  up  his  ex- 
actions by  extermination.  Three  of  his  chief  ofiicers  were 
sent  with  a  great  host  against  Jerusalem,  to  defy  the  help- 
less king,  and  to  invite  the  people  to  accept  a  complete  trans- 
plantation, recommended  by  the  pictures  which  despots  and 
their  admirers  are  fond  of  drawing  of  the  material  blessings 
attendant  on  political  servitude.'"  The  tone  of  this  cele- 
brated address  so  strikingly  resembles  the  Assyrian  annals, 
as  to  leave  little  doubt  that  at  least  the  king's  own  message 
was  couched  (as  on  the  next  occasion)  in  a  letter,  of  which 
we  have  the  substance.  The  opening, "  Thus  saith  the  great 
Mug,  the  king  of  Assyria, ^^  repeats  a  constant  title ;  and  the 
boast  of  the  power  of  his  gods  over  those  of  the  conquered 

and  the  difference  in  the  amount  of  the  silver  (to  say  nothinp^  of  a  possible  error  in  the 
Assyrian  or  Hebrew  text)  may  be  explained  by  the  metal  in  bars  and  vessels  included 
in  the  SOO  talents,  but  not  in  the  300 ;  perhaps  as  a  propitiatory  present  in  addition 
to  the  stipulated  sum.  There  is,  however,  one  of  those  apparent  discrepancies,  which 
turn  out  to  be  more  instructive  than  literal  agreement.  Sennacherib  says  that  the 
gifts  were  sent  to  him  at  yineveh ;  but  the  Scripture  narrative  expressly  says  that 
they  were  sent  to  him  at  Lachuh.  The  explanation  seems  to  be  that  the  treasures, 
etc.,  would  be  sent  on  to  Assyria;  and  when  Sennacherib  returned,  after  the  over- 
throw of  his  army  (perhaps  even  overtaking  the  convoy  in  his  hasty  flight),  he  would 
claim  these  spoils  of  the  campaign  as  evidence  of  victory.  W^e  have  ami)Ie  proof  that 
the  Assyrian  annals  could  "lie  like  a  bulletin." 

1®  2  Chron.  xxxii.  9.  This  passage  seems  decisive  of  the  continuity  of  the  cam- 
paign on  the  frontier  towards  Egypt.  The  question,  whether  the  investment  of  Je- 
rusalem, and  the  partial  submission  of  Hezekiah,  preceded  the  mission  of  the  three 
officers  (as  it  stands  in  Kings),  may  ])erhaps  be  solved  by  supposing  that  their  force 
farmed  the  siege,  and  continued  before  the  city,  while  summonses  and  answers 
passed  and  repassed  between  the  head-quarters  at  Lachish  and  Jerusalem.  The  im- 
portance of  the  siege  of  Lachish  is  manifest  from  the  notices  of  the  city  in  Scripture, 
as  one  of  the  strongest  on  the  frontier  of  Judah  towards  the  maritime  plain  (see  esp. 
Josh.  X.  3,  5,  26,  31-33,  Sij). 

I'' 2  Kings  xviii.  7-xx.  7;  2  Chron.  xxiii.  0-10;  Isaiah  xxxvi.  2-xxxvii.  7.  The 
three  officers  are  specified  by  their  titles;  namely,  the  Tartan,  or  "chief  general" 
(..s  in  Isaiah  xx.  1)  ;  Rab-saris,  the  "chief-eunuch ;"  and  liab-shakeh,  the  "chief  cup- 
bearer." 


322  THE  NEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

peoples  agrees  with  the  frequent  statement,  that  "the  im 
rnense  fear  of  Asshiii-  fell  upon  the  nations."  The  piety  of 
Hezekiah  obtained  the  promise  that  Jehovah  would  accept 
the  challenge;  and  no  answer  was  given  to  the  envoys. 

Meanwhile  Sennacherib  had  advanced  to  the  place  where 
that  promise  was  fulfilled;  not,  as  the  careless  reader  of  the 
Scripture  narrative  thinks,  and  as  even  Josephus  says,  before 
Jerusalem,  but  on  the  frontier  of  the  Jewish  territory  to- 
wards Egypt.  This  is  quite  clear :  "  So  Rab-shakeh  returned, 
and  found  the  king  of  Assyria  warring  against  Lihncih;  for 
he  had  heard  that  he  vxis  departed  from  Lachish.  And  when 
he  heard  say  of  Tirhakah,  king  of  Etiiiopia,  BeJiold  lie  is 
come  Old  to  fight  against  thee,  he  sent  messengers  to  Heze- 
kiah.'"^ This  new  message,  which  was  accompanied  by  a 
letter  of  open  defiance  to  the  God  of  Israel,  called  forth  the 
final  promise  of  the  destruction  of  the  Assyrian  and  the  sal- 
vation of  Jerusalem.  It  was  in  the  same  night,  and  (as  it 
seems)  before  the  warlike  Ethiopian  came  upon  the  field, 
that  a  miraculous  destruction  swept  away  a  vast  number 
of  the  Assyrian  host,  and  Sennacherib  himself  I'eturned  to 
Nineveh.'^  "^ 

On  that  great  catastrophe  the  monuments  of  Sennacherib 
are  silent,  as  might  have  been  expected.  E\en  the  siege  of 
Lachish  is  not  mentioned  in  the  annals;  but  it  forms  the  sub- 
ject of  a  bas-relief  at  Koyimjik  now  in  our  Museum,  with 
the  inscription,  "Sennacherib,  the  mighty  king,  king  of  the 
country  of  Assyria,  sitting  on  the  throne  of  judgment  before 
the  city  of  Lakhisha.  I  give  permission  ibr  its  slaughter." 
This  was  the  last  attempt  of  Assyria  upon  Judtiea;  and  it  is 
refi'eshing,  in  the  long  annals  of  her  despotism,  to  mark  the 
triumph  of  a  purer  polity  and  religion.  The  promise  of  the 
complete  liberation  from  Assyria  was  fulfilled,  "That  I  will 
break  the  Assyrian  in  my  land,  and  upon  my  mountains 
tread  him  under  foot :  then  shall  his  yoke  depart  from  ofif 
theni,  and  his  burden  depart  from  off  their  shoulders."*" 

*8  2  Kiugs  xix.  8,  9  ;  Isaiah  xxxvi.S,  0.  We  have  had  occasion  to  speak  of  the  sile 
of  Libnah  in  noticing  the  striking  confirmation  of  the  Scriptural  account  furnished 
(though  in  a  distorted  form)  by  the  story  told  l)y  the  Egyptian  priests  to  Herodotus. 
Whether  Lachish  was  actually  taken,  does  not  appear  from  the  Scripture  narrative  ; 
and  the  silence  of  Sennacherib's  annals  increases  the  probability  that  the  monument 
referred  to  presently  was  a  boast  to  gloss  over  a  disaster.  It  seems  most  likely  that 
he  broke  up  the  siege  and  advanced  to  Libnah  to  crush  Pharaoh,  the  "  bruised  reed," 
before  the  arrival  of  Tirhakah.     (See  chap.  vii.  §  IG.) 

19  2  Kings  xix.  35,30;  2  Chron.  xxxii.  21;  Isaiah  xxxvii.  .8G,  37.  Tiie  number  of 
those  who  perished  is  stated  at  185,000;  which  may  be  exaggerated,  like  so  many 
other  numbers  in  the  ordinary  Hebrew  text.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  whole 
armji  was  destroyed  ;  and  the  Chronicles  specifies  "all  the  mighti;  men  of  valor  and 
the  leaders  and  captains."  Tlie  secondary  agency  is  usually  supposed  to  be  a  pesti- 
lence, caused  (if  the  event  occurred  at  or  reir  Pelusium)  by  the  malaria  of  the  Delta 
marsbes.  20  igaiah  xiv.  26. 


WARS  Wll^H  B^U5YL0N.  323 

§  5.  Of  Sennacherib's  other  campaigns,  the  most  important 
are  those  connected  with  the  freqnent  revohitions  of  Baby- 
lon. In  B.C,  699  he  had  again  to  enconnter  the  irrepressible 
Merodach-BaLadan,  who  was  once  more  defeated  in  Chaldgea 
and  driven  to  an  island  in  the  Persian  Gnlf,  w^here  he  died. 
Sennacherib  deposed  Belibns,  and  placed  on  the  throne  liis 
own  eldest  son,  Asshur-utadi-su^  the  Assaranadius  of  Ptole- 
my's Canon.  Bnt  tlie  Babylonian  insurgents,  instead  of  sub- 
mitting, took  refuge  in  Susiana  with Kuihir-Nakhwita^thn  ally 
of  Merodach-Baladan  ;  and  Sennacherib  conceived  the  novel 
project  of  invading  that  country  from  the  sea.  For  tais 
purpose  he  transported  shipwrights  and  mariners  from  Tyre 
and  Sidon  to  the  Tigris,  wdiere  a  fleet  was  built  on  Phoeni- 
cian models  ;  for  the  warfare  of  the  Mediterranean  had  cre- 
ated a  class  of  ships  far  titter  for  service  than  the  merchant- 
men in  which  the  Chaldieans  had  long  navigated  their  peace- 
ful Gulf  "The  masts  and  sails,  the  double  tiers  of  oars,  the 
sharp  beaks  of  the  Phoenician  ships,  were  (it  is  probable) 
novelties  to  the  nations  of  those  parts,  who  saw  now,  for  the 
first  time,  a  fleet  debouch  from  the  Tigris  with  which  their 
own  vessels  were  quite  incapable  of  contending."^^ 

This  attack  from  the  sea  seems  to  have  taken  the  refugees 
by  surprise  ;  and  Sennacherib,  after  destroying  their  new 
city  and  several  Elamite  towns,  sailed  back  to  crush  a  new 
revolt  of  Babylonia,  which  had  risen  in  his  rear  nnder  /Susub, 
an  old  ally  of  Merodach-Baladan.  The  king  gained  two  bat- 
tles against  the  insurgents  and  the  Susianians,  who  after- 
wards came  to  their  aid  ;  and  Susub  Avas  carried  a  prisoner 
to  Assyria,  with  a  host  of  captive  Babylonians  and  Ely- 
maeans.  These  campaigns,  which  occupied  three  years  (b.c. 
699-696),  were  ibllowed  by  another  invasion  of  Susiana,  for 
the  recovery  of  certain  cities  which  Sutrnk-Nakhunta,  the 
father  of  Kudur-Nakhmita,  had  taken  from  Sargon."^  Hav- 
ing soon  accomplished  this,  Sennacherib  pursued  iiis  success, 
taking,  razing,  and  burning  thirty-four  large  towns  and  many 
villages.  On  his  approach  to  Va da kat,^'' the  second  city  of 
Susiana,  Kudur-Nakhunta  fled  to  Khidalu^iM  the  foot  of  the 
mountains  ;  and  Sennacherib,  having  taken  Badaca,  returned 
home  with  a  great  booty.  The  king  of  Elam  seems  to  have 
survived  his  defeat  only  three  months. 

§  6.  After  a  few  years  of  peace,  Sennacherib  was  called  to 
meet  a  still  more  formidable  insurrection  of  Babylonia,  Avhich 

21  Rawlinson,  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  p.  440. 

22  Here  is  an  incidental  confession  of  some  of  Sarjron's  reverses. 

23  This  is  the  Badaca  which  Diodorus  places  on  the  EulsBus,  between  Susa  and  Ec 
batana. 


324  THE  KSW  ..ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

broke  out  on  tlie  death  of  Asshur-inacli-su,  under  Ndbohala- 
rlskun  [or  N'ehosurniskuri)^^ov\  ot'Merodacli-Baladan,  aud  Su- 
sub,  who  had  escaped  from  prison.  The  insurgents  were 
supported  by  the  new  king  of  Elam,  Umrnan-minan,  whom 
Susub  bribed  with  the  treasures  of  the  temple  of  Bel,  and  by 
the  Aramaean  tribes  on  the  middle  Euphrates.  This  time  the 
insurgents  took  the  offensive,  and  advanced  to  the  Tigris, 
where,  after  a  long  and  bloody  battle,  they  were  defeated  at 
K/taluli.  The  general  of  the  Elymcean  king  had  been  bribed 
by  Sennacherib,  who  thus  exults  over  the  honors  of  a  victory 
as  decisive  as  that  of  Altaku  had  been  :  "  On  the  sodden  bat- 
tle-field, the  arms  and  armor  floated  in  the  blood  of  the  ene- 
mies as  in  a  river  ;  for  the  war-chariots,  bearing  down  men 
and  horses,  had  crushed  their  bleeding  bodies  and  limbs.  I 
heaped  up  the  bodies  of  their  soldiers  as  trophies,  and  cut 
off  their  extremities.  I  mutilated  those  whom  I  took  alive, 
like  stalks  of  straw ;  and  for  punishment  I  cut  off  their 
hands."  Susub^'  and  the  Elamite  king  escaped,  and  the  son 
of  Merodach  was  taken  prisoner.  Babylon  was  now  placed 
under  two  successive  viceroys,  Regibelus  and  Mesesimorda- 
chus,  whom  the  Canon  of  Ptolemy  places  in  the  12th  and 
13th  years  of  Sennacherib,  B.C.  693  and  692. 

That  Babylon  again  tlirew  oft'  the  yoke  of  Assyria,  may 
be  inferred  from  the  Canon''s  marking  an  interregniim^^"  from 
B.C.  688  to  the  accession  of  Esar-haddon,  in  B.C.  680.  Thrice 
during  this  period  Sennacherib  records  successful  rebellions 
by  Susub  (b.c.  688,685,  and  684-3),  and  though  he  boasts  of 
the  sack  of  Babylon  on  the  last  occasion,  the  silence  of  his 
annals  for  the  last  three  years  raises  a  presumption  of  disas- 
ter, or  at  least  disorder.  '  It  is  such  periods  of  reverse  that 
conspirators,  especially  in  the  royal  family,  choose  for  their 
attempts  on  a  king's  life.  It  may  have  been  after  some 
great  defeat  (though  long  since  the  catastrophe  in  Palestine) 
that, "  as  Sennacherib  was  worshipping  in  the  house  of  Nis- 
roch  his  god,  Adrammelech  and  Sharezer,  his  sons,  smote 
him  with  the  sword  ;  and  they  escaped  into  the  land  of 
Armenia.     And  Esar-haddon,  his  son,  reigned  in  his  stead. "'^'^ 

Such  was  the  end  of  the  first  of  those  two  mighty  kings 
who  stand  forth  in  Scripture  history  as  the  chief  types  of 
Oriental  despotism;  and  if  in  Nebuchadnezzar  we  trace  some 
redeeming  features  of  the  character,  Sennacherib  presents  it 

24  Ilis  reigi),  though  omitted  by  Ptolemy,  is  proved  by  the  date  of  a  contract  for  ths 
sale  of  some  land  on  a  tablet  in  the  British  Museum. 

25  The  words  trn  ufiaaiXev-a  in  the  Canon  always  indicate  "periods  of  extreme 
disturbance,  when  pretender  succeeded  to  pretender,  or  when  the  country  was  split 
up  into  a  number  of  petty  kingdoms"  (Rawlinson,  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  p.  455). 

26  2  Kings  xix.  37  :  Isaiah  xxxvii.  38. 


CHARACTER  OF  SENNACHERIB.  325 

in  its  unmitigated  ferocity.  His  arrogant  defiance  of  Je- 
hovah, by  tlie  moutli  of  Kab-shakeh,  is  well  matclied  by  the 
titles  assumed  in  his  own  annals — "The  great  king,  the  pow- 
erful king,  the  king  of  nations,  the  king  of  Assyria,  the  king 
of  the  four  regions,  the  diligent  ruler,  the  favorite  of  the 
great  gods,  the  oj^server  of  sworn  faith,  the  guardian  of  the 
law,  the  embellisher  of  public  buildings,  the  noble  hero,  the 
strong  warrior,  the  first  of  kings,  the  punisher  of  unbeliev- 
ers,"^ the  destroyer  of  wicked  men." 

Besides  the  graver  lessons  of  his  reign,  he  has  left  us  a 
striking  example  of  that  irony  which  history  is  ever  casting 
over  the  utterances  of  men  about  the  future,  in  the  words 
inscribed  on  his  "palace  of  alabaster  and  cedar"  at  Nineveh  : 
"This  palace  will  grow  old  and  fall  in  ruins  in  the  lapse  of 
time.  Let  my  successor  raise  up  its  ruins  ;  let  him  restore 
the  lines  which  contain  the  writing  of  my  name.  Let  him 
renovate  the  paintings  and  clean  the  bas-reliefs,  and  replace 
them  on  the  walls.  Then  will  Asshur  and  Ishtar  hear  his 
prayer.  But  whoever  should  deface  the  wiiting  of  my  name, 
may  Asshur,  the  great  god,  the  father  of  the  gods,  treat  him  as 
a  rebel ;  may  he  take  away  his  sceptre  and  his  thione  ;  may 
he  break  his  sword  !"  Two  or  three  generations  only  passed 
away  before  the  palace  and  Xineveh  were  buried  under  their 
own  ruins;  and,  twenty-five  centuries  later,  the  bas-reliefs 
were  "cleaned  and  replaced  on  the  v/alls"  of  our  Museum,  and 
"  the  writing  of  his  name  "  and  his  annals  were  deciphered, 
to  confirm  a  free  people,  who  inherit  the  faith  against  which 
he  warred,  in  our  belief  of  the  sacred  records,  and  our  abhor- 
rence of  all  despotism. 

After  the  det:lils  already  given  of  the  Xorth-west  Palace 
Kii  Kunrud  and  its  sculptures,  it  is  needless  to  describe  those 
of  Sennacherib  at  Koyuj^jik.'^  The  edifice  formed  pai't  of  a 
grand  scheme  for  the  restoration  of  Nineveh,  which  had  been 
neglected  by  former  kings  for  Calah,  and  by  his  father  for 
his  new  city  of  Dur-Sargina  [Khorsabad).  An  inscription 
of  Sennacherib  says:  "  I  have  raised  again  all  the  edifices  of 
Nineveh,  my  royal  city.  I  have  reconstructed  its  old  streets, 
and  have  widened  those  which  were  too  narrow.  I  have 
made  the  whole  town  a  city  shining  like  the  sun." 

§  7.  EsAR-iiADDox,^^  the  fourth  son  of  Sennacherib,  appears 

-^  Blasphemers  are  represented  on  his  monuments  hfivinj?  then-  tongues  torn  out. 

2*  A^iuute  description  is  the  less  necessary  as  the  sculptures  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum m  clearly  tell  their  own  story — for  the  art  of  Sennacherib  is  peculiarly  realistic. 
Full  descriptions  of  the  palace  and  its  ornaments,  and  the  history  of  its  discovery,  are 
accessible  to  every  reader  in  Mr.  Layard's  two  smaller  books,  on  "Nineveh  and  its 
Remains,"  and  "  Nineveh  and  Babylon,"  each  forming  one  volume,  1SG7. 

2»  This  is  the  Hebrew  form  (as  given  in  our  version,  but  Assnr-haddon  would  be 


326  THE  NEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

to  liave  already  reconquered  Babylon  at  the  time  of  his  fa- 
ther's murder,  and  to  have  used  the  forces  of  that  kingdom, 
first  to  compel  his  traitor  brothers  to  iiy  to  Armenia,  and 
next  to  resist  the  attempt  of  the  elder  to  regain  the  crown. 
Adrammelech,  leading  into  Assyria  an  army  of  mei'cenaries, 
probably  levied  in  Armenia,  was  taken  prisoner  and  put  to 
death/"  He  alone,  of  all  the  Assyrian  kings,  reigned  at  Bab- 
ylon during  his  whole  reign  at  Nineveli — perhaps  even  long- 
er, for  there  is  reason  to  suppose  that  the  crown  of  Assyria 
was  delegated*  to  one  of  his  sons  towards  the  end  of  his  reign. 
He  not  only  reigned  over,  but  at  Babylon,  as  we  shall  see 
presently.  His  reign  over  Babylon  is  tixed,  by  the  Canon 
of  Ptolemy,  from  B.C.  680  to  B.C.  66V.  During  these  thirteen 
years,  his  annals,  which  we  possess  in  duplicate  on  two  cyl- 
inders in  the  British  Museum,  contain  the  records  of  nine 
campaigns  ;  and  those  of  his  son  add  some  important  details 
of  his  later  years. ^^ 

The  full  subjection  of  Babylonia  left  him  at  liberty  to  re- 
store the  power  of  Assyria  in  the  West,  and  to  carry  her 
arms  for  the  first  time  into  Egypt.  His  first  campaign  was 
against  Phoenicia  ;  where  a  revolt  of  Sidon  was  supported  by 
one  of  the  sheikhs  of  Lebanon.  He  says :  "  I  attacked  the 
city  of  Sidon,  in  the  midst  of  the  sea:  I  put  to  death  all  its 
chief  men  :  I  razed  its  walls  and  houses,  and  threw  them  into 
the  sea :  I  tore  up  the  foundations  of  its  altars.  Abdi-MU- 
kut^  the  king  of  the  city,  had  fled  from  ray  power  to  the 
middle  of  the  sea.  Like  a  fish,  I  traversed  the  waves,  and 
beat  down  his  pride.  I  carried  away  all  that  I  could  of  his 
treasures,  gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  amber,  seal-skins,  san- 
dal-wood and  ebony,  stuiFs  dyed  with  purple  and  blue  ;  all 
that  his  house  contained. ^'^  I  carried  away  into  Assyria  the 
men  and  the  women  in  vast  numbers,  oxen,  sheep,  and  beasts 
of  burden.  I  distributed  the  inhabitants  of  Syria  and  of  the 
sea-coast  all  in  foreign  countries.  I  built  in  Syria  a  forti-ess 
(or  city)  which  I  called  Hisr-Esar-haddon ;  and  there  I  set- 
better)  of  the  Assyrian  uarne,  Asshur-akh-idin  (or  iddina),  i.  e.,  Asslmr  give  (or  han 
flireii)  a  brothei:  Ptolemy  has  '  o•upl3<^o^,  Josephus  'Ao-<7apxo65a9,  and  the  Armeiiiai* 
Chronicle  of  Eusebins  gives  Asordmiss  and  A^xerdis. 

30  Abydeiius,  ap.  Euseb.  "  Chron." 

3i  The  date  of  this  record  is  fixed  by  M.  Oppert  at  u.c.  GT2-G71.  The  name  of  Esar- 
haddon  is  also  found  in  a  mutilated  inscription  on  one  of  the  six  Htela',  or  tablets,  of 
Assyrian  kings  which  are  scnlptured  in  the  living  rock,  bes^ides  the  three  of  Rameses 
II.,  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  Lycus  {Nahr-el-Kelb),  north  of  Beirut,  on  the  Phoe- 
nician coast  of  Syria.  There  are  some  important  records  of  his  titles  on  the  slabs  of 
his  own  palace  at  yiitivud,  and  of  that  which  he  bnilt  for  his  son  at  Tarhm  (the 
mound  of  Shereef-Khan),  N.N.W.  of  Khorsabad. 

32  Observe  the  correspondence  of  some  of  these  materials  with  those  used  by  the 
Assyrian  kings  for  their  palaces,  showing  whence,  and  Iiow,  they  obtained  them;  es- 
pecially in  Sargon's  account  of  his  palace.     (See  above,  chap.  xiii.  J  11.) 


REIGN  OF   ESAR-HADDOX.  327 

tied  the  men  conquered  by  my  bow  in  the  mountains  and 
near  the  sea  of  the  rising  sun  "  (the  Persian  Gulf).^'  The 
last  passage  points  to  the  continued  resistance  of  Chaldsea 
and  Susiana,  where  we  find  Esar-haddon  engaged  in  a  war 
(probably  in  his  8th  year),  which  ended  in  the  establishment 
of  two  princes  favorable  to  xVssyria  over  difterent  parts  of 
Lower  Babylonia. 

This  campaign  in  the  west  seems,  the  natural  occasion  for 
that  chastisement  of  Manasseh  and  Jnda!],  which  furnishes 
another  striking  point  of  contact  with  the  sacred  history. 
Manasseh,  having  succeeded  his  father  at  the  age  of  twelve, 
three  years  after  the  great  deliverance  from  Sennachei'ib 
(b.c.  697),  had  reigned  seventeen  years  at  the  accession  of 
Esar-haddon  in  b.c.  680.  Besides  adopting  as  his  own  the 
idolatries,  cruelties,  and  vices  of  the  reactionary  party  in 
Judah,  which  had  gained  strength  during  his  minority,  he 
seems  to  have  rebelled  against  Assyria,  very  probably  in  re- 
liance on  Egypt.  "Wherefore  the  Lord  brought  upon  them 
the  captains  of  the  host  of  the  king  of  Assyria,  which  took 
Manasseh  among  the  thorns,  and  bound  him  with  fetters, 
and  cari-ied  him  to  Babylon.'"^  The  apparent  discrepancy 
of  the  officers  of  a  king  of  Assi/ria  carrying  the  captive  king 
to  JBabylon  is  tnrned  into  a  striking  confirmation  by  the  fact, 
not  only  that  Esar-haddon  was  the  one  Assyrian  king  who 
reigned  in  person  over  both  conntries,  but  that  he  resided 
at  Babylon  as  well  as  Kineveh.  Bricks,  stamped  with  his 
name,  testify  to  his  erection  of  a  palace  at  Babylon. 

The  restoration  of  Manasseh,  when  thoronghly  humbled  by 
his  severe  captivity  ^^  to  the  position  of  a  subject  ally  on  the 
frontier  of  Egypt,  seems  a  part  of  the  same  policy  which  led 
Esar-haddon  to  reinforce  the  population  of  Samaria  from  the 
conquered  peoples  chiefly  of  Chaldiea  and  Susiana.  For  the 
people  of  heathen  origin,  who  opposed  the  restored  Jews 
nearly  a  century  and  a  half  later,  traced  their  settlement  ex- 
pressly to  Esar-haddon  f^  and  among  them  are  the  iSusan- 
chites  and  the  Elamites^  and  other  nations  not  included 
among   the  settlers  at  first  placed  there  by  Sargon."     The 

33  But  interpreted  b}'  M.  Oppert,  here  as  before,  the  Caspian  Sea. 

3-i  1  Chrou.  xxxviii.  11. 

35  When  he  was  in  affliction:  2  Chron.  xsxiii.  12,  ir,.  Thousih  the?e  events  are 
not  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  Esar-haddon,  the  name  of  Mana-^seh  {Miimsi)  occurs, 
as  a  tributary,  in  one  of  his  inscriptions.     Hezekiah  had  died  u.c.  697. 

3''  Ezra  iv.  2.  "The  great  and  noble  Af<nappr;r,"  who  is  named  in  ver.  10,  is  sup- 
posed by  some  to  be  Esar-haddon  himself;  but  it  seems  more  probable  that  he  w;ls 
the  Assyrian  officer  who  led  the  colony. 

3"  Ezra  iv.  9,  compared  with  2  Kings  xvii.  24.  The  former  settlers  were  all  from 
Upper  Bahylnnia.  Babylon  alone  is  common  to  the  two  lists,  and  in  the  second  the 
word  "Babjionians"  may  be  geueric.  The  absence  of  the  other  names  in  the  first 
Mai  from  the  second  siiggests  that  the  original  colonies  were  reduced  to  insignificance 


328  THE  NEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIKE. 

adoption  by  tliese  people  of  tlie  worship  of  Jehovah, in  conjunc- 
tion with  that  of  the  several  gods  of  their  own  localities,  is  an 
interesting  fact  in  the  history  of  the  Assyi'ian  transplantations. 

§  8.  In  the  second  campaign  of  Esar-haddon,  which  seems 
to  have  been  in  Armenia  or  Mt.  Zagrus,  we  first  meet  Avith 
the  name  of  a  people  famous  in  history.  If  the  reading  be 
correct,  he  received  the  submission  of  T'luspa.,  the  Chnme- 
rian;  and  we  are  now  very  near  the  time  at  Avhich  Herod- 
otus places  the  great  Cimmerian  invasion  of  Asia.  Of  his 
remaining  campaigns,  the  most  interesting  are  those  against 
the  Cilicians  and  their  allies,  tlie  Tibareni ;  against  the  Edom- 
ites;  and  against  certain  Arab  tribes,  when  he  seems  to 
have  performed  the  hitherto  unexampled  feat  of  leading  an 
army  through  a  large  portion  of  the  great  desert  of  Arabia. 
Like  his  predecessors,  he  had  to  engage  in  war  with  the  Ara- 
maean nomads  on  the  Euphrates,  and  with  the  mountaineers 
of  Armenia;  and  his  last  recorded  expedition  i-eached  a  re- 
mote region  of  Media,  perhaps  Azei-bijan. 

§  9.  It  was  towards  the  end  of  his  reign  that  he  resumed 
that  great  contest  with  the  Ethiopian  dynasty  in  Eoypt, 
Yv^hich  Sargon  had  begun,  and  in  which  Sennacherib  received 
his  disastrous  check.  It  now  seems  clear  that  Esar-haddon 
was  the  first  Assyrian  king  Avho  actually  invaded  Egypt ; 
and  he  was  the  first  and  last  who  bore  the  title,  "  King  of 
the  kings  of  Egypt,  and  conqueror  of  Ethiopia."  He  adorned 
his  palace  with  sphinxes  and  other  Egy])tian  ornaments,^^ 
and  a  bronze  lion,  dug  up  by  the  Turks  at  JSFebbi-Yumis  (now 
in  the  Museum  at  Constantinople),  bears  the  inscription, 
"The  property  of  Esar-haddon,  king  of  hosts,  king  of  As- 
syria, the  spoil  of  Egypt  and  Ethiopia."  Tliough  such  titles 
occur  several  times  in  his  insci'iptions,  his  own  annals  only 
mention  Egypt  in  one  doubtful  passage ;  and  all  we  know 
of  his  deeds  there  is  from  his  son's  account  of  the  sequel  of 
the  war  with  Tirhakah  and  the  Egyptian  princes. ^^ 

§  10.  Of  his  great  w^orks  as  a  builder  Esar-haddon  has 
left  us  descriptions  so  minute  as  to  be  only  tantalizing,  for 
the  technical  terms  employed  have  as  yet  baffled  the  inter- 
preters. He  tells  us  that  he  reared  three  palaces  and  above 
thirty  temples.^"     Traces  of  the  three  palaces  have  been  dis- 

by  the  htirdships  referred  to  iu  2  Kings  xvii.  25.  In  the  second  list,  the  AjJharsites  are 
thought  to  be  Persnms,  and  the  ArcJicvites  from  Ercch  (Orchoe). 

3*  Layard,  "Nineveh  and  its  Remains,"  vol.  i.  p.  34S. 

^^  See  chap.  vii.  §  10.  The  mutilated  inscription  on  his  sMa  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Kahr-cl-kelb  (a  cast  of  which  is  in  the  British  Museum)  is  said  to  record  his  victory 
over  Tirhakah  (Tarqv),  his  capture  of  Memj)his,  and  other  conquests  in  Africa.  His 
conquest  of  Egypt  is  also  mentioned  by  Abydenus  (ap.  Euseb.  "  Chron."  part  i.  ch.  ix.), 

■"'  According  to  M.  Oppert :  but  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  reads  the  passage  that  "he  re- 
paired ten  of  the  strongholds  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia." 


ESAR-HADDON'S  GREAT  BUILDINGS.  321) 

covered,  at  Nineveh,  Calah,  and  Babylon.  Of  the  last,  there 
only  remain  a  few  inscribed  bricks  to  prove  the  name  of  its 
builder:  the  exploration  of  the  first,  in  the  mound  of  JVebbi- 
Yunus,  is  still  hindered  by  local  fanaticism.  He  describes 
it  as  a  splendid  edifice,  erected  on  the  site  of  a  former  pal- 
ace of  the  Assyrian  kings.  He  names  22  kings,  chiefly  of 
Syria,  Phoenicia,  and  Cyprus,  who  furnished  the  materials. 
In  this  list  we  find  the  name  of  ^'3Imasi  (Manasseh),  kin<^ 
ofJudah." 

The  palace  at  Calah,  which  occupied  the  S.W.  corner  of 
the  great  platform  of  Ximrnd^  was  never  finished;  and  it  is 
chiefly  remarkable  for  the  bas-reliefs  removed  from  other  edi- 
flces,  mostly  from  the  central  and  8.E.  palaces,  and  set  up 
with  their  sculptures  inward  against  the  wall  of  sun-dried 
bricks,  and  the  back  surfaces  smoothed  preparatory  to  being 
carved  anew.^'  Of  such  sculptures  as  had  been  completed, 
many  were  split  to  fragments  or  calcined  to  crumbling  lime 
by  a  fierce  conflagration  that  had  destroyed  the  building. 
Among  these  were  tlie  sphinxes  already  mentioned.  Be- 
sides these  palaces,  a  far  inferior  edifice  was  built  at  Nineveh 
for  his  eldest  son  ;  its  ruins  are  at  She  reef-Khan^  on  the  bank 
of  the  Tigris,  where  Sargon  had  previously  built  a  fort  and 
a  teniple  of  Xergal. 

§  11.  The  name  of  Esar-haddon's  son  and  successor,  As- 
sHuii-BxVNi-PAL  (Ass/nir  create  a  son),  occurring  almost  at  the 
end  of  the  list  of  Assyrian  kings,  so  irresistibly  suggests 
tliat  oi'.Sanlanapahts,  that  the  mind  pre-occupied  with  the 
legend  of  Ctesias  is  astounded  when  the  monuments  reveal 
one  of  the  greatest  conquerors  and  most  magnificent  mon- 
archs  of  the  whole  series,  and  the  only  one"  who  has  left 
proofs  of  a  systematic  care  for  literature.  His  accession  is 
fixed  by  the  Canon  to  n.c.  667  ;  but  the  darkness  into  which 
Assyrian  history  falls  back  towards  the  end  of  his  reign 
makes  its  length  uncertain.  His  annals  only  embrace  the 
seven  or  eight  years  to  b.c.  660.''  His  great  contest  with 
Tirhakah  and  Hotmen  for  the  possession  of  Egypt — the  most 
important  results  gained  from  the  Assyrian  records — has 
been  related  in  the  history  of  that  country.'" 

Amidst  and  after  these  wars,  he  conducted  operations  in 
Phoenicia  and  Cilicia ;  and  he  was  the  first  Assyrian  king 
who  crossed  the  Taurus  into  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor,  and 

■»' Layard,  "Niueveh  and  its  Remains,"  vol.  i.  pp.  59  seq.,  347-^52 ;  Rawlinson, 
"Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.pp.  4TS-4S3.  This  proves  that  (sometimes  at  least,  and 
probably  always)  the  slabs  were  carved  after  being  fixed  to  the  walls. 

^52  M.  Oppert  makes  this  the  end  of  his  reign,  which  Sir  Henry  and  Professor  Raw 
Wv.M.n  extend  to  i;.c.  G47.     See  below,  §  20. 

"  Chap.  vii.  §  7,  where  the  present  state  of  this  king's  annals  is  described. 


330  THE  NEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

came  in  contact  with  the  great  Lyclian  monarchy.  These 
are  his  own  words,  if  rightly  read  :  "  CTVges,  king  of  Lydia, 
a  country  on  the  sea-coast,  a  remote  place,  of  which  the  kings 
my  ancestors  had  -never  even  heard  the  name,  learned  in  a 
dream  (?)  the  fame  of  my  empire,  and  the  same  day  sent  of- 
ficers to  my  presence  to  perform  liomage  on  his  belialf." 
Gyges  further  sent  to  Assliur-bani-pal,  at  Nineveh,  som^e 
Cimmerian  chiefs,  who  had  been  taken  alive  in  a  battle  ;  and 
mention  is  also  made  of  another  Cimmerian  chief,  with  whom 
the  Assyrian  himself  came  in  contact." 

§  12.  Like  his  predecessors,  he  made  campaigns  in  Arme- 
nia and  Media  ;  but  the  most  interesting  of  his  wars  were 
those  in  Susiana  and  Babylonia,  the  incidents  of  which  are 
depicted  in  the  reliefs  which  he  added  to  the  palace  of  Sen- 
nacherib at  Nineveh.  Tiie  connection  which  Esar-haddon 
had  established  between  Assyria  and  Babylon  was  dissolved, 
perhaps  before  his  death,  by  that  king's  re -partition  of 
Mesopotamia  between  his  sons.  Babylon  fell  to  the  lot  of 
SaiU-3Iiujina^  the  SaGsdiichinus  of  the  Canon^  and  the  Sam- 
inughes^  whom  the  compilers  from  Berosus  have  convert- 
ed into  a  king  of  Assyria.  The  relations  between  Assyria, 
Babylon,  and  Susiana  are  obscure  ;  but  instead  of  involving 
the  reader  in  these  difficulties,  we  notice  the  four  years'  war, 
in  which  Asshur-bani-pal  conquered  Susiana,  chiefly  to  call 
attention  to  some  of  the  scenes  which  every  one  can  behold 
to  tins  day  on  the  walls  of  our  ]\[useum.  On  one  slab  we  see 
the  capture  of  a  city  at  the  confluence  of  two  rivers  ;  prob- 
ably Susa,  which  the  annals  record  to  have  been  taken,  with 
the  express  mention  of  its  position  on  the  Hulai  (EuLtus).*^ 
On  another  are  vividly  depicted  scenes  of  horrible  cruelty,  the 
meaning  of  which  is  plainly  stated  in  the  annals :  "  Temin- 
Umman  (the  king  of  Susiana)  was  taken  prisoner,  decapi- 
tated, and  his  head  exposed  over  one  of  the  gates  of  Nin- 
eveh. A  son  of  Temin-Umman  was  executed  with  his  fa- 
ther:" and,  whether  in  this  or  another  case,  the  sculptures 
show  one  prisoner  brought  to  execution  with  the  head  of 
anothei:  hung  about  his  neck.  "Several  grandees  of  Mero- 
dach-Baladan  suffered  mutilation ;  a  Chaldtean  prince  and 
one  of  the  chieftains  of  the  Gambalu  had  their  tongues  torn 
out  by  the  roots  ;  two  of  Temin-Umman's  principal  officers 
were  chained  and  flayed :"  and  there  are  both  operations 
before  our  eyes,  in  the  alabaster  which  has  perpetuated  them 

<4  It  is  important  to  observe  the  express  statement  of  Herodotus,  that  the  Assyrian 
empire  reached  as  far  west  as  the  Halys.     (Ilerod.  i.  95.) 

45  Comp.  Dau.  viii.  1 :  "  I  was  at  SJnishan,  in  the  province  of  Elam,  by  the  river  of 
UlaV 


ASSHUR-BANI-FAL'S  PALACE  AT  KOYUNJIK.  331 

for  twenty-five  centuries.  On  other  slabs  we  see  the  scourgers 
in  attendance  upon  the  king,  carrying  their  whips  in  their 
girdles,  and  the  executioners  striking  a  bound  prisoner  Avith 
ills  fist  before  he  puts  him  to  death.  Well  might  the  proph- 
et, probably  at  this  very  time,  call  Nineveh  "  the  cit}^  of 
bloods."" 

§  13.  The  like  pictures  of  war,  and  of  what  his  annals 
boast  Sis  justice,  were  repeated,  side  by  side  with  an  immense 
variety  of  hunting  scenes,  on  the  walls  of  another  palace, 
which  Asshur-bani-pal  built  at  Koyunjik,  within  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  of  his  grandfather's.  The  palace  is  remarkable 
for  its  peculiar  ground-plan,  in  the  form  of  a  T,  and  for  the 
beauty  of  its  elaborate  ornamentation.  Both  the  battle  and 
the  hunting  scenes  excel  all  previous  bas-reliefs  in  the  varie- 
ty, grace,  and  freedom  of  the  figures;  but  in  simple  dignity 
they  fall  as  far  short  of  those  of  Asshur-nasir-pal  as  the  s2nrU 
of  the  sport — in  which  the  lions  are  let  out  of  cages — is  be- 
low that  monarch's  famous  lion-hunt.  Among  them  is  al- 
most the  only  strictly  domestic  scene  yet  known  in  Assyrian 
art^and  one  only  too  significant — a  banquet  at  which  the 
king  is  reclining  on  his  couch  with  the  queen  sitting  at  his 
feetr 

Never,  in  the  whole  history  of  Assyria,  have  we  stronger 
evidence  than  under  this  king  of  that  prosperity  which  the 
prophet  describes  in  his  celebrated  parable  : 

"•  The  Assyrian  was  a  cedar  in  Lebanon,  with  fliir  branch- 
es, and  with  a  shadowing  shroud,  and  of  an  high  stature  ;  .  .  . . 
under  his  shadow  dwelt  all  great  nations  ;  .  .  .  .  nor  was  any 
tree  in  the  garden  of  God  like  unto  him  in  his  beauty."*® 

§  14.  If  this  Asshur-bani-pal  furnished  the  Greeks  with  the 
name  of  Sardanapalus,  we  may  now  perhaps  account  for  the 
twofold  character  of  that  king."  As  the  last  famous  king 
of  Assyria,  he  may  have  been  confounded,  in  Ctesias's  legend 
of  the  fall  of  Nineveh,  with  a  degenerate  son  or  grandson, 
whose  name  was  better  known  to  other  authors.  But  there 
are  Greek  writers  who  preserve  a  truer  memory  of  a  Sarda- 
napalus, whom  they  distinguish  from  the  other  by  the  title  of 
"  the  warlike  Sardanapalus  ;""'  but  under  whose  name  (as  in 
the  case  of  Sesostris)  they  include  the  achievements  of  differ- 

<•  Nalmm  iii.  i.     On  this  prophecy  comp.  chap.  vii.  §  IS. 

•i'^  This  spleuclid  series  of  sculptures,  obtained  chiellyby  Mr.  Hormnzd  Rassam  and 
Mr.  Loftus  from  Koyunjik,  may  be  seen  (for  the  present,  1S70)  in  the  basement  (!)  of 
onr  Museum. 

48  Ezekiel  xxxi.  3-8  :  the  whole  of  this  very  stinking  passage  should  be  read  here. 

''9  Hellanicus  expressly  mentioned  "two  kings  called  Sardanapalus,"  Fr.  158. 

5"  Callisthenes,  in  Suidas,  s.  v.  Sufx^awirrctAo?.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  identi- 
ti'.ation  formerly  made  of  Asshiir-naHir-iial  with  Sardanapalus  I.  (as  Sir  II.  Rawlinson 
and  Mr.  Layard  call  him)  rested  on  a  wrong  reading  of  the  name,  as  Asshur-idanni-pal. 


332  THE  NEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

ent  kings,  as,  for  example,  the  building  of  Tarsus,  Avhieh  oth- 
ers assign  to  Sennacherib.  Near  that  city  was  a  lofty  monu- 
ment, which  they  called  the  tomb  of  Sardanapalus,  crowned 
with  a  statue  of  the  king,  having  on  its  base  this  inscription 
in  Assyrian  characters :  "  Sardanapalus,  son  of  Anacynda- 
raxes,  built  Tarsus  and  Anchialus  in  one  day,"  etc.''  The 
monument  was  probably  one  of  those  stelm  with  an  arched 
liead,  of  the  type  which  we  have  more  than  once  mentioned  ; 
and  it  may  have  represented  either  Sennacherib  or  his  grand- 
son. 

§  15.  Most  cuneiform  authorities  agree  that  after  the  reign 
of  Asshur-bani-pal  came  that  of  his  son,  whose  name  is  va- 
riously read  Ass/iur-emit-ilm,  or  Asshur-idUilan,  or  Asshur- 
kinatiU-kahi,  and  who  is  identified  with  the  Saracus  o\  Ah j- 
denus  and  Polvhistor,  or  with  the  Chirdkidanus  or  (Jinnela- 
damis  of  Ptolemy's  Canon,  or  with  both.''  The  only  native 
records  of  this  king  are  a  few  inscribed  bricks,  which  identi- 
fy him  as  the  builder  of  the  south-east  palace  at  Mmrud,  and 
a  stela  found  there,  with  his  effigy  and  a  genealogical  inscrip- 
tion." The  palace,  built  npon  the  ruins  of  a  former  edifice," 
bears  striking  witness  to  the  decline  and  probably  the  sud- 
den cessation  of  the  monarchy,  by  its  vastly  inferior  style,  its 
small  and  misshapen  chambers,  its  unfinished  state,  and  its 
unsculptured  walls."  Decisive  evidence  is  borne  to  the  vio- 
lent overthrow  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  utter  destruction  of 
its  capital  cities  by  the  heaps  of  charcoal,  and  other  signs  of 
devouring  fire,  which  are  found  in  all  the  palaces,  alike  at 
X'unrud,  Koyunjlk\  and  Khorsabad. 

§  16.  It  is  in  vain  to  attempt  to  recover  the  true  history 
of  the  fall  of  Nineveh  by  piecing   together  the  few  extant 

«i  We  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  add  the  somewhat  trivial  details,  which  have  led 
to  a  discussion  that  may  be  seen  fully  in  Professor  Rawliusou's  work  (vol.  ii.  p.  500). 
He  adduces  the  varied  readings  of  the  latter  part  of  the  inscription  as  a  proof  that  it 
was  not  understood— which  seems  most  probable.  But  M.  Lenormaut  holds,  on  the 
contrary,  that  some  of  the  learned  Greeks  had  mastered  the  cuneiform  writing,  a 
feat  which  none  of  them  had  performed  for  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  ;  and  of  this 
he  finds  an  indication  even  in  their  errors.  For  instance,  in  the  name  Atmcynda- 
raxes  he  traces  the  royal  title  ''Anaku-nadu-sarra-Asshnr"—''l  am  the  august  king 
of  Assyria."  Ensebiiis  (Chron .  ann.  Ah.  llS-i)  applies  the  words  of  the  alleged  in- 
scription to  the  Sardanapalus  of  the  Old  Monarchy,  who  was  overthrown  by  Arbaces 
and  Belesvs.  Polvhistor  and  Abydenus  (ap.  Euseb.  Citron,  pars  i.  cc.  v.  ix.)  say  that 
Sennacherib  defeated  a  Greek  fleet  off  the  coast  of  Cilicia,  and  built  Tarsus  after  the 
model  of  Babvlon,  and  set  up  his  own  monument.  There  is  very  probably  a  con- 
fusion of  names.  '^  See  below,  §  19. 

53  This  is  in  the  British  Museum. 

"  That  of  Esar-haddon:  see  §  10. 

5»  See  Layard,  "  Nineveh  and  its  Remains,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  .S8,  fiO  ;  "Nineveh  and  Baby- 
lon," p.  655.  The  fact  that  this  latest  known  palace  is  at  Calah  is  instructive  as  to  the 
question  about  the  Assyrian  capital.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  Calah  was  a  part 
of  the  true  Nineveh.  All  the  royal  resideu  oes  would  perish  in  a  conquest  of  extermt 
nation. 


THE  FALL  OF  NINEVEH.  333 

fi-agments  of  writers  wlio  lived  long  after  the  event.  It  is 
better  simply  to  place  their  statements  upon  record,  and 
await  the  light  of  further  criticism  and  future  discoveries. 

That  the  story  of  Ctesias,  respecting  the  earlier  overthrow 
of  Nineveh  by  Arbaces  and  Belesys,  may  preserve  some  de- 
tails of  its  final  fall,  is  the  more  probable  from  the  resem- 
blance in  Oriental  revolutions  caused  by  the  likeness  of  East- 
ern states  and  wars  :  but  still  this  is  mere  conjecture.  Our 
really  historical  authorities  are,  on  the  one  hand,  the  incident- 
al notices  by  Herodotus,  in  his  story  of  the  Medes,  evident- 
ly after  Persian  accounts  ;  and  a  few  fragments,  chiefly  of 
Abydenus  and  Polyhistor,  which  derive  their  value  from 
being  founded  on  the  high  authority  of  Berosus.^*^  As  is 
natural,  the  latter  class  of  writei-s  lay  the  greater  stress  on 
the  part  taken  by  Babylon  in  the  achievement,  which  Herod- 
otus assigns  wholly  to  the  Medes." 

He  recognizes  three  distinct  attacks  of  the  Medes  upon 
Assyria.  First,  Phraortes,  having  subjected  the  Persians, 
"  proceeded  to  subdue  Asia,  nation  after  nation,  till  he 
liiarched  against  the  Assyrians  —  those  of  the  Assyrians,  I 
mean,  who  held  Nineveh,  and  formerly  ruled  over  all  [the 
rest]  ;  but  then  they  stood  alone^  being  deserted  by  their  al- 
lies;  but^  in  other  respects^their  internal  condition  was  flour- 
ishing. Phraortes  attacked  them,  but  perished  himself,  with 
the  greater  part  of  his  army.'"^ 

He  then  tells  us  how  Cyaxares,  the  son  of  Phraortes,  de- 
voted his  efforts  to  organize  the  Median  forces;  and,  having 
mentioned  (not  necessarily  in  order  of  time)  this  king's  con- 
test with  Lydia,  and  his  conquest  of  all  Asia  beyond  the 
River  Halys,  he  goes  on  :  "Now  collecting  all  who  were  un- 
der his  rule,  he  marched  against  the  city  of  Ninus,  both  to 
avenge  his  father  and  wishing  to  take  the  city.  And  when, 
after  defeating  the  Assyrians  in  a  battle,  he  had  formed  the 
siege  of  Ninus,  there  came  upon  him  a  great  army  of  Scyth- 
ians."^^ 

^^  The  passages  are  collected  by  Muller,  "Frag.  Hist.  Grgec."  vol.  ii.  p.  505. 

*'  Eusebius  also,  who  nientioiis  the  destruction  of  Niueveh  in  two  passages  of  his 
"Chronicle"  (s.  «».  >4 6. 1397  and  UOS),  ascribes  it  in  both  to  Cyaxares  the  Mede, 
without  mentioning  the  Babjiouiaus.     Of  the  datcn  we  have  to  speak  presently. 

58  Herod,  i.  102.  The  position  of  Phraortes  in  Median  history  will  be  noticed  in 
the  proper  place.  The  Median  chronology  (as  interpreted  by  Clinton  and  most  ar 
thorities)  places  this  event  in  u.c.  (334. 

58  Herod,  i.  103.  Without  entering  here  on  the  question,  which  is  one  of  the  great 
chronological  difficulties,  whether  the  Lydiau  war  preceded  or  followed  the  capture 
of  Niueveh,  it  is  enough  to  point  out  the  incklental  character  of  the  allusion  to  the 
former.  The  words  which  (coming  after  this  mention  of  the  Lydian  war)  might 
seem  to  imply  that  Cyaxares  led  against  Nineveh  all  the  forces  of  the  Median  empire, 
after  its  extension  to  the  Halys,  need  not  be  so  interpreted.  They  are  simply,  o-yX- 
Xffa9  6f  TOf?  i''7r'  etonTo)  uf)xo/uti'0[)r  irav-a';.  Still  this  yj'hrase  implies  tiie  acquisition 
of  some  considerable  dominion  in  Asia  before  the  attack  on  Nineveh— of  the  dominiou 


33+  THE  ^'EW  ASSY KI AN  EMPIRE. 

Here  he  digresses  to  the  Scytliian  invasion,  and  their  dom- 
ination over  Asia  for  twenty-eiglit  years,  till  Cyaxares  drove 
them  out,  and  the  ^Medes  recovered  their  former  empire."" 
"And  they  took  Xinus — but  how  they  took  it  I  will  show  in 
otiier  books  (or  another  history) — and  made  the  Assyrians 
their  subjects,  except  the  part  belonging  to  Babylon"  (liter- 
ally "  the  portion  of  Babylon  ")." 

The  last  phrase  is  merely  geographical ;  but,  in  another 
place,  Herodotus  refers  to  Babylon  as  not  only  in  an  inde- 
pendent, but  even  a  hostile,  attitude  towards  the  victorious 
Medes.  Speaking  of  Nitocris,  lie  says:  "Seeing  the  great 
and  restless  povrer  of  the  Medes,  who  had  taken  both  other 
cities,  and  among  them  also  Ninus,  she  proceeded  to  guard 
against  them  as  much  as  possible"  by  her  works  of  defense 
at  Babylon.""  But  we  shall  see  that  this  really  refers  to  a 
much  later  period  ;  and  Herodotus  himself  makes  the  king 
of  Babylon  an  ally  of  Cyaxares  in  his  Lydian  War." 

§  17.  That  Babylon  had  a  real  and  im])ortant  share  in  the 
overthrow  of  Xineveh  seems  established  by  the  second  set 
of  authorities  above  mentioned.  The  locus  classicus  on  this 
subject  is  the  passage  quoted  by  Eusebius  from  Abydenus, 
who  follows  the  "  Chaldaean  History  "  of  Berosus.  Having 
spoken  of  Sennacherib,  Axerdis  {Esar-haiTiloii)^  and  Sarda- 
napalus  {Asshur-bani-pal)^  he  proceeds  :  "After  him  Saracus 
reigned  over  the  Assyrians;  and,  having  received  tidings 
that  a  ver\i  great  band  of  barbarians  had  come  vjyfroni  the 
sea  to  attack  liim,  lie  quickly  sent  the  general  13usalossor 
(unquestionably  A^abopolassar,  as  in  Syncellus)  to  Babylon. 
But  he,  plotting  a  rebellion,  arranged  the  betrothal  of  Amu- 
hia  (called  by  others  Aro'dis  and  Amy'dis)^  a  daughter  of 
Asdahages  (Astyages),  the  Mede,  a  prince  (or  the  head)  of 
the  (royal)  family,  to  Kabuchodrossor^  his  son.  Thereupon, 
setting  out  forthwith,  he  hastens  to  attack  Xinus,  that  is,  the 
city  of  Xinive.  When  Saracus  the  king  Avas  informed  of  all 
tins,  he  burnt  his  royal  palace  at  Evaritus.''''^^     The  last  word 

of  which  they  were  deprived  by  the  Scythians,  t(>  Upxls  nareXvOriaav  (chap.  lOl),  and 
which  they  recovered  when  thej'  got  rid  of  the  Scythians,  and  before  the  final  attack 

on   Nineveh,  uieo-axrai'TO  tJ;i'  upxv"  yi'l^oi,  Kai  eireKfjureov  rSbv  ttc/j  Kai  TTfjorepov,  Ka'i  tijv 

Siiov  el\ov  (chap.  106). 
*"  Observe  in  passing,  that  I'f  the  2S  years  of  Herodotus  he  correct,  k.c.  684  — 2S  years 

=:  IJ.O.  Gl)6. 

«i  Herod,  i.  106.    The  question  has  been  lonEc  discussed  whether  the  words  Iv  trt- 

^oiai    Xo'voicri    6ri\waa),  and    again    (more    specifically)    rwv    tv    roiai    'Aaavpioiai    \o-)OC(Ti 

uvijunv  woiijCTonai  (i.  184),  refer  to  a  book  of  "Assyrian  History"  which  he  intended 
to  write.  The  /nture  seems  to  imply  this:  and  certainly  none  of  his  other  eight 
books  answer  to  the  title.  The  passage  adduced  from  Aristotle  to  prove  the  exist- 
ence of  such  a  work  is  not  decisive. 

«2  Herod,  i.  1S5 :  comp.  chap.  xv.  §  IS.  «3  Herod,  i.  74. 

*••  Euseb.  "Chron.  Arm,"  pars  i.  c.  ix.  'ed.  Mai),  but  the  better  version  is  triven  by 
Aucher.    There  is  the  less  difficiiUy  about  ibe  substitution  of  Ash/ajcs  for  Cyaxares, 


thp:  fall  of  nineveh.  ssr. 

is  confessed  by  all  the  interpreters  to  be  quite  unintelligible 
in  the  Armenian  text ;  and  the  Greek  of  Syneellus  gives 
"  fearing  whose  [Xabopolassar  s]  attack,  Saracus  burnt  him- 
self with  his  palace;  and  Xabopolasarus,  the  father  ofXabu- 
chodonosor,  received  the  government  of  the  Chaldceans  and 
ofBabylon."'' 

§  18.  In  some  very  important  features  these  accounts  agree 
with  one  another,  and  with  the  well-knovvU  character  of  the 
Assyrian  empire.  As  we  have  seen  before,  there  was  no  or- 
ganized administration,  held  tooether  by  the  central  power. 
The  cases  in  which  conquered  cities  or  countries  were  placed 
under  Assyrian  governors — or,  in  the  language  of  the  annals, 
"  treated  as  Assyrians  " — were  exceptional.  Generally  they 
were  left  under  their  own  kings,  as  vassals  of  Assyria;  and 
she  only  asked  submission  and  tribute  ;  but  she  punished  open 
rebellion  with  a  ferocity  which  utterly  alienated  her  subjects. 

While  all  were  thus  destitute  of  any  bond  of  willing  union, 
some  of  those  nearest  to  the  seat  of  government  were  ani- 
mated with  the  spirit,  and  possessed  the  power,  of  perpetual 
resistance.  Even  at  the  rare  times  when  the  rival  kingdom 
of  Babylon  was  really  subdued,  the  Chalda?ans  and  Elamites 
were  ever  ready  to  renew  the  contest  in  their  marshes.  Al- 
most every  Assyrian  king  had  to  tight  again  and  again  with 
the  Aramaeans  on  the  middle  Euphrates,  and  with  the  mount- 
aineers of  Armenia  and  Zagrus.  And,  beyond  the  latter 
range,  the  victories  which  are  claimed  over  the  Medes  may 
often  but  attest  the  increasing  pressure  of  the  Aryan  tribes 
that  were  gathering  on  this  frontier  of  Assyria. 

A  king  who  indulged  in  luxury,  to  the  neglect  of  military 
expeditions,  at  once  invited  rebellion  in  the  provinces  and 
invasion  on  the  frontiers  ;  and  it  Avas  quite  possible,  as  He- 
rodotus puts  it,  that,  at  the  very  height  of  apparent  prosper- 
ity, he  might  find  himself  standing  alone,  deserted  by  his 
allies,  and  left  bare  before  his  enemies.  The  crisis,  which  so 
soon  followed  the  splendid  reign  of  Asshur-bani-pal,  appears 
to  have  been  hastened  by  a  fresh  Aryan  migration  into  ^le- 
dia  ;  and  their  attack  on  the  eastern  frontier,  perhaps,  found 
Assyria  weakened  by  the  inroads  of  those  very  Scythians 
who  interrupted  the  progress  of  the  Medes. 

The  renewed  assault  of  the  latter  appears  to  have  coin- 
cided with  a  new  uprising  of  all  the  mingled  races  of  Chah 
dvea  and  Susiana   (for  thus   only   can   we  understand  "  the 

as  the  former  appears  to  have  been  a  title  of  the  Median  kings  (see  chap.  xix.  §  9). 
Rcspectinj^  the  name  of  Bximlosser  for  Nabo2)olassor,  see  chap.  xv.  §  5. 

«5  "Syncell."  p.  210,  u;  but  the  passage  is  holh  confused  and  interpolated.  He 
calls  Astyages  satrap  of  Media,  which  seems  borrowed  from  the  Arbaces  of  Cte- 
flifjs. 


336  THE  NEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 

troops  of  barbarians  who  came  np  from  the  sea^^).  The 
treason,  or  patriotism,^"  of  the  officer  sent  to  quell  the  revolt 
in  Babylonia  has  been  often  parallelled  by  the  servants  of 
a  falling  king  ;"'  and  the  self-immolation  of  Saracus  in  the 
flames  of  his  own  palace — whether  it  be  a  fact  or  the  adorn- 
ment of  a  tale — has  an  exact  precedent  in  tlie  death  of  the 
Israelite  king  at  Tirzah  :  "And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Zimri 
saw  that  the  city  was  taken,  that  he  went  into  the  palace  of 
the  king's  house,  and  burnt  the  king's  house  over  him  with 
fire,  and  died."*^' 

§  19.  But,  after  all,  the  real  picture  of  the  fall  of  Assyria 
(as  of  Babylon)  and  of  the  utter  destruction  of  Nineveh, 
never  to  rise  again,  is  drawn  with  the  most  literal  truth,  as 
well  as  poetic  coloring,  by  the  Jewish  prophets,  one  of  whom 
(Ezekiel)  is,  in  fact,  writing  the  history  of  Nineveh's  fall  as 
the  type  of  Babylon's.  The  following  passages  are  quoted 
only  to  atti-act  attention  to  the  whole  prophecies  of  which 
they  form  a  part. 

We  have  seen  how  Ezekiel's  figure  of  the  Assyrian  as  a 
cedar  in  Lebanon  was  realized  under  Asshur-bani-pal ;  but 
now  "the  multitude  of  waters  that  nourished  him" — that 
is,  the  subject  nations — not  only  withdrew^  their  tributary 
streams,  but  swelled  up  to  help  his  destruction,  as  (in  the 
phrase  of  Herodotus)  he  "  stood  alone  "  to  undergo  the  sen- 
tence :  "  I  have  delivered  liim  into  the  hand  of  the  mighty 

one  of  the  heathen ;  in  dealing  he  shall  deal  with  him 

And  strangers,  the  terrible  of  the  nations,  have  cut  him  off, 
and  have  left  him:  upon  the  mountains  and  in  all  the  valleys 
his  branches  are  fallen,  and  his  boughs  are  broken  by  all  the 
rivers  of  the  land  ;  and  all  the  people  of  the  earth  are  gone 
down  from  his  shadow,  and  have  left  him."^° 

The  prophetic  warning,  which  Nahum  gives  to  Nineveh 
from  the  fate  inflicted  by  her  own  king  on  Thebes,'"  contains 
a  powerful  description  of  the  easy  capture  of  the  fortresses 
and  the  siege  of  the  city  itself:  "All  thy  strongholds  shall 
be  like  fig-trees  with  the  first  ripe  figs  :  if  they  be  sliaken, 
they  shall  even  fall  into  the  mouth  of  the  eater.  Behold, 
thy  people  in  the  midst  of  thee  are  women :  the  gates  of  thy 
land  shall  be  set  wide  open  unto  thine  enemies:  the  fire  shall 
devour  thy  bars.  Draw  thee  waters  for  the  siege,  fortify  thy 
strongholds:  go  into  clay,  and  tread  the  mortar,  make  strong 
the  brick-kiln.  There  shall  the  fire  devour  thee;  the  sword 
shall  cut  thee  oflT."" 

^^  See  chap.  xv.  §  2. 

**"  It  is  enough  to  mention  the  almost  contemporar}-  example  of  Amasis  and  Apries. 
(See  clmp.  viii.  §  13.)  «*  1  Kings  xvi.  IS.  "9  Ezek.  xxxi.  11, 12. 

■0  Comp.  chap.  vii.  §  19.  "^  Nahum  iii.  12-15. 


THE  FALL  OF  NINEVEH.  337 

^  Tiie  litter  sincl  fiiKil  nature  of  the  destruction  is  pointed  by 
Zeplianiah  in  words  rendered  doubly  emphatic  by  the  recent 
discoveries  beneath  the  mounds  among  which  nomad  tribes 
have  pitched  their  tents,  and  wild  beasts  and  birds  have  had 
their  haunts  for  five-and-twenty  centuries  :  "He  will  stretch 
out  his  hand  against  the  north,  and  destroy  Assyria;  and 
will  make  Nineveh  n  desolation,  and  dry  like  a  wilderness. 
And  flocks  shall  lie  down  in  the  midst  of  her,  all  the  beasts 
of  the  nations :  both  the  cormorant  and  the  bittern  shall 
lodge  in  the  upper  lintels  of  it ;  their  voice  shall  sincr  in  the 
windows  ;  desolation  shall  be  in  the  thresholds  :  forlie  shall 
uncover  the  cedar-work.  TJds  is  the  rejoicing  city  that  ehcelt 
carelessly,  t\\d.t  said  in  her  heart,  I  am,  and  there  is  none  beside 
me:  how  is  she  become  a  desolation,  a  place  for  beasts  to  lie 
down  in  !  Every  one  that  passeth  bv  her  shall  hiss,  and  v/ao- 
his  hand."" 

§  20.  The  precise  ej^och  of  the  fall  of  Nineveh  is  still  un- 
settled, and  the  question  is  complicated  with  another,  con- 
cerning the  date  of  the  great  battle  between  Cyaxares  and 
the  Lydians."  Thus  much  is  pretty  well  agreed,  that  the 
choice  lies  between  b.c.  625  and  b.c.  606.  The  older  w^riters 
give  the  latter  date,  which  rests  on  a  distinct  statement  in 
the  chronicle  of  Eusebius,  and  is  supported  by  the  high  au- 
thority of  Clinton.'* 

The  English  school  of  Assyriologers,  represented  by  Sir 
Henry  and  Professor  Rawlinson,  adopt  the  date  of  b.c.  625, 
which  is  fixed  by  the  Canon  as  that  of  Nabopolassar's  acces- 
sion at  Babylon.  They  regard  his  predecessor,  Chinilada- 
?ius,  whose  accession  is  placed  by  the  Canon  in  b.c.  647,  as  the 
last  king  of  Assyria,  the  Asshur-emit-ilin  of  the  monuments, 
and  the  Saracus  of  Berosus  and  his  followers,  but  with  the 
admission  that  Saracus  may  perhaps  represent  a  king  who 
followed  Asshur-emit-ilin.  These  views  seem  to  rest  too 
much  on  the  dependence  of  Babylon  upon  Assyria  up  to  the 
moment  not  only  of  Nabopolassar's  revolt,  but' of  the  actual 
capture  of  Nineveh. 

M.  Oppert  and  the  French  school  return  to  the  date  of  b.c. 
606,  and  make  the  accession  of  Nabopolassar  at  Babylon,  and 
his  league  with  the  Medes,  synchronize  with  that  first  attack 
of  Cyaxares  upon  Nineveh  which  was  interrupted  by  the 
Scythians.     M.  Oppert  ends  the  reign  of  Asshur-bani-pal  at 

"  Zephaniah  ii.  13-15.  '3  See  below,  chap.  xv.  §  7,  aud  chap,  xxiii.  §  14. 

■'^  "Fast.  Hellen."  vol.  i.  .w6  ann.  His  aronmeiits  are  opeu  to  much  discussiou. 
Eusebius  gives  two  dates,  01. 40.  2.  (u.c.  619-18),  aud  01.  48. 1  (h.o.  60S-T)  ;  the  former 
seems  to  be  for  the  first  attack  of  Cyaxares,  the  latter  for  the  destruction  of  the  citj-. 
Jerome's  version  brings  each  date  one  year  lower ;  so  that  tho  latter  woald  come 
down  to  B.C.  606. 

15 


838 


THE  iNEW  ASSYRIAN  EMPIRE. 


the  close  of  his  aiiiifils  in  b.c.  660,  and  assigns  the  thirteen 
yeai-s  to  B.C.  647  to  his  brother  Tlglath-pileser.  Then  comes 
Asshur-eniit-ilin  (Chinilaclanus)  down  to  the  first  attack  by 
Cyaxares  in  b.c,  625.  The  remaining  nineteen  or  twenty 
years,  to  the  fall  of  Nineveh,  in  b.c.  606,  are  assigned  to  a 
king  (the  son  or  younger  brother  of  his  predecessor),  whose 
name  is  conjectured  to  have  been  either  Esar-haddon ^  or 
some  such  form,  which  would  be  represented  by  the  Greek 
Saracus  (=Asshar-akh — third  element  wanting),  or  one  of 
those  names  beginning  with  Ass/nir  and  ending  with  ^j>rt^, 
which  the  Greeks  made  ^ardmuqxdiis.  It  is  to  be  observed, 
however,  that  the  writers  wlio  give  us  the  name  of  Saracus 
for  the  last  king  know  no  other  Sardanapalus  but  him  who 
answers  to  Asshitr-bani-jKd,  and  whom  they  maLe  the  father 
of  Saracus.'^ 

''^  It  will  be  seen  that  M.  Oppert  cnts  dowu  the  28  years,  assigned  by  Herodotus  to 
the  Scythiau  domination,  to  18  or  19  years,  and  for  this  there  ^^eems  to  be  some  au- 
thority in  the  dates  given  by  Eusebius  (see  note  ''**).  m.  Oppert  seems  also  open  to 
the  objection  of  arranging  the  Assyrian  reigns  too  much  l)y  the  Babylonian  chro- 
nology. Thus  the  authors  who  mention  Saracus  assign  him  23  or  24  years,  and  there 
seems  no  necessity  to  cut  this  down  to  19  or  20,  in  order  to  make  it  agree  with  the 
end  of  the  reign  of  Chiniladanus  at  Babylon.  The  Canon  places  Nabopolassar  im. 
mediately  after  Chiniladanus  at  i$.c.  C25. 


Hound  held  in  Leash  (Koyunjik). 


View  of  Babil  from  the  West. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

THE    BABYLOXIAX    OR    CHALD.IilAN    EMPIRE.— B.C.    625-538. 

§  1.  Babvloii  during  the  Old  Assyrian  Empire.  Destracti(m  of  native  records  by 
Nabouassar.  §  2.  List  of  Kinprs  from  the  Era  of  Nabonassar.  Babylon  under  the 
New  Assyrian  Empire.  §  3.  Brief  duration,  but  great  importance,  of  the  Baby- 
lonian Empire.  Nebuchadnezzar  its  one  great  monarch.  Its  six  kings.  §4.  The 
monarchy  Chaldrean,  with  h^  Cixpha]  at  Babulon.  §  5.  NAisoroLAsriAR.  His  origin. 
Revolt  from  Assyria  and  alliance  with  Cyaxares.  Distinction  between  the  As- 
syrian and  Babylonian  Empires.  Nabopolassar  mediates  between  Cyaxares  and 
Alyattes.  §  G.  War  with  Egypt.  The  defeat  of  Neco  at  Carchemish  gives  Baby- 
lon all  Asia  west  of  the  Euphrates.  Death  of  Nabopolassar.  His  works  at  Baby- 
lon. §  7.  NF.i5roiiAi>NEzzAR.  His  name.  His  place  in  history.  §  8.  Revolt  of 
Phoenicia  and  Jndah.  Chronological  difficulty  about  the  siege  of  Tyre.  First 
capture  of  Jerusalem,  and  first  captivity,  including  Daniel.  Rebellion  of  Jehoia- 
kim.  Second  capture  of  Jerusalem.  §  0.  Rebellion  and  deposition  of  Jehoiachin. 
Third  capture  of  Jerusalem.  The  Great  Captivit'i.  Zedekiah  made  king.  Prob- 
able motive  for  sparing  Jerusalem.  Vision  of  the  imperial  colossu«.  §  10.  Zede- 
kiah's  leacrue  with  Pharaoh-Hophra,  and  rebellion.  Siege  of  Jerusalem,  and  re- 
treat of  Pharaoh.  Fourth  capture  and  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Final  captivity 
Exemption  of  Judah  from  colonization.  Fate  of  the  remnant  left.  §  11.  Siege 
of  Tyre  and  conquest  of  Phoenicia— and  of  the  Ammonites,  Moabites,  and  Edom- 
itcs,  and  all  Syria.  §  12.  Invasion  of  Egypt— probably  twice.  Egypt  renlly  con- 
quered by  Nebuchadnezzar.  §  13.  Peace  during  his  last  years.  Means  furnislic-d 
bv  his  wars  for  his  great  works  at  Babylon.  §  14.  Pride  engendered  by  prot;- 
perity.  His  7y?/m?i?/;ro^j/,  restoration,  and  death.  §15.  Causes  of  the  immedlaic 
decline  of  the  Empire.  §  IG.  Evit,-MKUoi)A<;ii.  His  favor  to  Jehoiachin.  Pnt  to 
death  by  a  conspiracy.  §  IT.  Nerkjussak,  the  Rab-Mag,  and  his  son  Lauof.opo- 
AKonon.  End  of  the' dynasty  of  Nabopolassar.  §  IS.  NAiJo>JAnirs.  His  woikr. 
for  the  defense  of  Babylon.  Nitocris.  §  19.  Alliance  with  Croesus.  Defeat  by 
Cyrus.  Flight  to  Borsippa.  5  20.  Belsuazzaii  in  Babylon.  Capture  of  the  city. 
Surrender  of  Nabonadius. 

§  1.  During  the  whole  course  of  tlie  Assyrian  history,  we 
Imve  seen  Babylon  constantly  n)>])earino;,  nominally  as  a 
subject  state,  hut  frequently  in' successful  revolt  ;  and  some- 


340  THP]  BABYLONIAN  EMPIRE, 

times  recognized  as  a  co-ordinate  kingdom.  Her  subordina< 
tion  to  Assyria  has  been  unquestionabH  exaggerated,  espe- 
cially by  the  Greek  writers,  who  merged  her  whole  history 
in  that  of  the  Assyrian  empire.  This  mistake  may  have  been 
owing  chiefly  to  the  deed  which  Berosns  ascribes  to  Nabo- 
nassar,  who  "collected  and  destroyed  the  acts  of  the  kings 
before  him,  in  order  that  the  series  of  the  Chaldsean  kings 
should  begin  from  hiiji."'  Before  his  time,  therefore,  we 
are  dependent  on  Assyrian  accounts  for  the  history  of  Baby- 
lon ;  with  the  exception  of  some  fragmentary  inscriptions, 
recording  chiefly  private  transactions,  in  which  the  name  of 
the  reigning  king  is  mentioned.  Yet  even  the  Assyrian  ac- 
counts bear  out  the  statement  that  "  during  the  whole  time 
of  the  Upper  Dynasty  in  Assyria,  Babylon  was  clearly  the 
most  powerful  of  all  those  kingdoms  by  which  the  Assyrian 
empire  was  surrounded."^ 

§  2.  From  the  Era  of  N'abonassar  (Feb.  27,  B.C.  74'/),^  both 
the  Canon  of  Ptolemy  and  the  fragments  of  Berosus  furnish 
a  continuous  list  of  kings,  to  the  fall  of  Babylon  in  b.c.  538; 
but  for  two-thirds  of  this  period  we  have  little  more  than 
their  mere  names.  For  Eusebius,  who  preserves  a  few  de- 
tails from  Berosus,  hurries  carelessly  over  the  whole  time 
that  precedes  the  accession  of  Xebuchadnezzar  (b.c.  604),  in 
order  to  reach  the  point  at  which  Jewish  history  comes  in 
contact  with  the  Babylonian  empire.  We  are  again  depend- 
ent, therefore,  chiefly  on  Assyrian  sources  of  information  for 
the  historj^  of  Babylon  under  the  Lower  Assyrian  Empire ; 
when,  if  its  conquest  was  more  thoroughly  eftected  than  be- 
fore, its  fits  of  resistance  are  attested  by  the  boasts  made  of 
the  victories  that  overpowered  them.  The  brief  independ- 
ence won  by  Xabonassar,  and  again  by  Merodach-Baladan, 
gave  a  foretaste  of  the  empire  secured  by  Xabopolassar. 

§  3.  The  brief  duration  of  that  empire  may  account  in  part 
for  its  confusion  with  the  Assyrian  by  the  Greek  wn-iters, 
who  had  not  our  knowledge  of  its  true  importance.  The 
greatness  of  Babylon  took  a  powerful  hold  on  their  imagina- 
tion, principally  on  account  of  its  marvellous  conquest  by 
Cyrus  ;  for  their  whole  interest  in  Oriental  history  centred 
in  the  growth  of  the  Persian  power  :"  and  this  greatness  was 
that  of  the  city  which  they  regarded  as  the  second  capital 
of  the  Assyrian  empire.  But  to  us  the  magnificence  of  Bab- 
ylon is  eclipsed  by  the  important  part  assigned  to  the  em- 
pire in   the  scheme  of  the  providential  government  of  the 

1  Syncell.  p.  207,  B. 

2  Rnwliiisoii,  Appendix  to  Book  I.  of  Herodotus,  Essa}'  VIII„ 

3  See  Clinton,  "  F.  II."  vol.  iii.  p.  xvii. 

*  This  is  tlie  key-note  of  the  history  of  Herodotus. 


THE  CIIALDTEAN  KINGS.  341 


world  ;  and  especially  to  its  one  great  monarch,  the  most 
complete  type  of  an  Oriental  despot,  who  is  himself  con- 
trolled by  a  still  higher  power.  Of  the  88  years  which  form 
the  duration  of  the  empire  (b.c.  625-538)  just  half  (43  years) 
are  filled  up  by  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar ;  and,  with  the 
exception  of  the  fall  of  Babylon  itself,  the  whole  interest  of 
the  story  centres  in  him.  Of  the  six  kings  Avho  form  the 
Eighth  {Chaklmin)  Dynasty  of  Berosus,lhree  (the  third, 
fourth,  and  fifth)  are  of  the  slightest  possible  importance, 
their  united  reigns  only  just  reaching  six  years;  and  the  first 
and  last  bear  "no  comparison  with  Nebuchadnezzar.  The 
chronology  of  tiie  whole  series  is  fixed,  with  almost  absolute 
certainty,  as  follows : 

Years.  B.C. 

1.  NA150POLA8SAR 21 625-604 

2.  Neuuohadnezzar 43 G04-561 

3.  Evii.-Meeodach 2 501-559 

4.  Nep.iglissau 3-4 559-556 

5.  Lakorosoakoiioi) (9  m.) 550-555 

6.  Nabonadics ■ 17 5.55-538 

Bei.suazzak,  associated  with  his  father  towards  the  end  of  his  reiyii. 

§  4.  These  kings  are  not  only  called  Chaldceans  by  Berosus 
and  several  of  the  classical  writers  ;  but  in  contemporary 
Jewish  history  and  prophecy  this  epithet""  is  regularly  ap- 
plied to  them,  their  kingdom,  and  their  armies.  Whatever 
its  origin,  it  is  now  clearly  no  longer  a  mere  geographical 
expression.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  these  sovereigns 
belonged  to  the  sacred  caste ;"  and,  after  all  the  discussions 
about  their  origin,  the  series  of  royal  names  obtained  from 
the  cuneiform  inscriptions  makes  it  probable  that  they  rep- 
resented (whether  in  fact  or  by  a  genealogical  fiction)  the 
ancient  native  dynasties.  In  this  respect,  the  revolution 
which  overthrew  the  Assyrian  monarchy,  and  gave  Babylon 
the  supremacy  under  Nabopolassar,  seems  to  have  resembled 
that  by  which  Ardshir  long  afterwards  wrested  the  dominion 
of  Persia  from  the  Parthians. 

While  in  this  sense  Chaldcean,  and  perhaps  partly  for  that 
veiy  reason,  the  monarchy  ^vas  more  strictly  Babylonian 
than  ever  before.  During  the  Assyrian  supremacy,  we  have 
seen  Babylonia  divided  among  different  princes ;  and  the 
centre  of  resistance,  as  was  natural  for  strategic  reasons,  is 
generally  in   the   low^er  country,  or  Chald^ea.     Nabonassar 

5  That  is,  in  the  Hebrew  form  of  Cha.<tdim. 

0  Among  other  indications,  observe  in  the  Book  of  Daniel  the  ascendency  of  the 
Chaldfean  caste  at  the  court  of  Xebuchaduezzar.  The  sacred  elements  in  their  names 
are  some  sign  of  that  sacerdotal  character  which  we  know  to  have  belonged  both  to 
the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian,  kings.  Whatever  be  the  origin  of  the  name,  the  idea 
that  it  uo\T  first  arose,  with  the  descent  of  a  conquering  race  from  the  region  of  Za- 
grus,  is  qnite  exploded.  The  name  of  Kaldi  has  occurred  long  before  this  iu  the  Ab- 
syrian  annals  for  a  people  in  Babylonia. 


342  THE  BABYLONIAN  EMPIRE. 

was  reigning  at  Babylon,  apparently  unmolested  by  Tiglaih- 
pileser  II.,  while  the  latter  was  conquering  CliakbTea  ;  and 
the  weight  of  the  wars  of  Sargon,  Sennacherib,  and  Asshur- 
bani-pal,  fell  upon  the  lower  country.  Wliile  the  southern 
cities  thus  suffered — as  is  attested  by  the  early  date  of  the 
memorials  found  in  their  ruins — Babylon  grew  into  impor- 
tance as  the  seat  of  the  Assyrian  government,  and  the  centre 
of  the  national  worship.  In  the  time  of  Sennacherib  (or  even 
earlier)  Isaiah  describes  it  as  "  the  golden  city,"  "  the  glory 
of  kingdoms,  the  beauty  of  the  Chaldees's  excellency.'"  Esar- 
haddon's  residence  and  building  of  a  palace  there  mark  its 
undisputed  rank  as  the  capital ;  and  such  it  remained  under 
its  new  kings. 

§  5.  Nabopolassar^  (b.c.  625-604)  first  appearr,  as  an  As- 
syrian officer,  who  was  sent  by  the  last  king  of  Assyria  to 
Babylon,  as  we  have  seen,  against  the  insurrectionary  bands 
of  the  Babylonians  and  Susianians.  In  choosing  a  Baby- 
lonian for  this  mission — as  we  may  suppose  Xabopolassar  to 
have  been,  from  his  name,  and  still  more  from  his  being  called 
a  Chaldaean — the  king  of  Assyria  would  naturally  seek  to 
conciliate  his  southern  subjects,  and  to  use  the  local  influ- 
ence of  Nabopolassar.  But,  wdiether  from  ambition,  or  pa- 
triotism, or  necessity,  that  influence  was  thrown  into  the  op- 
posite scale,  and  we  have  seen  how  Nabopol^iSsar  caused 
himself  to  be  proclaimed  king  of  Babylon,'  and  joined  with 
Cyaxares  in  overthrowing  the  Assyrian  empire." 

We  must  here  guard  against  the  mistake  that  the  new 
Babylonian  kingdom  succeeded  to  the  empire  of  Assyria. 
After  the  fall  of  Nineveh,  all  that  had  been  most  properly 
Assyrian — the  districts  on  the  upper  and  middle  Tigris — 
fell  to  the  share  of  the  Medes  ;  what  Babylon  gained  was 
the  independence  of  her  own  country,  enlarged  by  a  union 
with  Susiana,  and  the  part  of  the  Assyrian  empire  which  lay 
along  and  to  the  vrest  of  the  Euphrates.  This  division  marks 
at  once  the  new  part  she  had  to  play  in  Western  Asia.  Sep- 
arated from  the  regions  of  Zagrus  and  Armenia,  on  which 
the  Assyrians  had  only  kept  tlieir  hold  by  incessant  wars, 
she  w^as  at  liberty  to  seek  expansion  towards  the  M'est,  where 
she  would  naturally  be  brought  into  conflict  with  Judaea  and 

'  l!?aiah  xiii,  11) ;  xiv.  14.  Of  course  some  allowance  must  be  made  here  for  pro- 
phetic anticipation. 

*>  Nahu-jml-uzur,  i.  e.,  Kebo, 'protect  (thy  or  m]/)  son.  All  our  information  about  Nabo- 
polassar Is  obtained  from  the  fragments  of  Berosus,  Polyhistor,  Abydenus,  etc.,  chiefly 
through  Eusebius  and  the  other  chronographers.  Some  of  these  writers  abbreviate 
his  name  into  Bnsal'issor  (more  probabl\%  FJapolussor)  by  the  same  process  by  which 
the^ioderu  Arabs  convert  Nebuchadnezzar  into  Bokht-i-naza^'.  His  accession  is  lixed 
by  the  astronomical  Cauou  to  Jan.  27,  it.o.  625,  whatever  may  be  the  date  of  his  alli- 
ance with  the  Medes.  »  See  chap.  xiv.  §  17. 


REIGN  OF  NABOPOLASSAR.  34S 

Egypt.  But,  for  nearly  tlie  whole  of  his  reign,  Nabopolas- 
sar  appears  to  liave  found  occupation  in  organizing  his  new 
kingdom,  and  in  aiding — probably  under  the  terms  of  their 
treaty — hi'o  Median  ally  in  his  course  of  conquest  in  Asia 
Minor.  While  he  was  thus  engaged  and  co-operating  in  the 
great  war  of  Cyaxares  against  Alyattes,  king  of  Lydia,  he 
availed  himself  of  the  terror  caused  in  both  armies  by  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun  in  the  very  crisis  of  a  great  battle,  and  ne- 
gotiated the  peace  wdiich  fixed  the  boundary  of  the  Median 
and  Lydian  empires  at  the  river  Halys.'" 

§  6.  Just  about  this  time,  the  politic  old  king  Psammeti- 
chus  was  succeeded  on  the  throne  of  Egypt  by  his  enterpris- 
ing son,  Xeco,  who  forced  Nabopolassar  to  a  defensive  war 
upon  the  Euphrates.  We  have  seen  how  Xeco's  first  success 
was  turned  into  disaster  by  the  defeat  which  he  suffered  at 
Carchemish  from  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  son  of  Nabopolassar. 
This  victory  at  once  transferred  to  Babylon  all  the  territory 
west  of  the  Euphrates  once  belonging  to  Egypt,  then  to  tlie 
kingdom  of  Israel,  afterwards  to  Assyria,  and  lately  recon- 
quered by  Neco,  and  gave  her  at  one  blow  the  empire  of 
Western  Asia.  "And  the  king  of  Egypt  came  not  again  any 
more  out  of  his  land ;  for  the  king  of  Babylon  had  taken 
from  the  river  of  Egypt,  unto  the  river  Euphrates,  all  that 
pertained  to  the  king'of  Egypt"  (b.c.  605).'' 

Nebuchadnezzar  had  pursued  the  Egyptian  to  his  own 
frontier,  when  news  was  brought  to  him  of  his  father's  death. 
Intrusting  his  army,  and  his  booty,  and  his  droves  of  cap- 
tives, to  chosen  officers,  to  lead  them  home  by  the  usual 
route,  he  sped  across  the  desert  w^ith  a  small  escort,  to  se- 
cure his  rights.  Arriving  at  Babylon,  he  quietly  received 
the  crown  from  the  chief  of  the  Chaldsean  priests,  who  had 
kept  it  for  him,  and  acted  as  regent  in  his  absence.'^ 

We  learn,  from  the  testimony  of  his  son,  that  Nabopolas- 
sar commenced  tliose  great  works  of  fortification  and  en- 
gineering at  Babylon  which  Nebuchadnezzar  completed,  and 

»"  Herod,  i.  T4.  Comp.  chap,  xxiii.  §  14.  But  if  the  fall  of  Nineveh  be  placed  in 
B.C.  COi'.,  this  war  would  fall  in  the  latter  part  of  this  reign.  It  is  Avorthy  of  notice 
that  Abydenus  mentions  the  accession  o{ Nubuchadnezzar  directly  after  the  taking  of 
Nineveh,  which  indeed  the  Book  of  Tobit  (xlv.  15)  ascribes  to  Nebuchadnezzar  him- 
.«elf  in  conjunction  with  Assiuirus  (i.  e.,  Cyaxares).  If  n.c.  OOG  be  the  true  date,  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, whom  we  find  the  next  year  commanding  for  his  father  on  the  Euphrates, 
may  very  well  have  had  a  share  in  the  campaign.  Herodotus  calls  the  king  of  Baby- 
lon Lahi/mtus,  a  name  quite  unlike  yabopolas.tar,  but  afterwards  applied  to  Xaho- 
nadius,  the  last  king  of  Babylon  {Xabumthid  =  Lahynet).  M.  Oppert  supposes  that 
Herodotus  used  this  name  for  all  the  kings  whose  names  oegan  with  Xebo^  viz.  Xeho- 
jwlassar,  Xsbuckadiiezzar,  and  Xabonadiiis,  just  as  Sardana]xilus  represents  all  the  As- 
syrian names  formed  from  As-shur-i .  .  )-pal.  The  L  may  perhaps  be  an  Ionic  soften- 
ing.   The  same  change  seems  to  have  taken  place  in  the  name  Libo-ro-soarchod. 

11  2  Kings  xxiv.  7  ;  comp.  c.  viii.  5  i).  i^  Berosus,  Fr.  14. 


H44  THE  BABYLONIAN  EMPIRP:. 

which  appear  to  have  been  strengthened  when  the  last  king 
of  Babylon  was  expecting  the  attack  of  Cyrus.'^ 

§  7.  Nebuchadnezzar,  or  Nebuchadrezzar,  or  Nabu- 
CHODONOSOR,'^  Came  to  the  throne,  according  to  Ptolemy's 
Canon,  on  the  21st  of  January,  b.c.  604,  and  died  about  the 
beginning  of  b.c.  561  ;  by  fjir  the  longest  reign  of  any  in  the 
wdiole  series  of  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  kings.  Of  his  posi- 
tion in  the  annals  of  the  Babylonian  empire,  it  has  been  truly 
said  that  "  its  military  glory  is  due  chiefly  to  him;  while 
the  constructive  energy,  which  constitutes  its  especial  char- 
acteristic, belongs  to  it  still  more  markedly  through  his 
character  and  genius.  It  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say  that, 
but  for  Nebuciiadnezzar,  the  Babylonians  would  have  had 
no  place  in  history."^^ 

If  he  left  annals  like  those  of  the  great  Assyrian  kings, 
they  have  perished  in  the  utter  destruction  of  Babylon  ; 
but,  for  the  true  lessons  of  his  history,  their  place  is  more 
than  supplied  by  the  sacred  writings.  No  long  and  boast- 
ful details  of  countries  overrun  and  subjected  to  tribute,  of 
cities  stormed  and  razed,  and  prisoners  and  spoil  carried  away 
to  Babylon,  would  have  had  half  the  value  of  the  brief  rec- 
ord of  the  part  he  played  as  the  instrument  of  Providence  in 
the  captivity  of  the  Jews,  or  of  the  dramatic  pictures  in  the 
Book  of  Daniel  of  his  humiliation  before  the  God  of  the  con- 
quered people ;  while  all  the  poetry  to  which  history  has 
given  birth,  whether  of  the  tragic  muse  or  the  patriotic  song, 
is  surpassed  by  the  sublime  prophecies  of  the  fate  reserved 
for  proud  Babylon  and  her  mighty  king.'" 

§  8.  We  have  seen  how  Nebuchadnezzar,  just  before  his 
accession  to  the  throne,  created  the  empire  of  Babylon  at 

,  ^3  See  Notes  and  Ulustratious  (A),  Herodotus  (i.  185)  ascribes  these  works  to  ]\'i(o- 
cris,  whom  he  clearly  regards  as  a  queen  regmint,  and  whom  he  makes  the  mother  of 
"  Labynetus  "  (1.  e.,  Nabmuiduts)  the  last  kiiig  of  Babj'lon  (i.  ISS).  She  executed  them, 
he  tells  us,  through  fear  of  an  attack  from  the  Mecle^,  "  who  had  taken  a  large  num- 
ber of  cities,  and  among  them  Nineveh  ;"  but  the  attack  apprehended  is  plainly  that 
of  Cyprus,  which  he  proceeds  to  relate  as  taking  place  under  Labynetus.  There 
seems,  therefore,  no  sufflcient  ground  for  the  view  of  those  writers  who  make  Nito- 
cris  the  wife  of  Nabopolassar.  See  Leuormant,  "  Histoire  Ancienue,"  vol.  ii.  ])p.  7-9. 
"  Of  the  Greek  forms  (in  which  the  penult  is  short)— Nu/Soi-xo^oi/cio-top  (LXX.),  Nu- 

/3oiixa&ov6(Topo<;  (BerOS.),  Nu/JoKoiVfirrapo?  (Ptol.  Can.),  Na/SoKodpcJcropo?  (Strab.),  and  Nct- 

/3oviiodpi:,<70i}o^  (Abyd.  and  Megasth.)— the  last  comes  nearest  to  the  true  name,  Xabu- 
kiidurri-uzur,  which  M.  Oppert  explains  "A'i?&o,  j^rotect  my  race  (or,  the  youth)"  but  Sir 
Henry  Rawliusou,  '■'■Xeho  is  the  jjrotector  nf  landmarks"  (the  middle  element,  kudur, 
being  of  doubtfal  meaning).  Hence,  of  the  Hebrew  forms,  the  exceptional  one  with 
the  r  {Xehuchadrezzar),  which  is  used  by  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  is  clearly  preferable 
to  the  usual  form  in  Kings,  Chronicles,  and  Daniel;  but  tha  latter  is  too  tixed  in  our 
usage  to  be  changed.  Perhaps  the  difference  may  be  accounted  for  by  a  Semitic  read- 
ing of  the  middle  element,  the  Kudur  being  Ilamitic,  as  in  Chcdorlauvwr,  etc.  The 
Persiaji  cuneiform  inscriptions  have  Nabukudrachara  (Bab.  Inscr.). 

15  Rawliuson,  "Five  Monarchies," vol.  iii.,  p.  489. 

16  Besides  the  notices  of  Scripture,  our  chief  sources  for  the  whole  history  of  Baby- 
lon are  the  fragments  already  mentioned  as  preserved  by  the  chrouographers. 


NEBUCHADNEZZAR.— TYRE  AND  JUDAH.  345 

one  stroke  by  the  victory  of  Carcbeniish.  But  wiUiin  the 
region  west  of  tlie  Euphrates,  formerly  ruled  by  Assyria, 
there  remained  two  powers,  almost  contemptible  in  magni- 
tude, but  yet  mighty — the  one  in  its  commercial  wealth  and 
colonial  empire,  the  other  in  its  exclusive  spirit  of  religious 
patriotism. 

Tyre,  now  at  the  height  of  her  ])rosperity,  di-ew  the  rest 
of  Phoenicia  into  resistance  ;  and  Jud.ea,  which  religious 
declension  and  political  weakness  had  left  as  helpless  be- 
tween Babylon  and  Egypt  as  a  ship  on  which  two  fields  of 
ice  are  closing,  assumed  that  courage  of  despair  which  was 
wont  to  be  n^.ost  tenacious  when  her  religion  was  at  its  low- 
est ebb.  Unfortunately,  the  campaign  of  Nebuchadnezzar 
against  Tyre  is  involved  in  so  much  obscurity,  that  the  ques- 
tion is  still  disputed  whether  it  was  simultaneous  with  or 
whether  it  succeeded  the  Jewish  wars. 

When  Nebuchadnezzar  pursued  Pharaoh  Neco  from  the 
Euphrates  to  the  border  of  Egypt,  Jehoiakim,  who  had  re- 
cently been  placed  by  Neco  on  the  Jewish  throne,  ventured 
to  withstand  the  conqueror.  Jerusalem  was  taken  after  a 
brief  siege;  and,  among  the  spoil  and  captives  left  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar to  be  brought  after  him  to  Babylon,  were  some 
of  the  vessels  of  the  temple,  and  certain  chosen  youths  of  the 
royal  and  princely  families,  including  Daniel  and  his  three 
companions.  Jehoiakim  himself,  though  destined,  at  first  to 
share  their  captivity,  was  however  restored  to  his  throne.'^ 

He  ha.d  now  to  make  his  choice  between  the  loyal  accept- 
ance of  his  position  as  a  vassal,  or  reliance  on  the  aid  of 
Egypt.  In  spite  of  the  lesson  of  Carcliemish,  and  the  essen- 
tially anti-Egyptian  principles  of  the  Hebrew  monarchy, 
which  were  earnestly  enforced  by  Jeremiah,  Jehoiakim  chose 
the  latter  policy,  to  which  the  princes  of  Judah  always  in- 
clined.'^ After  being  "  the  servant  of  Nebuchadnezzai-  for 
three  years,  he  turned  and  rebelled  against  him,"'^in  the 
seventh  year  of  his  reign  (u.c.  602).  His  reliance  on  Egypt, 
which  Josephus  expressly  assigns  as  a  motive,^"  is  implied  in 

J^  2  Kings  xxiv.  1 :  2.  Chroii.  xxxvi.  6,  7 ;  Dan.  i.  1,  2,  The  last  passage  places  Neb- 
uchadiiezzai's  advcnice  against  Jerusalem,  in  the  3d  year  of  Jehoiakim  (h.o.  005)  ;  and 
one  of  the  most  important  synchrcmisms  of  this  period  is  that  of  the  tirst  year  of  Neb- 
nchadnezzar  with  the  4th  of  Jehoiakim  (Jerem.  xxi.  1).  The  ai)parent  discrepancy  is 
in  truth  a  contirmation,  as  the  caj^ture  of  Jernsalem  was  before  his  accession;  and 
the  date  is  contirmed  by  comi)arJng  Dan.  i.  5  with  ii.  1.  Of  course,  there  is  no  diffi- 
culty in  his  being  styled  king.  Some  writers  (apparently  on  no  other  ground  than 
tbe  title)  assert  that  he  was  associated  by  his  father  in  the  throne  about  i>.c.  GOI. 
But  This  seems  improbable  from  his  haste  to  go  home  and  secure  the  crown. 

1*^  For  a  fuller  account  of  the  state  ofjjarties  at  Jerusalem,  and  especially  of  the  tee- 
timony  borne  by  Jeremiah,  and  his  persecution  by  the  king  and  princes  of  Judah,  see 
the  "  Student'."?  Old  Testament  History,"  cliap.  xxv.  5  9. 

i'-*  2  Kinas  xxiv.  1.  '  2u  <<  Aut."  x.  G,  5  2. 

15* 


346  THE  BABYLONIAN  EMPIRE. 

what  seems  to  be  the  statement  that  he  was  disappointed 
of  such  aid,  for — in  consequence  of  the  blow  received  at  Car- 
chemish — "  Tlie  kino-  of  Egypt  came  not  again  any  more  out 
of  his  land.'"'  But  tliere  were  other  circumstances  that  fa- 
vored the  attempt,  though  what  they  were  is  doubtful,  from 
the  uncertainty  about  Nebuchadnezzar's  movements  at  this 
time.^^ 

Here  the  Scripture  nan-ative  becomes  so  brief  that  we  are 
dependent  on  Josephus  and  a  fragment  of  Alexander  Poly- 
histor"  for  what  followed.  In  liis  seventh  year  (b.c.  598), 
according  to  Josephus,  Xebucliadnezzar  marclied  against 
Tyre  and  Jerusalem,  investing  the  former  city,  and  advan- 
cing in  person  against  the  latter.  At  all  events,  the  date 
of  his  attack  on  Jerusalem  (b.c.  597)  is  fixed  by  the  eleven 
years  of  Jehoiakim's  reign."  Polyhistor,  who  speaks  only 
of  the  expedition  against  Jud?ea,  says  that  Nebuchadnezzar 
was  aided  by  his  Median  ally,''  and  that  the  united  armies 
made  up  10,000  chariots,  120,000  horse,  and  180,000  foot.'" 
Having  overrun  Galilee,  Samaria,  and  Gilead,  and  taken  Scy- 
thopolis,  he  invested  Jerusalem.  As  no  help  came  from 
Egypt,  Jehoiakim  surrendered ;  and  Nebuchadnezzar  not 
only  put  him  to  death,  but  treated  his  dead  body  with  in- 
dignity. This  fact,  stated  by  Josephus  only,  is  confirmed  by 
the  repeated  prophecies  of  Jeremiah — "They  shall  not  la- 
ment for  him,  saying,  Ah  lord  !  or.  Ah  his  glory  !  He  sliall 
be  buried  with  the  burial  of  an  ass,  drawn  and  cast  forth 

21  2  Kings  xxiv.  7. 

22  This  could  hardly  have  been  the  war  with  Phosnicia,  since,  according'  to  the  ear- 
liest date,  Nebuchadnezzar  did  not  march  at^aiust  Tyre  till  his  TLh  year  (Joseph,  "c. 
Ap."  i.  21),  at  the  same  time  that  he  marched  against  Jehoiakim.  Nor  could  it  liave 
been  the  war  of  Media  against  Lydia,  if  the  date  of  n.c.  CIO  for  the  peace  between  those 
two  empires  be  correct.  But  there  may  liave  been  some  other  enterprise  in  which 
Nebuchadnezzar  was  bound  to  aid  his  ally  Cyaxares,  or  he  may  have  waited  for  his 
aid. 

23  Fr.  24,  ]\Iuller.  This  writer,  whom  we  have  had  occasion  to  quote  before,  was  a 
native  of  Miletus,  where  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Rcnnans  and  became  a  freed- 
mau  of  the  celebrated  Sulla,  whence  his  full  name,  CoRNEr.ius  Ai.EXA>i)iai  Poly- 
msTOK.  Among  other  works,  he  wrote  "  Histories  of  Assyria"  and  of  "  Babylonia 
or  Chaldiea,"  in  which  he  followed  Berosns  chiefly,  and  a  work  "On  the  Jews,"  for 
Avhich  one  of  his  chief  authorities  was  Eupolemus,  the  author  of  a  work  "On  the 
Kings  of  Judtea,"  who  lived  alxmt  n.o.  140-100.  It  is  from  this  Eupolemus  that  the 
account  now  cited  is  derived.  The  fragments  of  Eupolemus  are  collected  in  MuUcr's 
"Fragmenta  Historicorum  Grtecorum,"  vol.  in.  pp.  20C,  fol.  (ed.  Didot). 

24  2'Chron.xxxvi.  5,  G. 

25  I je  calls  the  king  Astiharea  instead  of  Cijaxaren. 

26  From  2  Kings  xxiv.  2,  it  appears  that  "  ijauds  of  Syrians,  and  Moabite?,  and  Aui- 
raonitea"  v>'e;e  joined  in  the  army  of  Nebuchadnezzar  with  his  own  "bands  of  Chai- 
dieans ;"  for  there  seems  no  sufficient  reason  for  regarding  the  attacks  of  these  bands, 
which  "Jehovah  sent  against  Judah  to  destroy  it,"  as  minor  predatory  incursions, 
preceding  Nebuchadnezzar's  own  invasion.  It  may  have  been  so:  but  such  an  in- 
ference can  not  be  drawn  with  certainty  from  a  passage  which  briefly  epitomizes  the 
whole  process  of  the  destruction  of  Judah  under  Jehoiakim.  It  is  dangerous  to 
piece  out  history  by  making  i)riucipal  facts  of  these  incidental  notices. 


THE  GREAT  CAPTIVITY  OF  JUDAH.  347 

beyond  the  gates  of  JeruScalem." — "  His  dead  body  shall  be 
cast  out  ill  the  day  to  the  heat,  and  in  the  night  to  the 
frost."" 

§  9.  Equally  emphatic  is  the  ensuing  denunciation  of  his 
son  and  successor,  Jehoiachin,  or  Jeconiah,  M'hoin  Xebuchad- 
nezzar  set  upon  the  vacant  throne  :  "As  I  live,  saith  the 
Lord,  though  Coniah,  the  son  of  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judah, 
were  the  signet  upon  my  right  hand,  yet  would  I  pluck  thee 
thence  ;  and  I  will  give  thee  into  the  liand  of  them  that  seek 
thy  life,  and  into  the  hand  of  them  whose  face  thou  fearest, 
even  into  the  hand  of  Nebuchadrezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  and 
into  the  hand  of  the  Chaldeans.  And  I  will  cast  thee  out^ 
and  thy  mother  that  bare  thee,  into  another  country^  where 
ye  were  not  born  ;  and  there  shall  ye  die.  But  to  the  land 
whereunto  they  desire  to  return,  thither  shall  they  not  re- 
turn       O  eartli,  earth,  earth,  hear  the  word  of  the 

Lord  !  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Write  ye  this  man  childless^  a 
man  that  shall  not  prosper  in  his  days :  for  no  man  of  his 
seed  ^h^W  ipvoi^pev^slttifiy  npou.  the  throne  of  David ^  and  rul- 
ing any  more  in  Jiidah^^^  Such  was  the  final  denunciation 
of  the  Great  Captivity  of  Judah,  and  the  extinction  of  the 
Jewish  temporal  monarchy,  handed  down  from  Solomon,  in 
the  person  of  Jehoiachin. 

The  former  event  was  brought  about  in  three  months  and 
ten  days"^  from  the  accession  of  the  young  king ;  probably 
through  renewed  intrigues  with  Egypt  by  his  mother  Ne- 
hushta  and  the  princes  of  Jndah,  who  governed  in  his  name; 
for  it  appears  to  have  been  chiefly  in  this  sense  that  the 
young  king  "did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  according  to 
all  tliat  his"  father  had  done.'"" 

Nebuchadnezzar  (who,  according  to  Joseph  us,  had  re- 
turned to  the  siege  of  Tyre)  first  sent  an  army  to  form  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem,^'  and  then  came  in  person  {o  receive  the 
surrender  of  the  city.  "And  Jehoiachin,  the  king  of  Judah, 
went  out  to  the  king  of  Babylon,  he,  and  his  mother,  and  his 

2'  Jerem.  xxii.  IS,  19  ;  xxxvi.  30. 

2«  Jerem.  xxii. '24-:H).  The  prophecy  proceeds  with  the  prediction  of  the  spiritual 
restoration  of  the  monarchy  in  the  reign  of  the  Messiah.  The  line  of  Solomon,  to 
whom  the  temporal  kinji^dom  had  been  promised,  ciidinsr  with  Jehoiachin  ;  and  the 
genealogy  of  Jesus  Christ  is  traced  from  David  through  Nathan  (Luke  iii.).  The 
genealogy  in  Matthew  i.— which  appears  to  make  Jesus  the  descendant  of  Solomon 
and  the  line  of  the  Jewish  kings,  through  Salathiel,  a  son  born  to  Jelunachin  during 
the  captivity--is  really  the  technical  expression  of  his  claim  to  the  throne  through 
Salathiel,  the  heir  of  Jehoiachin,  who  stands  in  the  other  genealogy  as  the  son  of 
Neri.     (See  the  "  Diet,  of  the  Bible,"  art.  "  Genealogy  of  Jesus  Christ.") 

2»  March  to  June,  u.o.  507. 

30  2  Kings  xxiv.  8, '.) ;  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  9.  The  age  of  the  king  is  IS  in  the  former  pas- 
sage, but  S  in  the  latter.  He  appears,  at  all  events,  to  have  been  under  his  mother's 
tutelage.  31  9  Kings  xxiv.  10. 


348  THP:  BABYLONIAN  EMPIRE. 

servants,  and  his  princes,  and  his  officers  (or  eunuchs)  :  and 
the  king  of  Babylon  took  him  in  the  eighth  year  of  his 
reign '"^  (b.c.  597).  The  temple  was  stripped  of  all  its  re- 
maining sacred  vessels.  The  king  was  carried  captive  to 
Babylon,  with  his  mother,  his  wives,  his  officers,  and  all  the 
princes,  to  the  number  of  2000 ;  "  all  the  mighty  men  of  val- 
or," "  all  that  were  strong  and  apt  ibr  war,"  reduced  as  they 
were  to  7000  by  previous  captivities  and  losses;  with  all  the 
craftsmen  and  smiths,  to  the  number  of  1000,  that  those  left 
behind  might  be  helpless.  The  captives  amounted  in  all  to 
10,000,  and  "none  remained  save  the  poorest  sort  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  land."^^  Over  this  miserable  remnant,  Mattaniah, 
the  youngest  son  of  Josiah,  and  the  uncle  of  the  late  king, 
was  set  up  to  reign  under  the  new  name  of  ZedekiaJi^  and 
bound  to  fidelity  by  a  solemn  oath.^"  To  this  oath,  and  the 
whole  policy  now  pursued  by  Nebuchadnezzar  towards  Ju- 
dah,  Ezekiel  alludes  in  a  very  striking  passage  :  "  The  king 
of  Babylon  hath  taken  of  the  king's  seed,  and  made  a  cove- 
nant with  him,  and  hath  taken  an  oath  of  him  :  he  hath  also 
taken  the  mighty  of  the  land :  that  the  kingdom  might  be 
base,  and  might  not  lift  itself  up,  but  that  by  keeping  of  his 
covenant  it  might  stand."^^ 

The  surprising  part  of  this  transaction  is  that,  after  the 
provocation  he  had  received  now  for  the  third  time,  Nebu- 
chadnezzar did  not  utterly  destroy  the  rebellious  city.  Such 
a  wretched  phantom  of  a  kingdom,  deprived  of  every  man 
fit  for  war  and  even  of  the  craftsmen  to  forge  their  weapons, 
could  be  of  no  use  as  a  frontier  garrison  against  Egypt. 
Some  higher  motive  to  forbearance  seems  to  be  implied  in 
the  passage  quoted  from  Ezekiel ;  and  such  a  motive  may  be 
found  in  those  wonderful  revelations  recorded  in  the  Book 
of  Daniel,  which  surround  the  great  figure  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar with  a  light  reflected  from  a  source  above  all  earthly 
splendor.  For  it  was  as  early  as  the  secondyear  of  his  reign^^ 
(b.c.  603)  that  the  young  king,  lately  returned  from  his  con- 
quests beyond  the  Euphrates,  his  mind  filled  Avith  the  great 
prospect  before  him,  and  prepared  by  his  initiation  into  the 
mysteries  of  the  Chald^eans  to  believe  in  prophetic  visions — 
"dreamed  dreams  wherewith  his  spirit  was  troubled,  and 
his  sleep  brake  from  him."     We  need  not  give  the  details  of 

»2  2  Kings  xxiv.  12.    From  this  epoch  are  dated  the  70  years  of  the  captivity,  and 
also  the  prophecies  of  Ezekiel. 

33  2  Kings  xxiv.  13-16  ;  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  10.  Among  the  captives  were  the  prophet 
Ezekiel  and  the  grandfather  of  Mordecai.    Jeremiah  remained  at  Jerusalem. 

34  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  13. 

35  Ezek.  xvii.  13, 14.    See  the  repeated  allusions  to  the  oath  in  this  chapter. 
30]3an.ii.  1. 


REBELLION  OF  ZEDEKIAH.  349 

that  most  fascinating  chapter,  which  tells  liow  a  captive  He- 
brew youth,  who  had  just  completed  the  training  that  fitted 
him  to  stand  before  the  king,"  revealed  the  mystery  of  that 
colossal  image  of  the  empires  of  the  world,  with  the  king 
himself  for  its  golden  head,  which  he  saw-  dashed  to  pieces 
by  a  heavenly  power:  our  present  concern  is  with  the  king's 
confession  of  the  supreme  deity  and  royalty  of  Daniel's  God. 
It  is  not  strange  that  the  monarch  should  spare  the  sacred 
city  of  the  God  whose  power  he  thus  coniessed.  A  similar 
feeling  urged  Titus  to  untiring  efforts  to  save  the  temple: 
and,  in  both  cases,  it  was  the  obstinacy  of  the  Jews  that 
frustrated  the  forbearance  of  their  lieatlien  conquerors. 

§  10.  Such  wfiii  now  the  course  of  the  infatuated  Zedekiah. 
For  eight  or  nine  years  he  remained  in  helpless  submission. 
Of  the  occupations  of  Nebuchadnezzar  during  that  interval 
we  are  not  informed.  According  to  Josephus  the  thirteen 
years'  siege  of  Tyre  was  still  in  progress  ;  but  this  would 
not  prevent  his  residence  at  Babylon  during  at  least  parts 
of  every  year;  and  he  was  probably  proceeding  with  his 
great  works  at  that  capital.''  His  watchfulness  over  the 
condition  of  Jerusalem  (and  the  need  for  it)  is  proved  by 
the  example  he  made  of  two  of  the  false  prophets,  men  of 
profligate  lives,  who  kept  promising  a  speedy  return ^  from 
the  captivity,  and  "  whom  the  king  of  Babylon  roasted  in  the 
fire ;'"'  an  example  to  Avhich  the  escape  of  Shadrach,  Me- 
shach,and  Abednego  gave  peculiar  emphasis.  We  find  Zed- 
ekiah himself  going  to  Babylon,  in  the  fourth  year  of  his 
reign  (b.c.  594-3)." 

If  he  was  summoned  thither  to  clear  himself  from  doubts 
cast  on  his  loyalty,  he  soon  justified  the  suspicion.  Neco, 
king  of  Egypt,  had  received  too  severe  a  lesson  to  "  venture 
an/raore  out  of  his  land,"  where  we  have  seen  him  engaged 
in  "far  more  useful  enterprises.''  But  the  accession  of  the 
rash  and  arrogant  Pharaoh-Hophra  (to  call  him  by  his 
Scripture  name)  roused  Zedekiah  to  the  courage  of  despair. 

3T  An  incidental  coufirmation  of  the  date.  Comp.  Dan.  i.  5  and  IS  :  tlie  "  three 
years"  wonld,  by  Hebrew  reckoning,  extend  from  any  part  of  b.c.  C05  to  any  part  of 
u.c.  603. 

38  Tiie  way  in  which  his  standard  inscription  speaks  of  these  works  as  begun  by 
his  f\ither  and  continued  by  himself,  and  of  the  pressing  necessity  for  guarding  the 
city  against  inundation,  would  be  sufficient  to  show  that  they  went  on  from  the  be- 
ginning of  his  reign.     (See  notes  and  Illustrations— A.) 

39  Jerem.  xxix.  22,  23.  Concerning  the  opposition  of  these  false  prophets  to  Jere- 
miah; his  exhortations  to  the  Jews  at  home  and  at  Babylon  ;  and  the  general  state 
of  pin-ties  at  Jerusalem;  see  the  "Student's  Old  Testament  History,"  chap.  xxv.  §  11. 

40  Jt'i-.  L  51.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Jeremiah  sent  to  the  captive  Jews,  by  the 
hand  of  Seraiah,  that  wonderful  prophecy  of  the  fall  of  Babylon  in  which  Ihe  sublime 
poetry  is  not  more  striking  than  the  dramatic  details  of  the  capture  of  the  cit\',  and 
the  exact  description  of  its  desolation  to  the  present  day.    Jerem.  !.,  li. 

41  Chap.  viii.  §  12  :  for  the  character  of  Apries,  or  Pharaoh-Hophra,  see  ib.  §  14. 


350  THE  BABYLONIAN  EMPIRE. 

The  intrigues,  which  the  ])ropliecies  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel" 
prove  to  have  gone  on  during  tlie  whole  reign  of  Zedekiah, 
now  ripened  into  a  conspiracy  for  the  aid  of  Egypt  and  into 
open  rebellion.  The  Hebrew  annalist  distinctly  marks  that 
it  w^as  from  no  spirit  of  patriotism,  bnt  in  proud  resistance 
to  "  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  speaking  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord,"  that  "  he  rebelled  against  king  Nebuchadnezzar,  loho 
had  made  him  sv;ear  by  God  f^  and  Ezekiel  names  the  very 
terms  of  the  treaty :  "  He  rebelled  against  him,  in  sending 
his  ambassadors  into  Egypt,  that  they  might  give  him  horses 
and  much  people"" — cavalry  and  infantry.  His  treachery 
was  punished  just  as  the  prophet  goes  on  to  foretell,  and  as 
the  annalist  relates:  "It  came  to  pass,  in  the  ninth  year  of 
his  reign,  in  the  tenth  month,  in  the  tenth  day  of  the  month, 
that  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  came,  he  and  all  his 
host,  against  Jerusalem,  and  pitched  against  it ;  and  they 
built  forts  against  it  round  about;"  and  on  the  very  same 
day  Ezekiel  uttered  to  the  exiles  at  Babylon  a  pi'ophecy  of 
its  destruction.  The  army  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  comprising 
"  all  the  kingdon^.s  of  tlie  earth  of  his  dominion,"""  had  fii's^t 
overrun  the  whole  country,"'"  and  taken  all  the  fortified  cities, 
except  Lachish  and  Azekah,  which  were  still  invested."'  Zed- 
ekiah,  while  reinforcing  his  v/eak  garrison  by  manumitting 
all  Hebrew  slaves,  imprisoned  the  prophet  whom  he  could 
not  silence ;  and  Jeremiah,  in  denouncing  the  failure  of  the 
defense,  even  from  his  prison,  gave  a  pledge  of  the  future 
restoration  which  he  now  prophesied,  by  an  act  which  was 
repeated  nearly  four  centuries  later  by  the  Roman  wdio 
bought  for  its  full  value  the  field  on  which  Hannibal  had 
piiched  his  camp  before  Rome.  It  is  full  time  that  the  patri- 
otism of  God's  people  should  be  placed  as  high  as  that  of 
heathens  in  the  page  of  history."® 

The  siege  of  Jerusalem  continued  for  two  years  and  a  half, 
to  the  eleventh  year  of  Zedekiah  ;""  but  not  without  inter- 
ruption.    Pharaoh-Hophra  marched  to  its  relief  with  a  great 

*'  For  the  details  sec  the  "Student's  Old  Testameut  Ilistorv,"  I.  c. 

43  Ezek.  xvii.  15. 

4 '  2  Kings  XXV.  1  ;  Jerem.  xxxix.  1  ;  lil.  1.  Tlie  date  of  the  Investment  was  the  10th 
Df  Thebet,  about  Dec.  20,  k.c  5SD,  an  anniversary  still  kept  as  a  fast  by  the  Jews. 
When  dates  are  given  to  the  day,  it  nnist  be  remembered  that  their  C(mversion  into 
-days  of  onr  calendar  is  only  ai)proximate.  The  Jewish  calendar  was  (and  is)  strict- 
iy  lunar;  and  the  year  began  with  a  new  moon :  the  sacred  year  (that  now  in  ques- 
tion) with  the  new  moon  nearest  the  vernal  equinox  ;  the  civil  year  with  the  new 
moon  nearest  the  antumnal  equinox.  Instead  of  attempting  (except  where  great 
exactness  is  required)  to  compute  astronomically  the  precise  correspondence  of  the 
calendars  for  each  particular  year,  it  is  convenient  to  give  it  as  for  a  normal  year, 
viz.  one  in  which  the  new  moon  of  the  first  month  falls'precisely  at  the  vernal  equi- 
nf>x.  45  Jerem.  xxxiv.  1. 

46  Joseph.  "Ant."  x.  7,  §  3.  47  jerem.  xxxiv.  7. 

48  Jerem.  xxxii.,  xxxiii.,  xxxiv.  :  Liv.  xxxvi.  11.  «  2  Kings  xxv.  2 ;  Jerem.  Hi.  a 


DESTRUCTION  OF  JERUSALEM.  Sol 

army,  and  took  Gaza.'"  Jeremiah's  prophecy,  that  the  Egyp- 
tian himself  was  doomed  to  perish,  was  regarded  as  treason 
amidst  the  joy  which  filled  the  city,  "  when  the  army  of  the 
Chaldc^ans  was  broken  np  from  Jerusalem  for  fear  of  Pha- 
raoh's army.'"'  Josephiis  says  tliat  the  Egyptians  were  de- 
feated in  a  battle;  but  the  proph.et  seems  rather  to  imply 
that  they  retreated  before  the  overwhelming  forces  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar :  "  Behold,  Pliaraoh's  army,  which  is  come  forth 
to  help  you,  shall  return  to  Egypt  into  their  own  land."^^ 
At  all  events  the  Chalda3ar.s  returned,  as  the  prophet  had 
foretold;  and  Jerusalem  av:..;  again  invested  (according  to 
Josephus  for  18  months)''  and  reduced  to  the  last  extremity 
of  famine, '■* 

On  the  9th  day  of  the  4th  month,  in  the  11th  year  of  Zed- 
ekiah  and  the  19th  of  Nebuchadnezzar  (b.c.  586),"  a  breach 
was  made  in  the  wall ;  and  the  great  officers  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar entered  the  city,  while  Zedekiah  and  his  men  of  war 
fled  by  the  garden  gate  of  the  palace.'"  Tiiey  were  pur- 
sued to  the  plain  of  Jcriclio,  wliei-e  the  little  army  was  dis- 
persed, and  the  king  was  taken  and  brought  to  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, who  had  retn-ed  to  Riblah,  in  Ifamath  (according  to 
Josephus,  to  watch  the  progress  of  the  siege  of  Tyre).  There 
"they  gave  judgment  upon  Zedekiah."  Ilis  eyes  were  put 
out  after  he  had  seen  his  sons  slain  before  his  face ;  and  he 
was  carried  in  fetters  of  brass  to  Babylon,  where  he  died;" 
exactly  as  the  prophet  had  foretold  :  "  Tet  siiall  he  not  see  it, 
though  he  shall  die  there.'"' 

The  systematic  destruction  of  Jerusalem  was  begun  by 
Nebuzaradan,  the  ca})tain  of  the  guard,  on  the  7th  day  of 
the  5th  month  (Abm  July-Augustp'  Tiie  Temple  was  given 
to  the  flames,  with  all  the  palaces  an<l  private  houses  ;  its 

50  Jercm.  xxxvii.  5 ;  xlvii.  5.  s'  Jerem.  xxxvli.  ■'-  Jcrera.  xxxvii.  T. 

53  Joseph.  "  Aiit."  X.  T,  §  4.  This  wt-uld  iilaco  the  lelieat  of  Pharaoh  at  the  end  of 
B.O.  5SS. 

6*  2  Kin<j;s  xxv.  .0;  Jereni.  xxxvii.  'Jl  ;  xxxviii.  0.  Pic-^ixTriim-  the  state  of  things  in 
the  city,  and  especially  the  dealini^s  of  the  kin^^  and  printer  with  Jeremiah,  see  the 
='  Student's  Old  Testament  History,"  chap.  xxv.  §  12. 

t5  The  Dth  of  Thammnz,  ahout  the  2Gth  of  June. 

56  2  Kind's  xxv.  4  ;  Jerem.  xxxix.  3, 13. 

67  2  Kings  xxv.  4-T.  •'^'  Ezek.  xii.  13. 

5'-'  2  Kinlrs  xxiv.  8  ;  where  the  lO^ft  vcar  of  Nelnu-.hfuhiczznr  is  expressly  named,  the 
previons  dates  having  been  given  by  the  years  of  Zedekiah.  In  compariuir  them  it 
should  be  remembered  that  the  years  of  Nebuchadnezzar  date  from  JauKf.rn  n.o. 
G04  ;  those  of  Zedekiah  from  ]}fuJsumvier,  i;.c.  597  ;  and  tTiat  the  months  are  Kut  those 
of  the  years  of  either  king,  but  of  the  Jewish  sacred  year.  The  epoch  of  the  deatrw- 
iion  nfjcrnmlevi,  nu  which  the  whole  system  of  sacred  and  (to  a  great  extent)  of  Ori- 
ental chronology  may  l)c  said  to  hang  is  now  lixed  with  certainty  to  n.c.  5S0,  if  the 
date  of  the  Canon  for  Nebuchadnezzar's  accession  is  right.  (The  received  chronolo- 
gy of  An^hbp.  Ussher  gives  ij.o.  5SS;  Clinton,  it.cSST.)  The  great  Fast  of  the  Jews 
for  the  twofold  Destruction  of  the  Temple  (for  that  by  Titus  is  fixed  by  them  to  the 
same  dav)  is  held  on  the  10th  of  Ab  (about  the  26th  of  July  in  a  normal  year). 


352  THE  BABYLONIAN  EMPIRE. 

brass-work  having  been  broken  up,  and  carried  away  with 
tl>e  sacred  vessels.  Tlie  scanty  gleanings  of  its  population, 
with  those  who  had  deserted  to  the  Cluildaeans  during  the 
siege,  were  carried  into  captivity  ;  only  the  poorest  being 
left  to  till  the  ground  and  dress  this  vines,  with  a  few  men  of 
consideration,  who,  like  Jeremiah,  were  held  to  deserve  spe- 
cial favor.  On  the  other  hand,  the  high-priest,  the  second 
priest,  and  several  otlier  officers,  with  sixty  of  the  citizens, 
were  chosen  for  examples  of  the  conqueror's  vengeance,  and 
put  to  death  at  Riblah.  The  small  number  of  these  victims 
and  the  sparing  of  Zedekiah's  life,  aftej-  so  many  rebellions 
and  such  signal  treachery,  not  only  seems  mercy  itself  com- 
pared with  the  massacres  recorded  of  the  Assyrian  kings, 
but  places  the  Babylonian  despot  in  favorable  contrast  with 
Titus,  that  sti-ange  "deliciai  humani  generis,"  We  can  not 
but  trace  the  luotive  ali-eady  referred  to,  in  this  conduct,  in 
the  respectful  treatment  of  Jeremiah,  and  more  especially 
in  the  singuhir  exemption  of  Juda?a  fi-om  the  usual  system  of 
colonization,  which  had  been  carried  out  in  northern  Israel ; 
leaving  the  land  ready  for  the  promised  return  of  its  chas- 
tened people,  after  it  had  rested  for  the  sabbatic  years  of 
which  their  avarice  had  deprived  it.""  The  remnant  left  be- 
hind were  committed  to  the  care  of  a  Jewish  governor,  Ged- 
aliah,  who  was  soon  after  murdered  by  Ishmael,  a  prince  of 
the  royal  blood ;  and  the  remnant  of  the  people  were  led  or 
forced 'into  Egypt."' 

§  11.  The  residence  of  Nebuchadnezzar  at  Riblah,  in  Coele- 
Syria  (probably  a  fortress  which  had  succeeded  to  the  rank 
of  Plamath),  points  clearly  to  operations  in  that  quarter;  and, 
if  the  dates  of  Josephus  are  right,"^  the  thirteen  years'  siege 
of  Tyre  ended  the  year  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  namely, 
in  B.C.  585.  Those  who  make  the  wars  consecutive  place  the 
fall  of  Tyre  in  b.c.  574.  There  are  passages  of  the  Hebrew 
i:)rophets  which  would  go  far  to  settle  the  question,  if  we 
could  be  sure  whether  they  refer  to  a  siege  actually  in  prog- 
ress or  only  to  an  imminent  attack.  At  all  events,  they 
furnish  a  most  striking  picture  of  the  wealth  and  power  of 
Tyre,  as  the  commercial  capital  of  the  world,  with  all  its  na- 
tions enumerated  as  pouring  their  rlclies  into  her  lap,  and 
their  astonishment  and  desolation  at  her  fall.^^    "In  their  full- 

60  2  Chron,  xxxvi.  21. 

6^  For  a  fuller  accouut  of  this  remuant,  who  formed  au  important  colony  in  Esrypt, 
see  the  "  Student's  Old  Testament  History,"  chap.  xxv.  §  13.  ^-  See  above,  §  8. 

"3  See  Isaiah  xxiii. ;  Jerem.  xxv.,  xxvii.,  xlvii.,  and  especially  the  great  prophecies 
cf  E'/ekiel  (xxvi.,  xxvii.,  xxviii.),  which,  in  their  turn,  furnish  the  type  of  the  apocft- 
lyptic  prophecy  of  the  fall  of  the  mystic  Babylon  (Rev.  xviii.).  We  have  to  recur  to 
the  subject  nnder  the  history  of  Phoenicia. 


conqup:st  of  egypt.  353 

est  sense,  those  pi-opbecies  seem  to  look  forward  to  the  later 
destruction  of  Tyre  by  Alexander ;  and  it  has  even  been 
questioned — from  a  passage  in  which  Ezekiel  intimates  that 
Nebucliadnezzar  and  his  army  lost  the  fruit  of  their  labor"" 
— whether  he  really  took  the  island  city,  or  only  "  Old  Tyre  " 
on  the  main-land. 

At  all  events,  he  became  master  of  all  Phoenicia  and 
Syria,''^  and  followed  up  their  conquest  by  that  of  the  Ammon- 
ites, Moabites,  and  Edomites,  whose  hatred  had  led  them  to 
serve  willingly  in  the  war  against  the  Jews,  and  who  now 
felt  the  cruelties  over  which  they  then  exulted.""  The  fabu- 
lous accounts,  which  make  Nebuchadnezzar  advance  to  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules,  and  conquer  the  Iberians  of  Spain,  set- 
tling his  captives  on  the  shores  of  Colchis."  are  perhaps 
founded  on  a  claim  to  sovereignty  over  the  Tyrian  colonies, 
as  involved  in  the  conquest  of  the  mother  city.  There  is  not 
the  least  reason  to  suppose  that  such  a  claim  was  acknowl- 
edged by  tribute  or  in  any  other  way.  The  result  of  these 
campaigns  was  the  submission  of  all  the  countries  of  West- 
ern Asia,  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  frontier  of  Egypt,  to  the 
Babylonian  yoke,  with  a  completeness  of  conquest  never  at- 
tained by  Assyria. 

§  12.  Next  came  the  turn  of  Egypt,  with  which  the  Baby- 
lonian had  a  long  account  to  settle.  Josephus"^  says  that, 
within  four  years  of  the  fall  of  Tyre,  Nebucliadnezzar  led  an 
army  into  Egypt  to  punish  Yaphres  (Pharaoh-Hophra)  for 
the  aid  he  had  given  to  Zedekiah  ;  but  (according  to  his  own 
date,  B.C.  581)  he  is  clearly  wrong  in  adding  that  (on  this 
occasion  at  least)  Vaphres  was  put  to  death,  and  a  vassal 
king  set  up  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  element  of  truth, 
however,  in  the  latter  statement,  combined  with  the  passage 
cited  above  from  Ezekiel,  suggests  the  possible  explanation 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  invaded  Egypt  ticice — about  b.c.  581, 
and  again  about  570. 

At  the  former  time,  there  Avas  a  sufficient  motive,  not  only 
in  the  aid  which  Apries  had  given  to  Zedekiah,  but  in  the 
shelter  granted    to    the  Jewish   rebels  w'ho  had    murdered 

«<  Ezek.  xxix.  IS.  This  prophecy  is  dated  ou  the  first  day  of  the  2Tth  year  of  the 
^reat  captivit3%  that  is,  is.  c.  571  (the  epoch  beiiid  is.o.  597),  the  very  year  of  the  eud  of 
the  Tyriau  war,  accordiug  to  the  later  date.  But  this  is  not  quite  decisive ;  for  the 
refereuce  to  Tyre  is  only  introductory  to  the  mention  of  the  reward  which  the  king 
was  to  have  in  Eaypt.     Still  it  is  an  argument  for  the  later  date. 

"^  Berosup,  op.  Joseph.  "  c.  Ap."  i.  20. 

8"  See  the  repeated  allusions  in  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  and  Psalm  cxxxvii.  7. 

«7  Megasthenes,  quoted  by  Abydenus  (Euseb.  "  Pra^p.  Ev."  ix.  41  ;  "Chron."  i.  10, 
§3);  Moses  Choren.  "  Hist.  Armen."  ii.  7.  These  stories  have  a  suspicions  resem- 
blance to  those  about  Sesostris,  by  whom,  perhaps,  if  was  not  thought  fit  that  Nebu- 
chadnezzar should  be  surpassed.  ^^  "  Antiq."x.  9,  §  7- 


354  THE  T5ABYL0NIAN  EMPIRE. 

Gedaliab.  The  degree  of  cliastisemeiit  then  inflicted  de- 
pends on  the  qnestion  whether  the  prophetic  description  of 
tlie  devastation  and  sliameful  captivity  of  Thebes  refers  to 
this  or  to  the  later  invasion,  which  appears  to  have  been  a 
serious  war  of  conquest,  and — though  the  Egyptian  version 
of  the  story  conceals  the  fact — a  conquest  actually  effected 
by  the  elevation  of  Amasis  to  the  throne."^  Having  regard 
to  the  same  system  of  concealment,  it  is  by  no  means  impos- 
sible that  Apries  may  have  been  put  to  death  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar." In  the  long  series  of  wars  between  Egypt  and  the 
powers  of  Mesopotamia — much  as  she  suflered  from  the  in- 
vasions of  Esar-haddon  and  his  son — this  was  the  only  occa- 
sion on  which  she  was  really  conquered. 

§  13.  Thus  the  wars  of  Nebuchadnezzar  came  to  an  end, 
probably  about  his  35th  year  (b.c.  570),  leaving  him  some 
nine  years  of  peace  so  secure  that  it  was  not  even  disturbed 
by  the  loss  of  reason  which  clouded  (according  to  the  popu- 
lar reckoning)  more  than  two-tliirds  of  that  period.  During 
his  thirty-four  years  of  war  his  great  works  at  Babylon  not 
only  went  on,  but  his  conquests  furnished  the  means  for 
their  erection.  As  we  have  seen  in  the  Assyrian  records, 
the  spoils  of  war  supplied  an  abundance  of  costly  materials; 
and  from  his  mode  of  dealing  with  the  conquered  nations, 
"he  obtained  that  enormous  command  of  naked  human 
strength  which  enabled  him,  without  undue  oppression  of  his 
own  people,  to  carry  out  on  the  grandest  scale  his  schemes 
for  at  once  beautifying  and  benefiting  his  kingdom.  From 
the  time  when  he  first  took  the  field  at  the  head  of  an  army, 
he  adopted  the  Assyrian  system  of  forcibly  removing  almost 
the  whole  population  of  a  conquered  country  and  planting 
it  in  a  distant  part  of  his  dominions.  Crowds  of  captives,^ 
the  produce  of  his  various  wars — Jews,  Egyptians,  Pha^ni- 
cians,  Syrians,  Ammonites,  Moabites — were  settled  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  Mesopotamia,^'  more  especially  about  Babylon. 
From  these  unfortunates  forced  labor  was,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  required  ;"  and  it  seems  to  have  been  chiefly,  if  not 
solely,  by  their  exertions  that  the  magnificent  series  of  great 
works  was  accomplished  which  formed  the  special  glory  of 
the  Babylonian  monarchy. 

"  The  chief  works  expressly  ascribed  to  Nebuchadnezzar 
by  the  ancient  writers  are  the  following:  He  built  the  great 
wall  of  Babylon,  which,  according  to  the  lowest   estimate, 

80  Eevosns  made  a  direct  statement  that  Nebuchadnezzar  conquered  Egypt  (ap. 
Joseph,  "c.  Ap."  i.  19). 
■'o  For  S>e  story  of  this  revolution,  as  told  by  Herodotus,  see  chap.  viii.  §  14. 
'1  Beros.  Fr.  14  ;  and  the  passages  of  SS.  already  .cited. 
"  Polyhistor,  Fr.  24. 


ASSYRIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  355 

must  have  contained  500,000,000  cubic  feet  of  solid  masonrv, 
and  must  have  required  three  or  four  times  that  number  of 
bricks."  He  constructed  a  new  and  magnificent  palace  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  ancient  residence  of  the  kings.  He 
made  the  celebrated  Hanging  Garden  for  the  gratification 
of  his  v>ife  Amyitis.  He  repaired  and  beautified  the  great 
Temple  of  Belus,  at  Babylon.''  He  dug  the  huge  reservoir 
near  Sippara,  said  to  have  been  140  miles  in  circumference 
and  180  feet  deep,  furnishing  it  with  flood-gates,  through 
which  its  waters  could  be  drawn  olY  for  purposes  of  irriga- 
tion. He  constructed  a  number  of  canals,  among  them  the 
Kahr  Malcha,  or  "  Royal  River,"  a  broad  and  deep  channel, 
which  connects  the  Euphrates  with  the  Tigris.''  He  built 
quays  and  breakwaters  along  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf, 
and  he  at  the  same  time  founded  the  city  of  Diridotis,  or 
Teredon,  in  the  vicinity  of  that  sea. 

"  To  these  constructions  may  be  added,  on  the  authority 
either  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  own  inscriptions  or  of  the  exist- 
ing remains,  the  Birs-i-Mmrud,  or  great  Temple  of  Nebo  at 
Borsippa;  a  vast  reser\  oir  in  Babylon  itself,  called  the 
Yapur-Shajya ;  an  extensive  embankment  along  the  course 
of  the  Tigris,  near  Baghdad;''  and  almost  innumerable  tem- 
ples, waifs,  and  other  public  buildings  at  Cutha,  Sippara, 
Borsippa,  Babylon,  Chilmad,  Bit-Digla,  etc.  The  indefatiga- 
ble monarch  seems  to  have  either  rebuilt  or  at  least  repaired 
almost  every  city  and  temple  throughout  the  entire  country. 
There  are  said  to  be  at  least  a  hundred  sites  in  the  tract  im- 
mediately about  Babylon  which  give  evidence,  by  inscribed 
bricks  bearing  his  legend,  of  the  marvellous  activity  and  en- 
ergy of  this  king."" 

tfl4.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  praise  which  his  in- 
scriptions give  to  his  deities,  for  the  ability  to  execute  such 
works,  should  have  been  mingled  with  his  own  glorification. 
But  his  pride  was  chastised  by  the  Power  before  whom 
"  Bel  boweth  down  :  Nebo  stoopeth  :"— a  Power  v/hom  the 
"  servant  "  of  those  gods,  nay,  their  "  son,"  as  he  venturesto 
style  himself,  had  learned  to  reverence.  For  it  is  the  point 
most  noteworthy  in  his  Avhoie  history,  that  this  greatest 
type  of  the  Oriental  despot  was  himself  taught— and  became, 
^mlike  others,  the  conscious  instrument  of  teaching  the  world 

■'s  Babylonian  bricks  are  about,  a  foot  square,  and  from  3  to  4  inches  thick. 

T4  ''All  the  inscribed  bricks  hitherto  discovered  in  the  Bahil  mound  bear  Tsebu- 
Aadnezzar's  lej^end." 

75  "  This  is  perhaps  the  Chehar  of  Ezekiel."  This  was  a  restoration :  th3  canal 
lad  been  du<?  a^es  before  by  Khammurabi.     See  chap.  x.  §  14. 

•!«  This  embankment  is  entirely  composed  of  bricks  which  liave  never  Dcen  dis- 
turbed, and  which  bear  Nebuchadnezzar's  name." 

'7  Ra-.vliusou,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iii.  pp.  40G-493. 


3r>G  THE  BA15YL0NIAN  EMPIKE. 

— to  give  glory  -where  only  it  is  diie.  The  Booh  of  Daniel 
reeords  the  three  great  lessons,  wliich  form  a  series,  coming 
home  closer  and  closer  to  the  king's  own  person.  First,  as 
we  have  seen,  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  his  youthful 
dreams  of  ambition  were  turned  to  the  only  universal  empire 
whicli  the  King  of  kings  will  suiier  to  be  set  up  over  the 
earth. "^  Next,  at  a  time  not  specified,  but  when — as  it  would 
seem— liis  conquests  were  completed,  he  celebrated  them  by 
the  dedication  of  the  colossal  golden  image  of  his  patron 
deity''-*  on  the  plain  of  Dura,  and  called  on  the  representatives 
of  "  every  people,  nation,  and  language,"  whom  he  had 
brougln  togetlier  at  Babylon,  to  adore  tlie  god  by  whose 
power  they  had  been  conquered:  but  the  salvation  of  the 
three  Hebrew  youtlis  from  the  flames  which  slew  their  per- 
secutors drew  from  him  a  formal  decree,  confessing  that  "no 
other  god  can  deliver  after  this  sort,"  and  securing  toleration 
for  those  who  would  not  "  serve  nor  worship  any  god  except 
their  own  god."''  Thus  Bel  was  humbled  ;  but  it  needed  a 
third  lesson  to  humble  the  king  himself:  nor  let  it  be  forgot- 
ten that  that  lesson  is  recorded  hj  himself  m  a  form  not  the 
less  authentic  because  it  is  preserved  for  us  in  the  Bible,  and 
not  in  a  cuneiform  inscription.^' 

It  was  when  "  he  was  at  rest  in  his  house,  and  flourishing 
in  his  palace  "^^  —  amidst  the  empire  lie  had  won  and  the 
capital  he  had  finished"^ — that,  as  the  whole  narrative  most 
clearly  implies,  the  temptation  gained  ui)on  him  to  give  the 
glory  of  his  greatness  to  himself  As  at  the  beginning  of 
his  reign,  the  thought  shaped  itself  into  a  dream,  and  the 
dream  was  made  a  warning  i-evelation.  It  is  needless  to  ex- 
plain the  image  (used  on  more  than  one  other  occasion)  of 
the  stately  tree  whicli  gave  a  home  to  all  the  birds  of  heav- 
en, shelter  to  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  and  food  to  the  inhMb- 
itants  of  the  world;  or  of  its  fate  as  expounded  by  Daniel. 
One  year  of  grace  was  granted  to  him, "  to  break  ofl'  his  sins 
by  righteousness,  and  his  iniquities  by  showing  mercy  to  the 
poor,  if  it  might  be  a  lengthening  of  his  tranquillity."^* 
But  the  pi-osperity  and  magnificence  around  him  were  too 
captivating.  "At  the  end  of  twelve  months  he  walked  in 
the  palace^of  the  kingdom  of  Babylon.     The  king  spake  and 

T8  Daniel  ii. 

'»  This  may  be  assumed  from  the  worship  demanded ;  though  it  is  not  e^xnressly 
stated.  *°  Darticl  iii. 

*'"  Daniel  iv,  is  a  simple  translation  of  the  king's  own  ])roclamation,  made  when 
there  was  no  doubt  about  the  interpretation  of  cuneiform  writing.  Or  rather,  it  has 
the  force  of  an  oriffinal;  for  we  may  be  sure  tliat,  according  to  custom,  and  like  the 
l)revious  decree,  it  was  ])ublishcd  in  versions  intelligible  to  "  all  the  peoples,  nations, 
and  languages"  to  whom  it  is  addressed  (verse  1). 

^'S  Daniel  iv.  4.  ^^  See  verses  20,  30.  ^^  Dan.  iv.  27. 


NEBUCIIADI^KZZAR'S  LYCANTHKOrY.  357 

said,  Is  not  this  great  Babylon,  that  I  have  built  for  the 
liouse  of  tiie  kingdom,  by  tiie  might  of  my  power,  and  for 
tiie  lionor  of  my  majossty  V^°  AVhile  the  word  was  in  the 
king's  mouth,  there  fell  a  voice  from  heaven,  O  King  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, to  thee  it  is  spoken  ;  The  kingdom  is  departed 
from  thee:  and  they  shall  drive  thee  from  men,  and  thy 
dwelling  shall  be  with  the  beasts  of  the  held  :  they  shall 
make  thee  to  eat  grass  as  oxen,  and  seven  times  shall  pass 
over  thee,  until  thou  know  that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the 
kingdom  of  men,  and  giveth  it  to  Avhomsoever  He  will.  The 
same  hour  was  the  thing  fulfilled  upon  Nebuchadnezzar :  and 
lie  was  driven  from  men,  and  did  eat  grass  as  oxen,  and  his 
body  was  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaveti,  till  his  hairs  grew 
like  eagle's  feathers,  and  his  nails  like  bird's  claws.'"^'^ 

In  fact,  Nebuchadnezzar  fell  a  victim  to  that  niental  aber- 
ration which  has  often  proved  the  penalty  of  despotism,  but 
in  the  strange  and  degrading  form  to  which  physicians  have 
given  the  name  oi  Lycanthropy  f^  in  which  the  patient,  fan- 
cying himself  a  beast,  rejects  clothing  and  ordinary  food,  and 
even  (as  in  this  case)  the  shelter  of  a  roof,  disuses  articulate 
speech,  and  sometimes  persists  in  going  on  all  fours.  We 
may  assume  that  Nebuchadnezzar  was  allowed  the  range  of 
the  private  gardens  of  his  palace,  and  that  his  condition  was 
concealed  from  his  subjects ;  to  whom,  however,  he  himself 
formally  proclaimed  it  on  his  recovery,  to  teach  the  lesson 
he  had  learnt,  "  that  the  heavens  do  rule,"*^  and  to  "praise 
and  extol  and  honor  the  King  of  heaven,  all  whose  works 
are  truth,  and  His  ways  judgment ;  and  those  that  tcalk  in 
pride  He  is  able  to  ahase^^'' 

It  seems,  from  an  inscription,  that  tlie  government  was  car- 
ried on  by  the  father  of  the  king's  son-in-law,  who  was  prob- 
ably the  Iiab-3far/^  or  chief  of  the  order  of  Ohaldreans.'^ 
Though  of  course  only  regent,  h.e  assumed  the  title  of 
" King,"  like  "  Darias  the  Median"  nnder  Cyrus.  We  are 
not  sure  v>'hether  to  infer  undisturbed  loyalty  or  discon- 
certed intrigues  from  tlie  readiness  Avith  which  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's "counsellors  and  his  lords  sought  unto  him  ;  and  he 
Avas  established  in.  his  kingdoni ;  when  "his  reason  returned 
to  him,"  apparently  as  suddenly  as  he  had  lost  it,  and,  with 

*>^  Compare  these  phrases  with  those  of  the  "  Standard  luscription,"  in  Notes  and 
Ilhistrations  (A).  "  Dan.  iv.  29-33. 

"■^  The  word  is  not  a  modern  coinai^e,  but  genuine  Greek,  \vKavO,)U)Ttia,  fr.  XvKi'tv- 
f,».-07ror,  the  v^ere  wolf.  See  the  Essay  iti  Welcker's  "  Kleine  Schrifteu  "  (vol.  ii.  p.  157), 
entitled  "Die  Lyoanthropic  ein  Aberglaube  nnd  eine  Krankhcit;"  and  Pusey's  "Lec- 
tui  es  on  DauieV"  pp.  425-430.  ^f'  Dan.  iv.  25,  2G.  ^'•'  Verse  31. 

'•'"  His  name  is  read  Bel-sam-i(ikin,ov  Bcl-nm-ingai;  or  Bellaharisrauk.  Ilis  dignity 
is  inferred  from  the  fact  that  his  son  Neriglissar' was  a  Rab-Mag  (or,  in  Babylonian, 
Rabu-emga). 


358  THE  BABYLONIAN  EMPIRE. 

it,  "  for  the  glory  of  liis  kingdom,  liis  lionoi-  and  brightness 
returned  unto  him,  and  excellent  majesty  was  added  unto 
him."^' 

How  long  this  greater  brightness  of  his  closing  days  lasted 
depends  upon  tlie  meaning  of  the  "seven  times  "  a})])ointed 
for  liis  humiliation,  which  are  commonly  interpreted,  with 
Josephus,  seveji  years ;  though  some  understand  but  seven, 
Qnonths.  The  former  supposition  would  leave  but  two  or 
tliree  years  before  this  great  king — to  use  the  simple  lan- 
guage of  Berosus — fell  ill  and  departed  this  life,""^  after  a 
reign  of  just  43  years  (b.c.  561). 

§  15.  The  real  greatness  of  the  Babylonian  empire  ended, 
as  it  had  begun,  with  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  apocry])hal 
prophecy,  which  a  Greek  writer  ascribes  to  the  dying  mon- 
arch, had  been  indicated  in  his  dream  of  the  colossal  image, 
and  was  soon  plainly  revealed  in  Daniel's  counterpart  vision 
of  the  four  beasts ;"  and  the  germs  of  its  fulfillment  were 
working  within  and  without  the  empire.  Within — the  gold- 
en head  of  the  colossus  was  borr.e  up  on  feet  of  clay,  and 
its  fall  was  sure  to  be  as  sudden  as  ils  i-ise.  It  possessed  no 
military  strength  like  that  with  which  the  Assyrians  had  for 
so  many  centuries  conquered  and  re-conquered  the  warlike 
tribes  around  them.  Its  chief  force  consisted  in  the  fiery 
cavalry  of  Irak-Arahij  and  Lower  Chaldaja,  well  described 
by  the  prophet  as  "  terrible  and  dreadful,  swifter  than  leop- 
ards, and  sharper  than  evening  wolves" — a  "  bitter  and  hasty 
nation,  to  possess  the  dwelling-places  that  are  not  theirs""^ 
— an  admirable  instru?nent  of  rapid  conquest,  but  not  of  last- 
ing dominion.  'Withont — the  better-organized  power  of  the 
Medes  was  not  likely  to  remain  content  with  the  partition 
made  between  Cyaxares  and  Nabopolassar ;  and  that  power 
was  at  this  very  moment  passing  into  the  stronger  hands  of 
the  kindred  Persians.  The  revolt  of  Cyrus  against  Astyagcs, 
within  three  years  of  the  death  of  Nebucliadnezzar,  was  the 
2)relude  to  his  conquest  of  Western  Asia. 

§  16.  Court  intrigues  and  dynastic  revolutions  came  to 
hasten  on  the  end.  Among  the  tliree  successors  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, not  only  is  there  none  to  compare  with  him  in 
personal  distinction,  but  their  brief  liistory  of  only  21  years 

01  Dauiel  iv.  SG. 

»2  Berosus,  Fr.  U.  "This  sober  account  of  the  Chalchean  historian  "—observes 
Professor  Rawliiison— "contrasts  favorably  with  the  marvcllons  narrative  of  Aby- 
deuup,  who  makes  Nebuchadnezzar  first  proplfesy  the  destruction  of  Babylon  by  the 
Medes  and  Persians,  and  then  vanish  away  out  of  the  sight  of  men  (Euseb.  "  Pricp. 
Ev."  ix.  41,  p.  45fi,  U)."  The  same  historian  calculates  the  age  of  Nebuchadnezzar  as 
follows :  "  If  we  suppose  him  15  when  he  was  contracted  to  the  daughter  of  Cyaxares 
(i!.c.  G25),  he  would  have  been  DC  at  liis  accession,  and  70  at  his  death,  in  n.o.  501." 

"3  Dauiel  vii.  ■  '•"'  llabakkuk  i.  0-10. 


E VIL-MEROD ACH.  — NERIGLISSAR.  — L ABOROSO AKC HOD.  359 

Is  full  of  obscurities  and  difficulties.     The  following  is  the 
most  probable  account : 

Of  Eyil-Merodach,  son  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  bat_^one  act  is 
recorded.  Soon  after  his  accession  he  released  Jehoiacliin, 
the  captive  king  of  Judah,from  his  37  years'  imprisonment, 
and  gave  him  a  daily  allowance,  and  a  place  at  his  own  table 
above  all  the  other  kings  that  were  in  captivity  at  Bab- 
ylon.'' After  reigning,  according  to  Berosus,  lawlessly  and 
profligately  for  two  years  (b.c.  561-559),°'Mie  fell  the  victim 
of  a  conspiracy  headed  by  his  brother-in-law%  Keriglissar,  the 
chief  of  the  Chaldcnean  order."' 

§  17.  Nerigltssah"  styles  himself  Rah-3[ag,  and  son  of 
'*  King  Bel-sum-iskin,"  on  the  bricks  of  the  "  smaller  palace" 
of  Babylon,  which  he  built  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Eu- 
phrates.'' Diodorus  describes  this  as  a  splendid  edifice,  hav- 
ing its  walls  covered  with  fine  battle  and  hunting  scenes, 
and  adorned-  witli  numerous  bronze  statues,  which  were  be- 
lieved  to  represent  Belus  and  Ninus  and  Semiramis,  with 
their  officers.''  He  also  placed  statues  of  solid  silver  in  the 
several  stories  of  the  temple  of  Belus.  After  a  reign  of  less 
than  four  years  (b.c.  559-556),'"°  he  died  quietly  in  his  palace, 
according '^to  the  prevailing  account,  or,  as  others  say,  in  a 
battle  wdiich  he  fought  with  Cyrus  for  the  possession  of 
Media. 

His  son,  Laborosoarciiod,""  a  mere  boy,  was  in  nme 
months  put  to  death  wnth  tortures,  on  the  plea  that  he  gave 
signs  of  a  vicious  disposition,  by  a  conspiracy  of  his  near 
cmniections,'"'  probably  the  chiefs  of  the  Chalda?an  order, 
who  conferred  the  crown  on  one  of  their  own  number.  Thus 
ended  the  house  of  Nabopolassar,  if,  as  we  are  expressly  told, 
the  new  king  was  in  no  way  related  to  his  predecessor.'"' 

95  2  Kin<?s  XXV.  2T-30  ;  Jeiem.  lii.  31,  32.  It  seems  to  be  implied  that  the  other  cap- 
tive kiugs"were  released,  and  their  royal  rauk  recognized.  The  date  is  three  days 
before  the  end  of  the  3Tth  year  of  the  captivity,  midsummer,  n.o.  5G0, 

»»a  This  is  the  date  of  Berosus  aud  the  Astrouomical  Canou  ;  Polyhistor  gives  him 
12  years,  aud  Josephus  IS. 

«6  We  naturally  suspect  that  this  was  the  accomplishment  of  a  design  first  formed 
by  his  father  when  regent,  during  Nebuchadnezzar's  madness. 

9'  Properly  Xcrgal-ficir-uzur,  i.  c.,  "  Nerval,  protect  the  king."  We  have  the  name  in 
"  Nerc^al-sharezer,  the  Rab-Mair,"  who  was  one  of  the  princes  left  by  Nebuchadnezzar 
to  finish  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  (Jerem.  xxxix.  3, 13).  This  was  not  improbably  the 
usurper's  grandfather,  .      t,  •.. 

98  An  inscribed  cvliuder  of  his  v/as  also  found  among  the  ruins.  (See  the  Bnt. 
Mus.  Series,  Plate  67.)  "'  Diod.  Sic.  ii.  8,  §  7. 

100  As  the  0  months  of  Labcrosoarchod  are  not  reckoned  in  the  Canon,  they  have 
CO  be  allowed  for  in  the  time  assigned  to  Neriglissar  and  Nabonadius. 

1"!  Under  this  strange  Greek  form  M.  Oppert  sees  the  name  of  Bellabarisrouk, 
which  had  been  borne  by  the  youug  king's  grandfather. 

1"'  [LTri(Sov\euOeii  dt  3((<  to  ttoWu  tixfaiveiv  KaKoijOri,  i"ro  tSv  (piXwv  uTreTV/XTraviaOr]-— 

Beros.  Fr.  14.  .    ^  ,    ,     .      „ 

los  ntJocrijKoura  ol  oi^dtV.-Abydeu,  Fr.  9.  Berosus  calls  him  "  a  certain  Babylomau. 
-Fr.  14. 


3G0  THE  BABYLONIAN  EMPIRE. 

§  18.  >[ahona!)IUS,"'*  the  last  king  of  Babylon  (b.c.  555- 
538),  and  Nitocris  (probably  his  queen)  are  celebrated  by  the 
Greek  historians  for  the  magnificence  of  works  M^hich  really 
testify  to  the  dangers  that  were  now  closing  in  upon  the 
doomed  kingdom.  The  chief  of  these  was  the  construction 
or  repair  of  tiie  quays  along  the  Euphrates  within  the  city, 
with  their  walls  and  gates,  tJie  neglect  of  which  by  his  rash 
son  admitted  the  army  of  the  Persians.  The  bricks  of  the 
retaining  walls  still  bear  his  name.'""  At  some  distance  to 
the  north  of  Babylon  he  made  certain  cuttings,  rsservoirs, 
and  sluices,  to  oppose  the  march  of  an  invader.  A  curious 
testimony  to  the  hopeless  condition  of  iiis  kingdom  is  given 
by  an  inscription  of  his  last  year,  discovered  by  Mr.  Loftus 
at  Calneh,  in  which  he  confesses  his  neglect  of  the  worship 
of  the  gods,  and  undertakes  the  restoration  of  the  temple  of 
Sin  (the  Moon)  to  obtain  their  protection. 

§  19.  At  the  beginning  of  his  reign  he  relied  on  more  sub- 
lunary means  of  resisting  the  progress  of  the  Persian  con- 
queror. Cyrus  was  now  engaged  in  his  attack  on  the  Lydian 
empire — the  old  rival  of  Media — which  had  grown  to  its 
height  under  Croesus ;  and  the  latter  sought  to  strengthen 
himself  by  alliances  with  the  kings  of  Egypt  and  Babylon. ^"^ 
After  his  defeat  at  Pteria,  Croesus  summoned  his  allies  to  his 
aid,  but  we  are  not  informed  whether  any  Babylonian  con- 
tingent reached  him  before  his  decisive  overthrow  in  front 
of  Sardis.^" 

Even  without  this  provocation,  Cyrus  would  have  taken 
the  earliest  convenient  opportunity  of  assailing  Babylon. 
In  the  sixteenth  year  of  Nabonadius  (b.c.  539)  he  marched 
from  Ecbatana,  and,  having  wintered  on  the  banks  of  the 
Gyndes,  crossed  the  Tigris,  and  overran  all  the  country  as 
far  as  Babylon,  where  Nabonadius  had  concentrated  his  de- 
fense. The  whole  Chaldrean  army,  which  was  posted  in  front 
of  the  city  under  the  king  in  person,  was  routed  in  a  single 
battle,  and  Nabonadius  threw  himself  into  the  fortress  of 

104  "The  real  name  is  yuhn-nahid  (\.(i.,Xeho,  vmkc  ])ros])erons)  in  Apsyrian  (Se- 
mitic), and  yabu-induk  in  Ilaniitic  Babylonian.  Tlie  former  is  the  groundwork  of 
Nahr.nneduH  (Berosus),  yabovmlms  (Astr.  Can.),  and  Lab'jnetus  (Herod.) ;  the  latter 
of  Nabannidochus  (Abydeu.),  and  yaboandelui^,  which  should  probalily  l)e  Xaboande- 
chus  (Joeephus)."— Ruwlinsou,  vol.  iii.  p.  507,  note.  That  he  was  of  the  Chaldaean 
order  is  shown  by  the  inscriptions  in  which  he  calls  himself  "son  of  Xabn-**-dirba 
(or  Nabu-bala-tirib),  the  Rab-Mag."  M.  Oppert  stands  alone  in  distinguishing  Nabu- 
ruthid  and  Nabv-induk.  Herodotus  (i.  IS's)  ap])lies  the  name  of  Labiinetna  both  to  the 
last  king  of  nabijlon  and  to  /t?.s  father  (whom  he  calls  the  son  of  Nitocris).  But 
whoiher  he  regards  the  father  as  the  Labynetus  of  chap.  74  does  not  nppear. 

105  Berosus  (Fr.  14)  expressly  says  that  he  built  this  wall  of  baked  brick  and  as- 
phalt.    Herodotus  ascribes  it  to  Nitocris.  los  Herod,  i.  77. 

10'  Herod,  i.  S9.  The  date  of  the  capture  of  Sarclis  is  a  point  in  dispute.  The  ordi- 
nary date  is  546.     See  chap,  xsiii.  §  2. 


CAPTURE  OF  BABYLON.  361 

Borsippa.  The  defense  of  Babylon  was  left  to  his  son 
Belshazzar,  who  is  proved  by  the  inscriptions  of  his  fa- 
ther to  have  been  associated  in  the  kingdom/""  and  whose 
youth  was  aided  by  the  raaturer  counsels  of  the  queen- 
mother."' 

§  20.  For  some  time  the  defense  was  so  well  conducted  as 
to  drive  Cyrus  almost  to  despair.''"  As  a  last  effort,  he  di- 
verted the  course  of  the  Euphrates  above  the  city,  either  into 
the  reservoir  of  Mitocris'''  or  by  a  canal  returning  to  the  riv- 
er lower  down.'"'  His  opportunity  soon  came  with  that  fes- 
tival"^ and  its  attendant  license,  of  which  the  vivid  drama 
is  so  familiar  to  us  in  the  Book  of  Daniel.''*  That  night's 
revelry  in  the  palace  was  imitated  throughout  the  city."^ 
The  Persians,  marching  along  the  dried  bed  of  the  Euphra- 
tes, entered  the  neglected  river  gates:  had  these  been  closed, 
they  would  have  been  caught,  as  Herodotus  says,  "  in  a 
trap.""®  Then  followed  the  scene  of  hurry,  confusion,  fire, 
and  massacre,  v\' hich  Jeremiah  had  foretold  in  one  of  those 
marvellous  prophecies  Avhich  only  differ  from  minute  history 
by  their  vivid  poetic  coloring.'"  Caught  in  the  midst  of 
dance  and  revelry,""  "  the  mighty  men^of  Babylon  forbore 
to  fight:  they  became  as  women."""  In  vain  did  "one  post 
run  to  meet  another,  and  one  messenger  to  meet  another,  to 
show  the  king  of  Babylon  that  his  city  was  taken  at  one  end, 
and  that  the  passages  were  stopped  :"  "  her  princes  w-ere 
made  drunk,  her  wise  men,  her  captains,  her  rulers,  and  her 
mighty  men:  they  slept  a  perpetual  sleep."  "The  broad 
walls  of  Babylon  were  utterly  broken,  and  her  high  gates 
w-ere  burned  with  fire;  the  people  labored  in  vain  and  the 

108  "The  proof  of  this  association  is  contained  in  the  cylinders  of  Nabonadins 
fouijd  nt  Murjheir,  where  the  protection  of  the  gods  is  asked  for  Nahu-nahid  aud  his 
son,  Bil-shar-uzur  {i.  e., '  Bel,  protect  the  king'),  who  are  coupled  together  in  a  way 
that  implies  the  co-sovereignty  of  the  latter.  (Brit.  Mas.  Series,  PI.  68,  No.  1.)  The 
date  of  the  association  was  at  the  latest  u.c.  540,  Nabonadiiis's  fifteenth  year,  since 
the  third  year  of  Belshazzar  is  mentioned  in  Daniel  (viii.  1)."  Rawlinson  (vol.  iil.  p. 
515) ;  who  also  suggests  the  following  motive  for  the  association :  That  the  Xitocris 
of  Herodotus  (whose  name  is  purely  Egyptian,  and  is  found  among  the  contemporary 
Saite  princesses)  was  the  daughter  of  Nebuchadnezzar  by  an  Egyptian  wife,  and  was 
married  by  Nabonadius,  to  aid  in  legitimating  his  usurpation :— in  which  case  Bel- 
shazzar would  be  really  the  grandson  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  aud  his  legitimate  repre- 
sentative. Nebuchadnezzar  is  seven  times  called  his  father  by  Daniel,  by  the  king 
himself,  and  by  the  queen  (Dan.  v.  2, 11,  13, 13,  22).  Nitocris  may  also  have  been  pre- 
viously the  wife  of  Neriglissar.  The  appointment  of  Daniel  as  ''third  (not  second] 
ruler  in  the  kingdom  "  (ver.  7,  29)  furnishes  a  striking  proof  of  the  genuineness  of  the 
narrative  from  the  absence  of  any  mention  of  Nabonadius. 

»""  Dan.  v.  10-12.  That  such  was  her  dignity  seems  clear  from  the  previous  men- 
tion of  Belshazzar's  wives  (ver.  2),  and  is  consistent  with  the  tone  she  assumes. 

I'o  Herod,  i.  190.  ni  Herod,  i.  191. 

"2  Xen.  "  Cyrop."  vii  5,  §  10 ;  Jerem.  li.  39.  n'  Herod.  I.  c, ;  Xen.  I.  c.  §  16- 

J'*  Daniel  V.  ''^  Herod.,  Xen.,  Zi.  cc.  iio  Herod,  i.  191. 

11^  Jerem.  li. ;  corap.  Herod.,  Xen.,  II.  cc. 

**^  Xopeiiety  Ka't  Iv  evTra0tu,<Ti  tti'.n.— Herod.  i.  191.  ^1^  Jcrcm.  li.  30. 

16 


362 


THE  BABYLONIAN  EMPIRE. 


folk  in  the  iirc.'"'°     "In  that  night  was  Belshazzar,  the  king 
of  the  Chalch^ans,  slain"''^  (b.c.  538). 

Nabonadius,  having  no  further  power  or  motive  of  resist- 
ance, surrendered  on  the  approach  of  Cyrus,  who  admitted 
him  not  only  to  mercy  but  to  liis  favor,  and  assigned  him  an 
abode  in  Carmania.'''  Only  the  outer  wall  of  Babylon  was 
dismantled  ;  and  the  city,  though  fearfully  injured  by  the 
storm,  became  the  second  capital  of  the  Persian  kings,  and 
was  destined  by  Alexander  for  his  Eastern  seat  of  empire. 
The  transference  of  its  population  to  Seleucia,  on  the  Tigris, 
by  the  Greek  kings  of  Syria,  began  that  long  decay  which 
has  fulfilled  the  niost  awfully  sublime  picture  of  desolation 
tliat  was  ever  drawn  even  by  an  inspired  pen,'"  and  lias  left 
"Babylon — the  glory  of  kingdoms,  the  beauty  of  tiie  Chal- 
dees'  excellency — as  when  God  overthrew-  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrah"— a  tyj^e  of  the  doom  reserved  for  every  scheme  of 
imiversal  empire. 

y^o  Jerem.  li.  58.  '^^  Dan.  v.  31. 

122  Berosus,  Fr.  14 :  Abvdenus  says  that  he  made  him  governor  of  Carraania. 

123  Isaiah  xiii.  lD-22:  comp.  Jerem.  1.  li.  ;  and  the  descriptions  of  its  present  state 
by  Layard,  "  Niu.  and  Bab."  p.  484  ;  and  Loftus,  "  Chaldjea  and  Susiana,"  p.  20. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


In  his  "Standard  Inscription"  Nebu- 
chadnezzar says  of  the  works  executed  at 
Babylon  by  his  father:  "The  double  iu- 
closure,  which  Nabopolassar  my  father  had 
made  but  not  completed,  I  finished.  Nabo- 
polassar made  its  ditch.  With  two  long 
embankments  of  brick  and  mortar  he 
bound  its  bed.  He  made  the  embankment 
of  the  Arakha.  He  lined  the  other  side 
of  the  Euphrates  with  brick.  He  made  a 
bridge  over  the  Euphrates,  but  did  not 
finish  its  buttresses.  From  *  *  *  [some 
place]  he  made  witli  bricks  burnt  as  hard 
as  stones,  by  the  help  of  the  great  lord, 
Merodach,  a  way  for  the  branch  of  the 
Shimat  to  the  waters  of  the  Yajnir-Shajni, 
the  great  reservoir  of  Babylon,  opposite 
to  the  gate  of  Nin." 

Then  follows  Nebuchadnezzar's  account 
of  the  works  added  by  himself  to  the  city : 
"The  Ingur-Bel  and  the  Ximiti- Bel— the 
great  double  wall  of  Babylon — I  finished. 
With  two  long  embankments  of  brick  and 
mortar,  I  built  the  side  of  its  ditch.  I 
joined  it  on  with  that  which  my  father  had 
made.  I  strengthened  the  city.  Across 
the  river,  to  the  v.est,  I  built  the  wall  of 
Babylon  with  brick.  The  Ya]jnr-Sha]ni^ 
the  reservoir  of  Babylon — by  the  grace  of 


Merodach  I  filled  completely  full  of  water. 
With  bricks  burnt  as  hard  as  stones,  and 
with  bricks  in  huge  masses  like  mount- 
ains, the  Yajnir-ShaiJU,  from  the  gate  of 
Mula  as  far  as  yana,  who  is  the  protect- 
ress of  her  votaries,  by  the  grace  of  his 
godship  (1  (?.,  Merodach)  I  strengthened. 
With  that  which  my  father  had  mffde  I 
joined  it.  I  made  the  way  of  Nana,  the 
protectress  of  her  votaries.  The  great 
gates  of  the  Ingvr-Bel  and  the  Nimiti-Bel 
—the  reservoir  of  Babylon  at  the  time  of 
the  flood  inundated  them.  These  gates  I 
raised.  Against  the  waters  their  founda- 
tions with  brick  and  mortar  I  built.  [Here 
follows  a  description  of  the  gales,  with 
various  architectural  details,  and  an  ac- 
count of  the  decorations,  hangings,  etc.] 
For  the  delight  of  mankind,  I  filled  the 
reservoir.  Behold!  besides  the /»,f/?<r-Bei, 
the  impregnable  fortification  of  Baby- 
Ion,  I  constructed  inside  Babylon,  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  river,  a  fortification 
such  as  no  king  had  ever  made  before 
me,  namely,  a  long  rampart,  4000  ammas 
square,  as  an  extra  defense.  I  excavated 
the  ditch :  with  brick  and  mortar  I  bound 
its  bed;  a  long  rampart  at  its  head  I 
strongly  built.     I  adorned  its  gates.    The 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


363 


folding-doors  and  pillars  I  plated  with 
copper.  Against  presumptuous  enemies, 
who  were  hostile  to  the  men  of  Babylon, 
great  waters,  like  the  waters  of  the  ocean, 
I  made  use  of  abundantly.  Their  depths 
were  like  the  depths  of  the  vast  ocean. 
I  did  not  allow  the  waters  to  overflow, 
but  the  fullness  of  their  floods  I  caused 
to  flow  on,  restraining  them  with  a  brick 
embankment.  Thus  I  completely  made 
strong  the  defenses  of  Babylon.  May  it 
last  forever !"  After  a  similar  account 
of  works  at  Borsippa,  he  proceeds:  "In 
Babylon— the  city  which  is  the  delight  of 
my  eyes,  and  which  I  have  glorified— when 
the  waters  were  in  flood,  they  inundated 
the  foundations  of  the  great  palace  called 
Tajyratinisi,  or  'the  Wonder  of  Mankind  ;' 
(a  palace)  with  many  chambers  and  lofty 
towers ;  the  high  place  of  Royalty ;  in 
the  land  of  Babylon,  and  in  the  middle  of 
Babylon  ;  stretching  from  the  Inr/tir-Bel  to 
the  bed  of  the  Shcbil,  the  Eastern  canal, 
and  from  the  bank  of  the  Sippara  River 
to  the  water  of  the  Yaimr-Shapu ;  which 
Nabopolassar  my  father  built  with  brick 
and  raised  up :  when  the  reservoir  of 
Babylon  was  full,  the  gates  of  this  palace 
were  flooded.  I  raised  the  mound  of  brick 
on  which  it  was  built,  and  made  smooth 
its  platform.  I  cut  off  the  floods  of  the 
water,  and  the  foundations  (of  the  palace) 
I  protected  against  the  water  with  bricks 
and  mortar  ;  and  I  finished  it  completely. 
Long  beams  I  set  up  to  support  it ;  Avith 
pillars  and  beams  plated  with  copper  and 
strengthened  with  iron  I  built  up  its  gates. 
Silver  and  gold,  and  precious  stones  whose 
names  were  almost  unknown,  etc.,  1  stored 
up  Inside,  and  placed  there  the  treasure- 
house  of  my  kingdom.  ...    In  all  my  do- 


minions I  did  not  build  a  high  place  of 
power ;  the  precious  treasures  of  my  king- 
dom I  did  not  lay  up.  In  Babylon,  build- 
ings for  myself  and  the  honor  of  my  king- 
dom I  did  not  lay  out.  In  the  worship  of 
Merodach  my  lord,  the  joy  of  my  heart,  in 
Babylon,  the  city  of  his  sovereignty  and 
the  seat  of  my  empire,  I  did  not  sing  his 
praises  (?),  and  I  did  not  furnish  his  al- 
tars (with  victims),  nor  did  I  clear  out  the 
canals.  .  .  .* 

"  As  a  further  defense  in  war,  at  the 
Inr]w--Bel,  the  impregnable  outer  vrall,  the 
rami)ar!;  of  the  Babylonians  —  with  two 
strong  lines  of  brick  and  mortar  I  made  a 
strong  fort,  400  avimas  square.  Inside  the 
Nimiti-Dcl,  the  inner  defense  of  the  Baby- 
lonians, I  constructed  masonry  of  brick 
within  them  (the  lines).  In  a  happy  month 
and  on  an  auspicious  day  I  laid  its  f -un- 
dations  in  the  earth.  ...  I  completely 
finished  its  top.  In  fifteen  days  I  com- 
pleted it,  and  made  it  the  high  place  of 
my  kingciom.  [Here  follows  a  description 
of  the  ornamentation  of  the  palace.]  A 
strong  fort  of  brick  and  mortar  in  strength 
I  constructed.  Inside  the  brick  fortifica- 
tion I  made  another  great  fortification  of 
long  stones,  of  the  size  of  great  mountains. 
Like  Shcdim  I  raised  up  its  head.  And 
this  building  I  raised  for  a  wonder;  for 
the  defense  of  the  people  I  constructed 
it."t 


*  Several  negative  clauses  follow,  in  which,  as  in 
those  quoted,  the  -not  seems  to  have  the  force  either  of 
except  ("  I  only  did  all  this  at  Babylon"),  or  perhapi 
rather  of  an  interrogation,  "  Did  I  not?"  etc. 

t  Rawlinson,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iii.,  Appen- 
dix A.  For  an  account  of  the  topography  and  ruins  of 
Babylon,  see  the  "Student's  Ancient  Geography," 
pp.  212  «j. 


rgL::'^:y\/r^^^^^ 


Aucieut  Assyrian  Cylinder  in  Serpentine. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    ART    AND    CIVILIZATION    OF    BABYLONIA    AND    ASSYRIA. 

II.  Present  state  of  our  knowledge.  What  remains  to  l)e  done.  Results  gained  thus 
far.  §  2.  Architecture.  Its  various  remains.  §  3.  Building  materials.  General 
use  of  brick.  Partial  use  of  stone.  §  4.  The  Babylonian  temple-towers.  Their 
astronomical  character.  §  5.  Description  of  the  temple  at  Borsippa  (the  Birs 
yimrud).  Colors  and  arrangement  of  its  seven  stages.  Compared  with  the  Egyp- 
tian pyramids.  §  6.  Simpler  ancient  forms.  The  Babil  at  Babylon.  The  Chal- 
daeau  towers  of  two  or  three  stories.  Temple  of  the  Moon  at  Mugheir.  §  7.  In- 
ternal decorations.  §8.  Remains  of  domestic  architecture.  Modes  of  decoration. 
§  9.  The  Tombs  of  Lower  Babylonia.  Their  vast  numbers.  Three  modes  of 
burial.  Arched  vaults.  Dish-cover  shaped  tombs.  Double  bell-jars.  Drainage 
of  the  sepulchral  mounds.  §  10.  Objects  found  in  the  tombs.  Use  of  metals. 
Bas-reliefs  and  seal-cylinders.  Seal  of  King  Urukh.  §  11.  Later  Babylonian 
sculpture.  Its  rude  and  stationary  character.  §  12.  Later  Babylonian  architec- 
ture, painting,  and  decoration.  §13.  Assyrian  architecture  —  chiefly  palatial. 
Probable  derivaticni  of  the  art  from  Babylonia.  §  14.  The  use  of  earthen  plat- 
forms and  embankments.  Double  platform  at  Khorsabad.  Platform  of  Xirarud. 
§  15.  Continued  use  of  brick  and  walls  of  rammed  earth.  Cases  in  which  the  As- 
syrians used  stone.  General  arrangement  of  the  palaces.  §  16.  Assyrian  zirjgu- 
rats  and  temples.  Type  different  from  the  Babylonian.  Their  internal  and  ex- 
ternal decorations.  Resemblance  to  Greek  forms— "  7o?n"c"  capital.  Other  capi- 
tals and  bases.  Wooden  columns.  §  17.  Forts,  cities,  and  villages.  §  IS.  Use  of 
the  arch.  §  19.  Assyrian  sculpture.  Inferiority  of  single  statues.  Characteris- 
tics of  the  bas-reliefs.     Their  three  epochs.     §20.  Painting  and  other  arts. 

§  1.  The  foregoing  chapters  give  an  outline  of  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge  of  the  history  of  Assyria  and  Baby- 
lonia. That  much  still  remains  to  be  discovered  is  a  truth 
most  evident  to  those  who  have  already  discovered  most. 
It  is  less  than  half  a  century  since  all  the  bricks  and  frag- 
ments gathered  by  Mr.  Rich  at  Hlllah  (Babylon),  JVimrud, 
and  the  mounds  opposite  JIosul,  were  exhibited  in  a  case 
scarcely  three  feet  square  ;  and  imaginary  restorations  of  the 


ARCHITECTURE.  365 

temple  of  Belus,  after  the  description  of  Herodotus,  did  duty 
in  our  picture  Bibles  for  the  Tower  of  Babel.  It  is  not  like- 
ly that  another  half  century  will  throw  our  present  knowl- 
edge into  the  shade  in  any  similar  degree ;  but  a  vast  work 
remains  in  adding  to  it  and  setting  its  results  in  a  clearer 
liglit.  Mr.  Layard  himself  observes  that  "  those  extensive 
and  systematic  excavations  which  are  absolutely  necessary 
before  we  can  determine  the  exact  period  and  nature  of  the 
numerous  ruins  existing  in  Assyria,  and  before  we  can  deal 
Avith  confidence  with  the  materials  at  our  disposal,  have  yet 
to  be  carried  on.  .  .  .  The  vast  mounds  of  earth  which  cov- 
er the  Assyrian  ruins  will  have  to  be  explored  to  their  very 
foundations,  and  tunnels  or  trenches  carried  through  them 
in  every  direction  ;  for  it  is  impossible  to  conjecture  what 
may  yet  remain  beneath  the  edifices  hitherto  explored  at 
Nimrud,Koyunjik,  and  elsewhere.  .  .  .  Until  this  is  done,  it 
can  not  be  said  that  we  liave  obtained  the  materials  which 
are  necessary  to  enable  us  to  restore  the  history  and  to  il- 
lustrate the  arts  and  manners  of  the  ancient  Assyrians." 
Meanwhile,  however,  "  although  our  knowledge  is  lar  from 
complete,  yet  the  sculptures  and  inscriptions  have  enabled 
us  to  put  together  a  part  of  the  skeleton  of  Assyrian  histo- 
ry, and  to  illustrate  to  a  certain  extent  the  manners,  arts, 
sciences,  and  literature  of  the  Assyrian  people.  .  .  .  The  dis- 
coveries in  Assyria  and  Babylonia  liave  enabled  us  to  reach 
one  of  the  remotest  sources  of  that  mighty  stream  of  human 
progress  which  has  been  developed,  through  Greece  and 
Rome,  into  our  present  civilization."^ 

§  2.  The  works  of  I^ folding,  whof^G  ruins  have  yielded  all 
the  other  discoveries,  claim  notice  first.  They  consist  of 
temples^  palaces^  and  tonibs^  with  some  very  scanty  remains 
oi prwate  houses;  aiui  a  distinction  is  to  be  observed  be- 
tween the  buildings  which  belong  to  different  ages  and  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country.  The  temple-toioers  —  which 
seem  to  be  a  primitive  type  of  Cushite  architecture — are 
characteristic  of  Babylonia.  The  most  ancient  examples  are 
found  in  the  mounds  of  the  great  plain  of  Chaldsea  and  Snsi- 
ana,  especially  at  Warka^  Miigheh\  Senkereh^  and  Ahu-Shah- 
rein.  The  latest  are  at  Babylon,  the  mounds  of  which  con- 
tain no  monuments  which  are  certainly  older  than  the  time 
of  Nebuchadnezzar ;  but,  as  we  have  seen  from  his  own  rec- 
ords, his  temple-towers  were  restorations  or  imitations  of 
much  more  ancient  buildings.  The  palaces  are  the  charac- 
teristic buildings  of  the  mounds  at  and  about  Nineveh  ;  but 
it  still  remains  to  be  seen  what  older  types  are  hidden  among 

>  Lnyard,  "Nineveh  and  Babylon,"  lutrod.  to  the  abridged  edition  of  18GT. 


3GG 


CIVILIZATION  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


the  ruins  of  the  primeval  city.  The  same  remark  applies  to 
the  sepulchral  buildings;  for,  in  most  striking  conti-ast  with 
the  vast  cemeteries  of  the  Egyptian  cities,  not  a  single  old 
Assyrian  tomb  has  been  discovered ;  while  in  Chalda^a,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  oldest  cities  are  begirt  with  a  broad  belt 
of  tombs — a  suburb  of  the  dead. 

§  3.  The  material  common  to  nearly  all  the  edifices,  not 
only  in  the  alluvial  plain,  but  in  Assyria — where  it  was  not 
a  case  of  necessity — is  brick^  in  its  two  forms,  sun-dried  and 
hard-burnt.  The  bricks  diifered  greatly  from  ours,  both  in 
size  and  shape,  and  tliey  had  also  more  variety  among  them- 
selves. They  approached  more  nearly  to  the  square  and  tliiii 
Roman  pattern,  though  they  were  smaller  and  thicker.     The 


Babylonian  Brick. 

oldest  baked  bricks  of  Chalda?a  are  about  11:^  inches  square 
and  1\  inches  tliick  ;  the  later  Babylonian  are  about  13  inch- 
es square  and  3  inches  thick  ;  so  that  we  might  roughly  de- 
scribe them  all  as  about  a  foot  square  and  from  2  to  3  inches 
thick.  In  the  sun-dried  bricks  greater  difference  was  al- 
lowed:  their  size  varies  from  16  to  6  inches  square,  and 
from  7  to  2  inches  in  thickness.  The  baked  bricks  differ 
much  in  color  and  quality.  "  The  best  quality  of  baked 
brick  is  of  a  yellovnsh  tinge,  and  very  much  resembles  our 
Stourbridge  or  fire-brick;  another  kind,  extremely  hard,  but 
brittle,  is  of  a  blackish  blue  ;  a  third,  the  coarsest  of  all,  is 
slack-dried,  and  oi  ^  pale  red.  The  earliest  baked  bricks  are 
of  this  last  color.'"  Besides  the  regular  shapes,  some  were 
triangular,  for  the  corners  of  walls ;  others  wedge-shaped,  for 

2  Rawlinsou,  vol.  i.  p.  91 ;  Loftus,  "  Chaldaea  and  Siis-iaua,"  p.  130. 


ARCHITECTURE. 


367 


the  construction  of  tl^.e  arch,  the  use  of  which  in  Assyria  we 
have  presently  to  describe. 

The  sun-dried  bricks  arc  rarely  used  alone  ;  as  they  are  in 
the  Boioarlyeh  ruin  at  Warl'a  (probably  the  ancient  Erech). 


Chaldaean  Keeds  (from  a  slab  of  SeiuiacheribV 


They  generally  form  the  interior  mass,  protected  from  the 
weather  bv  a  casing  of  burnt  bricks,  v.hich  is  often  as  much 
as  ten  feet  thick.  In  both  cases  the  crude  brick  wall  ^yas 
strengthened  by  the  rcefh  with  which  the  marshes  of  Baby- 
lonialibounded— not  in  mere  strips,  like  our  bonds  of  timber 


368 


CIVILIZATION  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


or  hoop-iron — but  in  the  form  oi  thick  layers  of  reed-matting^ 
steeped  in  bitumen,  Avhich  are  laid  in  along  the  whole  build- 
ing at  every  four  or  five  feet  of  its  height,  and  project  be- 
yond the  surfxce  of  the  wall.  Thus  the  reeds  served  not 
only  as  a  bond,  but  a  protection  from  the  weather,  and  they 
present  a  curious  appearance.  "  They  stripe  the  w^hole  build- 
ing with  continuous  horizontal  lines,  having  at  a  distance 
somewhat  the  eflect  of  the  courses  of  dark  marble  in  an  Ital- 
ian structure  of  the  Byzantine  period.'"  Hence  it  is  that  the 
chief  mound  at  Warka  derives  its  name  oi  Bowariyeh  (i.  e., 


Bowariyeh. 

reed-mats).^  Reeds  are  never  found  in  walls  of  burnt  brick, 
Anothei-  method  of  obtaining  strength  was  to  use  the  crude 
and  burnt  bricks  in  alternate  layers,  each  of  several  feet  in 
thickness.  The  cement  employed  was  either  mud  (or  clay), 
sometimes  mixed  with  chopped  straw,  or  the  bitumen  which 
is  a  characteristic  production  of  Babylonia — the  crude  bricks 
being  laid  in  the  former  and  the  burnt  bricks  in  the  latter. 
In  the  earliest  buildings  the  walls,  especially  when  of  crude 
biick,  were  strengthened  by  massive  buttresses  of  burnt  brick. 
In  a  few  cases,  use  has  been  made  of  the  limestone  and 
sandstone  obtained  from  the  hills  on  the  margin  of  the  Ara- 
bian desert.  Thus  at  Abu- S/iahre in—the  most  southern  con- 
siderable mound  on  the  Euphrates,  and  the  nearest  to  the 
Arabian  hills — the  platform  of  the  temple,  which  is  of  beat- 
en clay,  is  cased  with  a  stone  wall,  in  some  places  20  feet 
thick ;  and  the  stairs  leading  up  to  the  first  story  are  made 
of  blocks  of  polished  marble,  fastened  by  copper  bolts  above 
the  steps  of  sun-dried  bricks>     This  edifice  also  shows  the 


3  ■Rawlinsoi),  vol.  i.  pp.  92-3. 
*  Sec  the  description  of  Mr.  L' 


.11?,  "ChalditM  and  Siisiana,"  pi).  167-lTO. 


BABYLONIAN  TEMPLE-TOWERS.  369 

peculiarity  of  a  pair  of  columns  flanking  the  foot  of  the 
staircase,  and  of  curious  construction.  "A  circular  nucleus, 
composed  of  sandstone  slabs  and  small  cylindrical  j^ieces  of 
marble,  disposed  in  alternate  layers,  was  coated  externally 
with  coarse  lime,  mixed  with  stones  and  pebbles."^  In  As- 
syria, where  there  was  no  such  absence  of  stone  as  in  the  al- 
luvial plain  of  Chaldffia.^  bricks — generally  sun-dried — were 
still  preferred  for  the  body  of  the  walls,  which  were  faced 
externally  with  blocks  of  stone  and  architectural  decorations 
in  the  same  material,  and  internally  with  the  sculptured 
slabs  of  alabaster  and  gypsum,  so  frequently  mentioned  al- 
ready, and  with  patterns  in  enamelled  brick,  plates  of  metal, 
and  panels  of  choice  woods  ;  while  in  other  parts  the  bare 
walls  were  covered  with  costly  hangings. 

§  4.  The  oldest  type  of  building  is  the  temple-tower,  or 
ziggurat^  which  the  Tov^er  of  Babel  has  made  familiar  to  us 
in  name.  Numerous  examples  have  been  discovered  in  the 
mounds,  which,  in  fact,  owe  their  peculiar  appearance  to  the 
form  of  the  edifice.  It  was  a  tower  built  up  of  stories  on  a 
massive  substructure  or  platform  ;  and  as  the  upper  stories 
have  fallen  about  the  lowei-,  the  latter  have  been  preserved 
as  the  core  of  the  conical  heaps.  The  mounds  oi  3fuf/hei}\ 
Se7ikereh,  and  Niffer  are  about  70  feet  high,  and  the  Boica- 
riyeh  mound  at  Warka  reaches  100  feet;  the  great  mound 
oi  Babil^at  Babylon,  is  130  or  140  feet  high;  and  the  fa- 
mous Birs-i-N^hnrucl.Xhe  latest  and  probably  the  most  per- 
fect example  of  these  buildings,  rises  153^  feet  above  the 
plain,  having  lost  (as  is  supposed)  only  three  feet  of  its  orig- 
inal height. 

The  account  of  the  last-named  edifice  by  its  builder,  Neb- 
uchadnezzar, leaves  no  doubt  that  its  stages  were  in  some 
way  connected  with  the  several  planets  ;''  and  we  know  that 
the  temples  of  the  ChakUean  cities  were  sacred  to  the  dei- 
ties who  impersonated  the  heavenly  bodies.  Add  to  these 
facts  the  exact  "orientation"  of  the  buildings,  and  the  as- 
tronomical fame  of  the  Chaldean  priests,  and  there  can  re- 
main little  doubt  that  all  these  buildings  were  used  as  ob- 
servatories as  well  as  temples.  Elevated  on  their  stages 
above  the  mists  of  the  plain  below,  the  priest  tracked  through 
the  cloudless  sky  the  mysterious  movements  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  which  he  served  : 

"  Their  wandering  course,  now  high,  now  low,  then  hid, 
Progressive,  retrograde,  or  standing  still." 

§  5.  In  the  conipletest  form — "the  Temple  of  the  Seven 
Lights  of  Heaven"  at  Borsippa  (the  Birs-i-N'imrud) — there 

5  Pawlinson,  vol.  i.  p.  101.  «  See  above,  chap.  x.  5  G. 

IG* 


370  CIVILIZATION  (3F  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

was  one  stage  for  each  of  the  chief  heavenly  bodies,  arranged 
in  the  order  of  the  so-called  "  Ptolemaic  system,"  and  dis- 
tinguished by  the  approj^riate  color  of  its  facing  of  enamel- 
led bricks  or  metal  plates/  The  highest  story  {silver?)  was 
that  of  the  Moon,  as  at  once  the  nearest  to  the  earth,  and 
one  of  the  chief  objects  of  old  Chaldean  worship:  then, 
counting  downward,  came  Mercury  {blue)  ;  Venus  {fjelloio), 
the  Sun  { c/ old /),  Mars  (/w?),  Jupiter  {oranr/e),  and  Saturn 
{black).  The  whole  was  raised  a  few  feet  above  the  plain  on 
a  platform  of  crude  brick,  and  was  surmounted  by  the  shrine 
or  chapel  of  the  god,  which  was  richly  ornamented  within 
and  without. 

Tlie  proportions  of  the  building  are  very  curious.  Each 
stage  is  an  exact  square,  with  the  angles  (not  the  faces)  to 
the  cardinal  points  ;  and  each  is  less  than  the  one  below ; 
thus  forming  an  ascent  of  seven  huge  steps  from  the  plat- 
form to  the  shrine  :  but,  whereas  the  first  three  of  these  steps 
rose  26  feet  each,  the  last  four  rose  15  feet  each  ;  and  tliis 
seems  also  to  have  been  the  height  of  the  chapel.  Each  stage 
was  smaller  than  the  one  below  by  the  same  absolute  quan- 
tity, namely,  42  feet,  of  the  side— thus  diminishing  from  a 
square  of  272  feet,  at  the  base,  to  one  of  20  feet,  at  the  sum- 
mit ;  but  the  stages  were  not  placed  centrically  upon  each 
other.  On  the  N.W.  and  S.E.  sides  the  recess  of  the  steps 
was  equal ;  but  on  the  N.E.,  which  may  be  considered  as 
the  front,  each  stage  receded  30  feet,  leaving  only  12  feet 
at  the  back,  or  the  S.W.  side.  Thus  the  axis  of  the  build- 
jncr — that  is,  the  line  joining  the  centres  of  the  stages — was 
inclined  to  the  horizon;  an"d  if  we  imaghie  the  buikling  in- 
closed by  lines  joining  the  corresponding  corners  of  the  steps, 
the  figure  so  formed  would  be  an  oblique  pyramid. 

This  last  observation  is  not  a  mere  matter  of  curiosity ;  it 
points  to  an  interesting  relation  between  the  Babylonian 
temple-towers  and  the  Egyptian  pyramids..  As  the  former 
might  be  completed  to  pyramids  by  filling  up  their  steps  to 
a  sloping  surface  between  their  edges ;  so  the  latter,  by  a 
converse  process,  might  be  converted  into  a  graduated  tow- 
er, or  ziggurat;  and^this— certainly  in  some  cases,  and  prob- 
ably in  all — was  the  actual  form  of  the  pyramid  at  a  certain 
stage  of  its  construction— a  form  at  which  it  lias  stopped  iii 
one  remarkable  case,  the  "  pyramid  of  degrees"  at  Sakkara." 

"•  The  ailvei-  aud  (joU  casing  ol'  the  highest  and  middle  stories  (wliich  we  mark  as 
doubtful)  have  been  lost ;  but  they  may  be  inferred  from  Nebuchadnezzar's  inscription. 

s  The  distinction  must,  however,  be  observed— that  the  steps  of  the  "  pyramid  of 
degrees  "  arc  much  more  numerous  and  siv.aller  than  they  would  be  iu  a  temple- 
tower  of  the  same  size.  There  is  no  sntRcient  proof  of  the  opinion  that  this  is  the 
oldest  of  the  pyramids. 


TEMPLE  OF  THE  MOON  AT  MUGHIER.  371 

But,  though  the  analogy  between  tliese  two  primeval  forms 
is  thus  sliown  to  be  more  than  a  geometrical  iaiicy,  the  two 
marked  distinctions  remain — that  the  Egyptian  pyramid  is 
ahvays  ri(//it  (its  axis  is  perpendicular),  and  its/aces  (not  its 
angles)  front  the  cardinal  points. 

§  6.  The  form  now  described  is  the  most  finished  type  of 
the  edifice:  the  earlier  examples  are  much  simpler.  In  the 
mound  of  Babil,^  within  the  ruins  of  Babylon — with  its  al- 
most perpendicular  sides  and  fiat  top,  upon  a  base  forming 
an  irregular  square  of  about  200  feet — some  antiquarians  see 
an  example  of  a  single  gigantic  basement,  on  which  they  sup- 
l)ose  the  chapel  to  have  been  placed,  without  intervening 
stages.  But  if — as  seems  from  its  position — this  was  the 
temple  of  Belus,  which  Herodotus  describes  as  (like  the  I^irs- 
i-Nlmrud  at  Boi-sippa)  an  edifice  of  eight  stages,'"  its  present 
form  must  be  accounted  for  by  the  spoliation  of  ages  pre- 
ceding its  final  ruin. 

It  is  in  tlie  mounds  of  the  Chalda^an  plain  that  we  find  the 
oldest  existing  types,  with  two  or  at  the  most  three  stories; 
the  lowest  being  of  crude,  and  the  upper  of  baked  bricks; 
and,  in  the  chief  of  these,  the  style  of  construction  confirms 
what  the  names  on  the  inscribed  bricks  prove,  that  the  pres- 
ent superstructure  has  been  added  or  repaired  at  a  much 
later  age.  We  have  seen  the  Babylonian  kings  boasting 
their  piety  as  restoi'ers  of  temples  ;  and  we  have  found  the 
last  king  of  Babylon  expressly  stating  that  he  renovated  the 
very  edifice  whicli  is  still  the  most  perfect,  and  is  supposed 
to  be  the  oldest,  example  of  the  ancient  temples,  that  of  tlie 
Moon  at  Muf/Jiely. 

This  building  is  raised  on  a  platform  about  20  feet  above 
the  plain,  and  consists  at  present  of  two  stories :  the  Arabs 
told  the  explorer,  Mr.  Taylor,  that  remains  existed  half  a  cen- 
tury ago  of  a  third  story,  in  the  form  of  a  chamber,  which 
appears  to  have  been  the  shrine  of  a  god."  A  numbei-  of 
bricks  or  tiles  glazed  with  a  blue  enamel,  and  many  of  the 
large  copper  nails  that  fastened  them  to  the  walls,  were  iound 
about  the  ruins  at  such  a  distance  that  they  might  very  well 
have  fiillen  from  the  chapel  on  the  summit.  The  plan  of  the 
building  is  not  a  square,  but  a  rectangle  of  198  feet  by  183 
feet,  the  longer  side  (ov/ront)  facing  the  S  E.  ;  and  the  i.ipper 
story,  a  rectangle  of  119  feet  by  75  feet,  is  so  placed  upon 
the  lower  that  its  S.E.  face  recedes  47  feet,  and  the  opposite 

^  This  was  formerly  mistaken  for  tlie  remains  of  the  Tower  of  Babel. 
-0  Herod,  i.  ISl.     The  seven  staj^of;  and  the  platform  Avould  make  eit>at. 
^1  See  Mr.  Taylor's  account  of  the  ruins  in  the  "Journal  of  the  Asiriilc  Gocioty," 
vol.  XV.  p.  264. 


372  CIVILIZATION  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

(N.W.)  face  only  30  feet ;  the  recess  of  the  two  other  sides 
being  about  equal,  namely  28  feet. 

The  lower  story  is  a  mass  of  small  crude  bricks,  faced  with 
a  wall  of  burnt  bricks  ten  feet  thick,  against  which  are  built 
a  number  of  shallow  buttresses,  about  eight  feet  wide  and 
one  foot  in  projection,  nine  on  the  longer  faces  and  six  on  the 
shorter,  counting  in  those  at  the  angles.  The  effect  is  curi- 
ously like  a  medieval  keep  or  donjon.  Both  walls  anil  but- 
tresses liave  an  inward  slope  of  about  nine  degrees,  giving 
the  same  stable  pyramidal  appearance  which  characterizes 
Egyptian  architecture.  On  the  north-eastern  side,  there  is 
aiTexternal  staircase,  nine  feet  wide,  with  sides  or  balustrades 
three  feet  Avide  ;  but  it  is  conjectured  that  the  grand  stair- 
case was  on  the  S.E.  face,  and  equal  in  width  to  the  whole 
of  the  upper  story.'''  The  brick-work  of  this  story  is  laid  en- 
tirely in  bitumen  ;''  and  the  whole  mass  is  ventilated  by  a 
number  of  narrow  air-holes,  pierced  from  side  to  side,  through 
walls  and  buttresses.  The  upper  story  is  similarly  con- 
structed, except  that  the  bricks  of  the  inner  mass  are  partly 
burnt,  of  a  light  red  color,  and  laid  in  a  cement  of  lime  and 
ashes,  and  the  burnt  bricks  of  the  facing  are  laid  in  excellent 
lime-mortar,  except  on  the  N.W.  face,  where  bitumen  is  used. 
This  story  had  no  buttresses.  The  height  of  the  lower  story, 
at  present  only  27  feet,  is  calculated  to  have  been  40  feet; 
the  upper  story  evidently  mucli  exceeded  its  present  height 
of  1 9  feet.  The  probable  appearance  of  the  building  is  shown 
in  the  cut. 


^^si        ^■ja=r  ■-  _^1 


§  1.  Neither  this  nor  any  of  the  similar  remains  exhibit 
any  appearance  of  external  ornament  beyond  the  variety  of 
surface  given  by  the  buttresses.  Like  the  Egyptian  pyra- 
mids, these  edifices  dej^ended  for  their  effect  upon  the  mass 
seen  fir  and  wide  over  the  level  plain  ;  and,  unlike  tlicm, 
with  a  striking  quaintness  from  being  built  in  stages.  The 
signs  of  internal  ornament,  already  noticed  at  Mtigheir^  are 
stTu  juore  conspicuous  at  Abu-S/uihrem,  where  "  the  ground 

-2  Korodotus  mentions  the  external  staircases  of  the  temple  of  Bclas  at  Babylon. 
13  Hence  tlir  name  of  Mitrjheir,  which  Sir  H.  R:;»vlinson  explains  nf^Um-quir  {mother 
of  bitumen) ;  hut  Professor  Rawlinson  as  a  participial  form,  the  bitumcned. 


DOMESTIC  ARCHITECTURAL  REMAINS.  373 

about  the  basement  of  the  second  story  was  covered  with 
small  pieces  of  agate,  alabaster,  and  marble,  finely  cut  and 
polished,  from  half  an  inch  to  two  inches  long,  and  half  an 
inch  (or  somewhat  less)  in  breadth,  each  with  a  hole  drilled 
through  its  back,  containing  often  a  fragment  of  a  copper 
bolt.  It  was  also  strewn  less  thickly  with  small  plates  of 
pure  gold,  and  with  a  number  of  gold-headed  or  gilt-headed 
nails,"used  apparently  to  attach  the  gold  plates  to  the  inter- 
nal plaster  or  wood-work.  These  fragments  seem  to  attest 
the  high  ornamentation  of  the  shrine  in  this  instance,  which 
we  have  no  reason  to  regard  as  singular  or  in  any  way  ex- 
ceptional.'"* 

§  8.  The  plain  of  Chaldsea  has  furnished  one  or  two  re- 
mains of  domestic  architecture,  which  may  or  may  not  be- 
long to  the  most  ancient  period.  These  also  are  built  of 
sun-dried  brick,  and  are  raised  on  a  platform  of  the  same 
material,  paved  with  burnt  brick.  The  chambers  have  the 
same  long  and  nariow  proportions  which  we  see  on  a  much 
larger  scale  in  the  Assyrian  palaces,  probably  for  the  better 
support  of  a  flat  roof  of  the  wood  of  the  date-palm  ;  for  much 
charred  wood  was  found  among  the  ruins.  There  are  two 
arched  door-ways — the  arch  being  a  real  one,  constructed  of 
wedge-shaped  bricks  made  for  the  purpose.  The  external 
walls  are  in  part  flat,  covered  with  a  diapered  pattern  of 
colored  bricks,  in  part  moulded  into  half-columns,  ornament- 
ed with  a  variety  of  scaly,  zigzag,  and  wavy  patterns,  appar- 
ently in  imitation  of  the  trun'k  of  the  date-palm,  and  suggest- 
ing an  original  form  of  building,  in  which  the  walls  Avere 
made  of  such  trunks  set  up  side  by  side.  Internally  the 
chambers  are  lined  with  smooth  plaster,  painted  with  colored 
bands,  and,  in  one  case,  with  a  rude  picture  of  a  man  holding 
a  bird  on  his  wrist,  with  a  smaller  figure  near  him,  in  red 
paint.  The  inlaid  patterns  on  the  walls  were  often  made  by 
a  curious  and  ingenious  process.  Colored  cones  of  terra-cot- 
ta  were  imbedded  in  the  plaster,  so  as  to  show  either  their 
bases,  or  their  points,  or  a  portion  of  their  sides,  arranged  in 
a  great  variety  of  combinations. 

§  9.  Among  the  most  curious  remains  found  in  the  lower 
plain  are  the  Tombs,  which  encircle  the  old  cities  in  such 
numbers  as — combined  with  the  non-discovery  of  tombs  in 
Upper  Babylonia  and  Assyria — to  suggest  the  theory  that 
both  the  Babylonians  and  the  Assyrians  may  have  made  the 
sacred  land  of  Chaldsea  the  general  depository  of  their  dead.^^ 

14  Rawlinsou,  "Five  Monarchieg,"  vol.i.  p.  103. 

15  Rawlinsou,  vol.  i.  p.  lOT  ;  Loftu?,  p.  199.  Of  coarse  this  is,  at  pieseut,  only  a  con.- 
i.ecture. 


374  CIVILIZATION  OF  iiABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

"At  Warka,  for  instance,  excepting  tlie  triangular  space  be- 
tween the  three  principal  ruins,  the  whole  remainder  of  the 
platform,  the  Avhole  space  within  the  walls,  and  an  unknown 
extent  of  desert  beyond  them,  are  everywhere  filled  with 
human  bones  and  sepulchres.  In  places  coffins  are  piled 
upon  coffins,  certainly  to  the  depth  of  30,  probably  to  the 
depth  of  60  feet ;  and  for  miles  on  each  side  of  the  ruins  the 
traveller  walks  upon  a  soil  teeming  with  the  relics  of  ancient 
and  now  probably  extinct  races,""^  In  some  cases  the  re- 
mains of  very  diffin-ent  times  are  evidently  mingled;  in  otli- 
ers  there  are  thought  to  be  signs  restricting  them  to  particu- 
lar limits  of  time.'" 

The  tombs  which  seem  to  be  the  most  ancient  are  of  three 
kinds.  The  first  are  vaults,  about  7  feet  long,  3  feet  7  inch- 
es broad,  and  5  feet  high;  the  pavement,  vvalls,  and  roof  be- 
ing of  sun-dried  bricks,  laid  in  mud.  The  walls  slope  slight- 
ly outward,  as  far  as  the  spring  of  the  roof,  which  is  a  false 
arcli^  formed  by  layers  of  bricks,  each  pi'ojecting  inward 
over  the  next  below,  and  closed  at  the  top  by  a  single  brick. 
A  similar  construction  is  seen  in  the  Scythian  tombs  ;'^  and, 
on  a  larger  scale,  in  Egyptian  architecture.  These  vaults  ap- 
pear to  have  been  family  sepulchres,  the  number  of  skeletons 
contained  in  them  being  often  three  or  four,  and  in  one  case 
as  many  as  eleven. 

The  second  form  resembles  a  huge  dish-cover — or,  to  use 
a  likeness  rather  incongruous  to  a  subject  so  grave,  the  crust 
of  a  raised  pie — in  one  piece  ot  terra-cotta,  covering  the  body, 
which  lies  on  a  platform  of  sun-dried  brick.  No  more  than 
two  skeletons — and,  when  two,  always  male  and  female — are 
found  beneath  these  covers  :  chiktren  were  bui-ied  sej^arately 
under  smaller  covers.  In  both  these  forms  of  burial  the  skele- 
ton is  laid  upon  a  reed-mat,  genei-ally  ui)on  its  left  side,  with 
the  right  arm  across  the  body,  its  fingers  resting  on  the  edge 
of  a  copper  bowl,  which  lies  on  the  palm  of  the  left  hand.  Tlie 
head  is  pillowed  on  a  sun-dried  brick,  on  which  may  some- 
times be  seen  the  remains  of  a  tasselled  cushion  of  tapestry- 
work.  Besides  the  copper  bowl,  the  tombs  contain  a  variety 
of  articles,  among  which  are  always  vessels  lor  the  food  nnd 
drink  which  the  deceased  was  suj)i)Osed  to  need  upon  lus 
long  journey. 

In  the  third  form  of  burial  a  single  corpse  was  laid  in  an 
earthenware  coffin,  formed  by  two  bell-jars  placed  mouth  to 
month,  and  sealed  at  the  joint  with  bitumen,  an  opening  be- 
ing left  at  one  end  fo^  the  escape  of  the  gases  resulting  from 

i«  Rawlinson,  ?.  c. ;  Loftus,  p.  199.  i-  Loftus,  p.  134. 

'8  See  Ravvliusou's  "  Heroclotu?,"  vol.  iii.  p.  61. 


TOMBS— OBJECTS  OF  UTILITY  FOUND  TIIEKEIN.       375 


decomposition.  Another  precaution,  which  shows  the  care 
bestowed  on  the  remains,  Avas  an  elaboi-ate  system  of  drain- 
age  by  earthenware  pipes,  from  top  to  bottom  of  the  mounds 
in  which  the  coffins  wei'C  deposited/" 

Another  form  of  coffin — found  in  large  numbers  by  Mr. 
Loftus  at  Warka"^"- — is  a  single  piece  of  earthenware,  coated 
with  a  blue  vitreous  glaze,  nearly  in  the  shape  of  our  coffins, 
only  largest  at  the  head,  where  the  body  was  inserted 
throngh  a  Iiole  in  the  upper  surface.'"'' 

§  10.  The  objects  of  utility  found  in  these  tombs,  and 
elsewhere  among  the  ruins,  are  vessels  and  lamps  of  pottery 
— a  manufacture  in  which  the  construction  of  the  tombs 
themselves  shows  considerable  skill ;  knives,  hatchets,  arrow- 
heads, and  other  implements  both  oi^  flint  and  bronze — the 
former  seeming  to  bear  witness  of  a  time  when  the  latter 
was  still  scarce  ;  and  chains,  nails,  fish-hooks,  etc.,  of  the 
same  metal;  and  some  leaden  pipes  and  jars — but  this  met- 
al is  rare.  Iron  appears  only  in  articles  of  ornament,  such 
as  coarse  armlets,  bracelets,  and  finger-rings;  and  similar 
articles  are  found  in  bronze.  The  (/olden  ear-rings  are  of 
doubtful  age, and  silver  is  "conspicuous  by  its  absence." 

The  fine  arts  are  represented  by  a  few  rude  bas-reliefs  on 
clay  tablets,  and  more  particularly  by  the  curious  cylinders 
whicli  were  used  as  seals.  "  It  is  clearly  established  that  the 
cylinders  in  question,  which  are  generally  of  serpentine,  me- 
teoric stone,  jasper,  chalcedony,  or  other  similar  substance, 
were  the  seals  or  signets  of  their  possessors,  who  impressed 
them  upon  the  moist  clay  which  formed  the  ordinary  ma- 
terial for  writing.  They  are 
round,  or  nearly  so — sometimes 
slightly  concave,  as  in  the  fig- 
ure— and  measure  from  half  an 
inch  to  three  inches  in  length ; 
ordinarily  they  are  about  one- 
third  of  their  length  in  diame- 
ter. A  hole  is  bf)i-ed  througli 
the  stone  from  end  to  end,  so 
that  it  could  be  worn  upon  a 
string  ;  and  cylinders  are  found  t^cMi-Cjhnde.  on  mot.ii  ax.^. 

ill  some  of  the  earliest  tombs  wliich  have  been  worn  round  the 
wrist  in  this  way.  In  early  times  they  may  have  been  im- 
pressed by  the  hand,  but  afterwards  it  Avas  common  to  place 
them  upon  a  bronze  or  copper  axis  attached  to  a  handle,  by 

13  For  A  full  descriptioii  see  Kawlinson,  vol.i.  p.  113. 

2"  A  specimen  mny  he  seen  in  the  British  Museum. 

21  This  form  inny  peihnps  belong  to  the  Parthian  period. 


876  CIVILIZATION  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

mea<is  of  which  they  were  rolled  across  the  clay  from  one  end 
to  the  other."  The  cylinders  are  most  frequently  unengraved, 
and  this  is  most  commonly  their  condition  in  the  primitive 
tombs;  but  there  is  some  very  curious  evidence,  from  which 
it  appears  that  the  art  of  engraving  them  was  really  known 
and  practiced  (though  doubtless  in  rare  instances)  at  a  very 
early  date.  The  signet-cylinder  of  the  monarch  who  found- 
ed the  most  ancie:,u  of  the  buildings  at  Mugheir,  Warka, 
Senkei'eh,  and  Niifer,  and  who  thus  stands  at  the  head  of 
the  monumental  kings,  was  in  the  possession  of  Sir  R.  Por- 
ter; and,  though  it  is  now  lost,  an  engraving  made  fi-om  it  Is 
preserved  in  his  'Travels.'  From  this  representation  it 
would  appear  that  the  art  had  already  made  considerable 
progress.  The  letters  of  the  inscription,  which  gives  the 
name  of  the  king  and  his  titles,  are  somewhat  rudely  formed, 
as  they  are  on  the  stamped  bricks  of  the  pei-iod  ;"  but  the 
figures  appear  to  have  been  as  well  cut,  and  as  llowingly 
traced,  as  those  of  a  much  later  date."^'  The  British  Mu- 
seum has  a  fragment  of  a  statue  in  black  basalt,  whicli  is 
thought  to  repi-esent  tlie  same  king. 

§11.  It  is  a  fact  strangely  in  contrast  with  the  progress 
made  in  Assyria,  that  in  Babylonia  the  plastic  art  scarcely 
shows  any  advance  from  the  remote  antiquity  of  Urukh  to 
the  time  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  cylinders  and  other  en- 
graved stones,  and  the  enamelled  bricks  which  represent  re- 
ligious subjects,  show  the  same  lank  proportions  of  the  hu- 
man figure,  the  same  clumsy  attitudes  and  stiffness  of  com- 
position, the  same  want  of  life  and  freedom,  in  the  latest  as 
in  the  earliest  age.  M.  Etienne  Quatremere  has  ventured  to 
apply  the  canon  of  proportion  to  Daniel's  description  of 
Nebuchadnezzar's  golden  image,  and  has  found  the  same 
fault  as  in  the  above  works  —  the  height  is  ten  times  the 
breadth.  But  we  may  take  the  sole  existing  specimen  of 
Babylonian  sculpture  Avhich  has  come  down  to  us — the  cele- 
brated group  in  black  basalt  of  a  lion  devouring  a  man,  on 
the  summit  of  the  mound  of  Kasi\  the  ancient  palace  of 
Babylon — as  a  decisive  proof  of  the  rudeness  of  plastic  art. 
Tlie  striking  difference  between  the  proportions  of  the  hu- 
man figure  in  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  sculptures — the 
former,  at  least  in  the  hieratic  examples,  being  thick  and 
short,  while  the  latter  are  elongated  and  slender — appears  to 
show  not  only  the  independence  of  the  two  styles,  but  that 
thoy  took  different  races  for  their  models. 

22  Mr.  LayiUfl  found  remains  of  the  bronze  in  one.specimeu  ("Nineveh  and  Babylon," 
p.  609).    The  above  representation  shows  the  probable  form  of  the  bronze  setting. 

23  Rav.linsou.  " Five  Monarchies,"  vol. i.  pp.  llT-119.    See  engravin:?,  p.  215. 


BABYLONIAN  SCULPTURE  AND  ARCHITECTURE.        377 

§  12.  The  architecture  of  later  Babylon  seems  to  have 
been,  for  the  most  part,  a  mere  development  of  the  most  an- 
cient forms,  with  more  ornamental  details.  Such  was  cer- 
tainly the  case  with  the  temple- towers  ;  and  the  famous 
hanging  gardens  —  w^hich  Nebuchadnezzar  is  said  to  have 
created  in  order  to  gratify  the  longing  of  his  Median  queen 
for  the  park-scenery  of  her  native  uplands — may  have  been 
an  immense  ziggurat^  with  planted  terraces. 

The  palace  architecture  of  Babylon  appears  to  have  been 
of  the  same  type  as,  and  probably  borrowed  from,  that  of 
Assyria.  We  possess  an  inscription  in  wdiich  Xebuchadnez- 
zar  describes  several  of  his  edihces.  ''  Minute  details  are 
given  of  the  various  ornaments  used  in  some  of  the  temples 
and  palaces,  and  these  decorations  appear  to  have  been  vcy 
rich.  If  the  tablets  could  be  completely  deciphered,  and  the 
meaning  of  many  doubtful  words  accurately  ascertained, 
much  information  would  be  obtained  relating  to  Babylonian 
architecture.  The  walls  were  built  of  burnt  bricks  and  bitu- 
men, lined  with  gypsum  and  other  materials.  Some  seem  to 
have  been  wainscoted.  Over  these  walls  was  Avood-work, 
and  on  the  top  an  awning  sustained  by  poles,  like  '  the 
white,  green,  and  blue  hangings,  fastened  with  cords  of  fine 
linen  and  purple  to  silver  rings  and  pillars  of  marble'  in 
Ahasuerus's  palace  at  Shushan."^*  Some  of  the  wood-work  is 
said  to  have  been  gilt^  other  parts  silvered  ;  and  a  large  por- 
tion of  it  wa-s  brought  from  Lebanon."*"  One  particular, 
recorded  by  Strabo,  seems  to  point  to  a  feature  by  which 
Babylonian  architecture  bore  witness  of  its  origin.  He  says 
that  the  Babylonians,  being  unable  to  procure  other  wood, 
made  their  beams  and  columns  of  the  trunks  of  palm-trees, 
binding  them  together  with  twisted  reeds,  and  then  paint- 
ing the  whole  with  colors.^^ 

The  chief  distinctive  feature  of  Babylonian  architecture 
was  the  profuse  employment  of  colored  decorations.  Ctesias 
describes  the  palace  of  Semiramis  (in  reality,  of  Xebuchad- 
nezzar),  at  Babylon,  as  having  its  walls  adorned  with  scenes 
of  war  and  hunting,  such  as  w^e  possess  from  the  Assyrian 
mlaces.  Berosus  gives  some  details  of  the  subjects  of  I'e- 
ligion  and  cosmogony  painted  on  the  walls  of  the  temjjle  of 
Bel.  These  decorations  are  referred  to  in  two  striking  pas- 
sages of  Ezekiel.  In  the  one,  the  prophet,  in  vision,  enters  the 
temple  of  Jerusalem,  as  modern  explorers  have  made  their 
way  into  the  Assyrian  edifices — "  when  I  had  digged  in  the 
wall,  behold  a  door" — and  sees  the  "chambers  of  imagery  " 
desecrated  Avith  scenes  borrowed   from  Babylon; — "So   I 

24  Esther  i.  C.       =5  Layard,  "Nineveh  and  Babylou,"  p.  530.       '^^  Strab.  xvi.  p.  1050, 


378  CIVILIZATION  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

went  in  and  saw  ;  and  behold  every  form  of  creeping  thingg, 
and  abominable  beasts,  and  all  the  idols  of  the  house  of  Is- 
rael, i)ortrayed  upon  the  wall  round  about.""  In  the  other, 
Aholibah — the  personification  of  Jerusalem — is  said  to  have 
been  enticed  "  when  she  saw  men  poilrayed  upon  the  wall, 
the  images  of  the  Chaldcecms  portrayed  with  vermilion,  gird- 
ed with  girdles  upon  their  loins,  exceeding  in  dyed  attire 
upon  their  heads,  all  of  them  princes  to  look  to,  after  the 
manner  of  the  Babylonians  of  Chaldcm,  the  land  of  their 
nativity y''''  Similar  paintings,  executed  in  enamelled  brick- 
work, covered  the  outer  walls  of  the  buildings,  together  with 
cuneiform  inscriptions  in  large  painted  characters,  which 
seem  never  to  have  been  used  by  the  Assyrians. 

The  ruins  of  some  Babylonian  edifices— especially  of  the 
palace  in  the  mound  of  A?^5y-— furnish  abundant  specimens 
of  a  curious  sort  of  colored  bas-reliefs  in  enamelled  brick, 
quite  different  from  any  thing  Assyrian.  The  process  ap- 
pears to  have  been  something  of  this  kind  :  The  subject  was 
modelled  on  a  sheet  of  clay  of  sufficient  size,  which  was  then 
cut  up  into  bricks,  stamped  with  guide-marks.  These  bricks 
were  coated  with  the  desired  colors,  which  were  vitrified  by 
firing  ;  and  the  sculpture  was  then  put  in  its  place  accord- 
ins;  to  the  guide-marks.  The  colors  chiefly  used  are  a  bril- 
liant blue,  red,  a  deep  yellow,  white,  and  black.'"  A  frag- 
ment of  a  limestone  frieze,  with  two  figures  of  deities,  was 
found  in  the  same  ruins.^" 

%  13.  If  the  general  truth,  that  architecture  springs  from 
relio-ion,  was  at  first  applicable  to  Assyria,  the  art  had  passed 
beyond  that  early  stage,  and  had  become  the  handmaid  of 
royal  pomp,  at  the  time  to  which  tlie  earliest  edifices  belong. 
It  may,  however,  be  fVom  the  accidents  of  modern  discovery, 
rather  than  from  the  ancient  practice  of  the  nation,  that  the 
few  temples  yet  found  seem  to  be  only  appendages  to  the 
royal  palaces.  What  we  have  liad  occasion  to  say  of  those 
palaces  and  their  sculptures,  as  illustrating  the  history  of 
their  builders,  leaves  only  the  necessity  for  a  brief  review 
of  their  general  structure  and  arrangements. 

Nor  need  we  discuss  in  full  the  question  already  touched 
upon,  whether  Assyria  owed  her  art  to  Babylon,  or — as  some 
have  contended— the  contrary.  The  most  probable  opinion 
is  that,  while  the  art  of  building  great  edifices  was  brought 
from  the  plain  of  Shinar  to  the  banks  of  the  Tigris,  the 
Assyrian  kings  gave    it   a  new  development,  and  that  the 

27  Ezek.  viii.  7,  f^sq.  ^^  Ezek.  xxiii.  14, 15. 

29  For  the  metallic  constitneiits  of  these  colors,  see  Laynrd,  "Nineveh  and  Baby- 
lon," p.  IGG,  note,  and  Aupcndix,  p.  G72.  ^"  Layard,  I.  c  p.  50S. 


ASSYRIAN  PALACES  AND  TEMPLES.  370 

sculpture    Avhicli    decorated    their    palaces    was    of   native 
growth. 

§  14.  The  first  conspicuous  feature  of  Assyrian  building — ■ 
derived  from  the  Babylonian  plain,  and  carried  out  on  a 
greater  scale — was  the  elevation,  not  only  of  their  temples 
^:_d  palaces,  but  of  the  chief  parts  of  their  cities,  on  artificial 
•Tiounds  of  earth.  This  explains  the  Greek  accounts  of  the 
enormous  thickness  of  the  walls  of  Nineveh.  We  learn  from 
an  inscription  of  Sennacherib,  that  the  city  walls  had  a  cir- 
cuit of  between  thirty  and  forty  miles,  faced  throughout  with 
brick,  but  backed  up  on  the  inner  side  by  a  great  embank- 
ment of  earth.  Hence  it  happened  that,  when  the  outer 
facing  of  bricks  gave  way,  the  piled-up  earth  poured  over 
its  ruins,  and  was  confounded  with  the  soil. 

In  some  of  the  separate  mounds  formed  by  the  ruins  of 
the  palaces,  we  still  find  the  containing  wall,  which  is  either 
of  brick,  or — in  the  best  examples,  as  at  Khoisabad— of  mass- 
ive stone  masonry,  rising  from  the  surface  of  the  ground  to 
a  height  somewhat  above  the  level  of  the  platform,  to  which 
it  formed  a  plain  or  balllemented  ]3arapet.  The  platform 
was  paved,  either  with  very  large  kiln-dried  bricks  or  Avith 
slabs  of  stone,  which  were  sometimes  covered  with  inscrip- 
tions, and  sometimes  ornamented  with  elegant  patterns. 
The  platform  always  abutted,  on  one  side,  upon  the  city  wall 
— at  Nineveh  overhanging  the  river — thus  gaining  fresh  air 
and  a  view  over  the  surrounding  country  ;  and  the  stairs 
Avhich  gave  access  to  it  were  on  the  inner  side,  towards  the 
city. 

Sometimes  one  platform  rose  above  another,  as  at  Khorsa- 
bad,  where  the  lower  terrace  forms  a  long  rectangle  placed 
like  the  head  of  a  T  across  tlie  foot  of  the  upper  terrace, 
which  is  square.  This  edifice  is  remarkable  for  its  unity ; 
having  been  built  by  a  single  king,  Sargon,in  a  moderate 
time. '  In  most  other  cases,  the  additions  made  by  successive 
kings,  who  built  palace  aftei-  palace  on  the  same  platform, 
gave  the  mound  a  very  irregidar  sha])e.  The  mound  of  Nim- 
rud  furnishes,  as  we  have  seen,  the  most  fully  explored  case 
of  several  palaces  on  the  same  platform. 

§15.  If  this  use  of  platforms  was  borrowed  from  Baby- 
lonia (where  it  was  a  necessity),  a  still  more  striking  instance 
of  adherence  to  tradition  is  furnished  by  the  continued  em- 
ployment of  crude  brick  in  a  country  which  abounded  in  ex- 
cellent building-stone,  and  where  we  see  the  transport  of 
huge  blocks  of  stone  on  rafts  of  inflated  skins  represented  on 
the  monuments.  The  Assyrians  did,  in  fact,  substitute  this 
material  in  muny  places  where  the  Babylonians  used  burnt 


380  CIVILIZATION  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

brick,  "  as  in  the  facings  of  platforms  and  of  temples,  )a 
dams  across  streams,  in  pavements  sometimes,  and  universal- 
ly in  the  ornamentation  of  the  lower  portions  of  palace  and 
temple-walls.'"'  But  all  inner  masses  were  either  formed  of 
sun-dried  brick,  or,  as  a  convenient  substitute,  the  walls  were 
made  of  earth  rammed  into  a  wooden  mou.id,  and  then  allowed 
to  di-y.  This  construction  was  adopted  even  for  the  roofs; 
thoug-h  whether  in  the  form  of  an  arch,  or  of  a  flat  roof  of 
wood  covered  with  rammed  earth,  is  a  point  still  in  dis- 
pute.^'' Tliese  thick  earthen  walls  and  ceilings  must  have 
secured  a  grateful  coolness. 

Of  the  general  arrangements  of  courts,  halls,  galleries,  and 
chambers^  and  the  decoration  of  the  interior  with  bas-reliefs, 
enamelled  tiles,  and  other  ornaments,  we  have  already  said 
as  much  as  our  space  allows.  The  reader  can  pursue  the 
subject  in  the  full  description,  given  by  the  leading  authori- 
ties, of  the  palace  of  Sargon  at  Khorsabad  ;  the  only  one 
which  has  been  so  systematically  explored  as  to  make  its 
plan  completely  intelligible.^^ 

§  10.  Tlie  xVssyi'ian  temples  hitherto  discovered  are  remark- 
able for  their  di'ttl'i-ence  from  the  Babylonian  type.  The  zif/- 
gurat  appears,  indeed,  at  Kileh-Sherghat,  at  Khorsabad,  and 
at  Nimrud,  where  it  forms  a  conspicuous  object  on  the  pal- 
ace platform  ;^''  but  so  little  is  it  the  entire  temp]?,  that  some 
writei-s  regard  it  as  a  mere  appendage  to  the  palace,  kept  up 
for  the  astrological  observations  to  which  the  Assyrian  kings 
attached  supreme  importance.^^  But  this  use  of  the  7:ig- 
gurats  would  be  quasi-religious;  and  peihaps  we  may  be  al- 
lowed the  homely  illustration  that  they  bore  to  the  Assyrian 
temples  somewhat  of  the  relation  of  a  steeple  to  a  church. 

The  true  Assyrian  temple,  at  all  events,  had  a  plan  more 
like  the  Egyptian  and  the  Jewish.  A  long  quadrangular 
chamber  formed  the  sacred  cell,  with  a  niche  at  the  upper 

31  Rawlinson,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  p.  422. 

•■'2  On  the  whole  of  the  contested  qnestions  about  the  roofing  and  lighting  of  the 
Assyrian  palaces,  and  the  existence  of  an  upper  storj',  we  must  be  content  to  refer 
to  the  works  of  Mr.  Layard,  Mr.  Ferguson,  and  Professor  Rawlinson. 

33  Speaking  of  the  latest  discoveries  of  M.  Place  at  Koyuujik,  Mr.  Layard  ol)serves 
tliat  "a  careful  examination  of  the  ruins,  and  the  discovery  of  a  variety  of  architect- 
ural details,  have  enabled  him  to  restore  many  external  features  of  the  Assyrian  pal- 
aces, and  to  settle  several  interesting  qucstions'of  construction  which  had  previously 
been  undetermined."    ("  Nin.  and  Babylon,"  abridged  edition,  Introduction,  p.  xxxiv.) 

34  The  discoveries  of  M.  Place  have  shown  that  the  Khorsabad  tower  had  seven 
stages,  like  the  Birs  Nimrud  atBorsippa,  and  probably  colored  after  the  same  fashion. 
That  of  Nimrud  only  shows  the  remains  of  one  lofty  stage,  pierced  with  a  curious 
arched  gallery,  100  feet  long,  12  feet  high,  and  G  feet  wide  ;  but  it  probal)ly  had  other 
stages  (see  Layard,  "Nin.  and  Bab."  p.  129  ;  Rawlinson,  vol.  i.  pp.  394-39!)).  A  bas-re- 
lief found  at  koy^mjik  has  an  interesting  representation  of  a  zu/gurat  of  four  stages 
(and  probably  more,  the  slab  being  broken),  ou  a  monud:  for  the  details,  which  are 
very  curious,  see  Rawlinson,  vol.  i.  p.  393. 

35  See  below,  chap.  xvii.  {  15. 


ASSYRIAN  ZIGGURATS  AND  TEMPLES.  381 

cud  for  the  statue  of  the  god.  Sometimes  there  was  a  small- 
er antechamber  [^  proiiaos  or  vestibule),  sometimes  not.  In 
the  former  case,  tlie  entrance  to  the  sacred  cell  was  at  the 
lower  end,  as  in  the  Egyptian  and  Jewisli  temples;  in  the 
latter  case,  the  entrance  was  at  the  side,  so  that  the  sacred 
image  was  not  exposed  to  a  passer-by  when  the  door  was 
open.  The  cell  was  surrounded  by  small  chambers  for  the 
use  of  the  priests.  The  inner  walls  were  covered  with  bas- 
reliefs  of  religious  subjects ;  and  the  pavement  was  either 
enriched  with  patterns  or  covered  with  inscriptions :  for  ex- 
ample, as  above  stated,  the  great  inscription  of  Asshur-nasir- 
pal  was  found  on  a  single  slab  which  paved  the  door-way  of 
one  of  the  small  temples  at  Nimrud.  The  door-way  was 
flanked  by  colossal  figures,  generally  of  man-bulls;  a  com- 
pound which  some  regard  as  the  emblem  of  Ninip  or  Bel- 
Merodach  ;  others  as  a  more  general  symbol  of  the  divine 
power,  like  the  Egyptian  sphinx,  representing  the  union  of 
material  force  and  intelligence  by  the  combination  of  the 
human  head  upon  the  body  of  the  most  vigorous  of  ani- 
mals.^« 

The  outer  walls  of  the  temple  were  covered  with  enam- 
elled bricks;  and  this  is  all  we  know  from  their  remains. 
But  further  information  of  the  greatest  interest  is  afforded 
from  representations  on  the  bas-reliefs  of  buildings  which  the 
attendant  objects  j^rove  almost  certainly  to  be  temples.  A 
description  of  these  would  be  of  little  use  without  the  pic- 
tures, which  may  be  seen  in  the  works  of  Layard  and  Raw- 
linson;  but  the  one  great  point  of  interest  is  this — they 
show  a  columnar  fayade  not  unlike  the  oldest  examples  of 
the  architecture  of  Greece  and  Western  Asia:  in  fact,  in  one 
case,  we  have  the  distinct  type  of  the  Ionic  capital.''^  There 
are  other  capitals  and  bases  of  very  varied  forms  :  among 
them  are  figures  of  lions  and  griftins,  forming  bases  (as  in 
the  Gothic  of  Northern  Italy);  and  figures  of  the  ibex,  not 
as  capitals^  but  ii^Ji)iials  to  columns  or  pilasters  prolonged 
above  the  roof  Of  the  former  use  of  animal  figures — literal- 
ly as  supjporters — M,  Place  found  a  very  curious  example  in 
the  city  gate  of  Khorsabad,  the  arch  of  which  springs  from 
the  back  of  the  man-bulls,  which  usually  only  flank  the  en- 
trance. 

That  the  use  of  columns  was  not  confined  to  temples,  but 

3"  In  the  temple  at  Nimrnd,  just  meutioued,  the  flauking  figures  are  Ut-wi,  wGlman- 
lions.    The  lion  appears  to  have  been  the  symbol  of  Nergal. 

^■^  We  purposely  avoid  saying,  "  the  protoiijpe ;''  for,  as  the  figure  occurs  in  a  bas- 
relief  of  Sargon  at  Khorsabad,  it  may  have  been  borrowed  from  Vrestern  Asia.  We 
have  seen  that  Sargon's  palace  contained  a  staircase  imitated  from  aSyrian  temple 
(chap.  xiii.  §  11). 


382  CIVILIZATION  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

that  they  were  also  emiiloyed  in  colonnades  round  the  palace 
courts  and  elsewhere,  is  clear  from  the  inscriptions.  The 
surprising  absence  of  any  columns  from  the  ruins  is  ex- 
plained, on  the  same  authority,  by  the  fact  that  they  were 
usually  of  wood — another  tradition  derived  from  Babylonia. 
Mr.  Liiyard  found  at  Koyunjik  some  curious  globular  stone 
leases— exactly  like  tliose  of  a  temple  figured  at  the  same 
place — which,  when  complete,  had  formed  a  double  line  from 
the  edge  of  the  platform  to  an  entrance  of  the  palace,  prob- 
ably supporting  the  wooden  pillars  of  a  corridor.  Besides 
the  columns,  with  their  bases  and  capitals,  the  temples  fig- 
ured on  the  reliefs  show  an  entablature  ;  which — in  the  more 
archaic  pattern,  from  Khorsabad— projects  as  a  simple  mass- 
ive cornice;  while — in  the  more  elaborate  work  of  Asshur- 
bani-pal,  at  Koyunjik,  we  have  architrave,  frieze,  and  cor- 
nice :  in  both  cases,  the  sky  line  is  finished  w4th  a 
pxjJXi'^  row  of  tiles  or  bricks  in  the  form  oi"  f/radi?ies,  the 
"  favorite  form  of  Assyrian  terminal,  which  is  seen 
also  in  the  obelisks. 

§  17.  Besides  the  palaces  and  temples,  the  sculptures  show 
the  walls  of  forts  and  cities,  with  all  the  appliances  of  turrets 
and  loop-holes,  para])ets  and  battlements,  singiilarly  like  a 
medieval  castle.  These  are  generally  the  fortifications  of 
enemies,  but  in  some  cases  of  the  Assyrians  themselves;  and 
the  system  of  fortification  seems  to  have  been  common  to 
the  peoples  of  V\^08tern  Asia.  We  have  had  occasion  to  al- 
lude to  the  vivid  scenes  of  the  attack  and  defense  of  these 
walls  by  all  the  methods  afterwards  known  to  the  Romans, 
the  ao'ger,  testudo.  and  movable  tower,  the  battering-ram 
and  tei-ebra,  the  catapult  or  balista,  the  wicker  shield  cover- 
ing the  archer  who  clears  the  walls,  or  the  pioneer  who  works 
at'^their  foundation  with  his  pick-axe  ;  and  the  lines  of  cir- 
cumvallation  with  their  towers— all  illustrating  the  words  of 
the  prophet : 

"  I  will  camp  against  thee  round  about,  and  will  lay  siege 
ao-ainst  thee  with  a  mount,  and  1  will  raise  forts  against 
thee.''^' 

Of  domestic  hidkUngs  we  have  a  single  and  very  curious 
example  in  one  of  the  sculptures,  which  seems  to  represent 
an  unfortified  Assyrian  village :  "  It  is  obsei-vable  here,  in 
the  first  place,  that  the  houses  have  no  windows,  and  are, 
therefore,  probably  lighted  from  the  roof;  next,  that  the 
roofs  are  very  curious,  since,  although  flat  in  some  instances, 
they  consist  more  often  either  of  liemispherical  domes,  such 
as  are  still  so   common  in  the  East,  or  of  steep  and  high 

38  Isaiah  xxix.  3 ;  cf.  Jereni.  vi.  6 ;  Ezck.  iv.  2 ;  xxi.  2-2 :  xxvi.  S. 


USE  OF  THE  ARCH.  383 

cones,  such  as  are  but  seldom  seen  anywliere.  Mr.  Layard 
finds  a  parallel  for  tliese  last  in  certain  villages  of  Northern 
Syria,  where  all  the  houses  have  conical  roofs,  built  of  mud, 
which  present  a  very  singular  appearance.  Both  the  domes 
and  the  cones  of  the  Assyrian  example  have  evidently  an 
opening  at  the  top,  which  may  have  admitted  as  much  light 
into  the  houses  as  was  thought  necessary.  The  doors  are  of 
two  kinds,  squai-e  at  the  top,  and  arched  ;  they  are  placed 
commonly  towards  the  sides  of  the  houses.  The  houses 
ihemselves  seem  to  stand  separate,  though  in  close  juxtapo- 
sition."— Raidiyison. 

§  18.  It  only  remains  to  mention  more  particularly  the 
use  of  the  arch.,  which  we  have  met  with  before  in  the  oldest 
structures  of  lower  Babylonia,  and  which  is  found  in  Egypt 
at  a  time  as  remote  as  the  15th  century  B.C.  What  is  most 
remarkable  in  the  Assyrian  examples  is  that  they  show  the 
three  stages  in  the  progress  of  the  arch,  subsequent  to  the 
mere  overkqyping  courses  of  masonry  or  brick-work.  First, 
these  overlapping  courses  are  curved  off  so  as  to  form  a  false 
pointed  arch.  This  construction,  which  is  not  uncommon  in 
very  old  Greek  architecture,  seems  to  be  show^n  in  a  viaduct 
leading  to  one  of  the  temples  noticed  above  (that  on  the 
sculpture  of  Asshur-bani-pal).  Tliat  it  w\as  used  for  conven- 
ience, and  not  from  ignorance,  is  proved  by  its  being  much 
later  tlian  tlie  examples  of  the  true  arch.  Next  (in  order  of 
simplicity,  but  intermediate  in  time)  is  an  arched  drain  be- 
neath the  S.E.  })alace  at  Nimrud,  built  of  plain  bricks  (not 
wedge-shaped),  which  rise  in  two  segments  of  a  circle — like 
the  sides  of  a  Saracenic  arch,  the  curve  being  given  by 
wedges  of  mortar — till  the  lower  edges  of  the  topmost  bricks 
meet,  when  they  are  wedged  apart  by  a  fiat  brick  laid  hori- 
zontally between  them — thus  forming  a  curious  parody  on 
the  pointed  arch.^^  Earliest  of  all,  in  the  golden  age  of  art 
under  Asshur-nasir-pal,  we  have  an  arched  drain  beneath  the 
N.W.  palace  at  Nimrud,  and  an  arched  gallery  in  the  ziggu- 
rat  of  the  same  place,  in  which  a  true  semicircular  arch  is 
formed  of  bricks  moulded  expressly  for  the  purpose,  in  the 
shape  of  a  wedge,  with  a  convex  top  and  a  concave  bottom 
to  ht  the  curve  of  the  arch.  The  greatest  span  of  the  arches 
yet  discovered  is  15  feet.^" 

§  19.  The  plastic  art  of  the  Assyrians  is  seen  in  its  perfec- 
tion in  those  bas-reliefs,  the  subjects  of  which  have  occupied 
so  much  of  our  attention.  The  few  isolated  statues  are  so 
inferior,  that  we  might  be  tempted  to  i-efer  them  to  quite  a 

'"  See  the  wood-cut  in  the  "  Student's  Ancient  Geography,"  p.  218. 
40  f  ergussou,  "Haud-book  of  Architecture,"  vol.  i.  p- 173. 


384  CIVILIZATION  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 

different  age  and  school,  were  it  not  for  t]»e  names  inscribed 
upon  them,  and  for  the  fact  that  their  faults  are  common  to 
the  works  of  every  ag*e.  They  are  clumsy  and  ill-propor- 
tioned, with  features  so  flat  as  to  be  scarcely  visible  in  pro- 
file. The  fettei'S  imposed  by  conventional  forms  furnish  no 
adequate  explanation  ;  for  the  Egyptian  sculptors  knew  how 
to  wear  those  fetters  with  dignity  and  even  grace.  It  would 
seem  as  if  the  Assyrian  artist,  accustomed  to  work  in  the 
soft  materials  of  the  bas-reliefs,  had  not  the  patience  to  deal 
with  the  hard  black  basalt  which  is  the  usual  material  of 
the  single  statues,  and  contented  himself  with  a  coarse  imi- 
tation of  the  rude  archaic  forms. 

In  the  bas-reliefs,  on  the  contrary,  he  expended  his  strength 
in  details;  and  in  this  respect  Assyrian  art  contrasts  strik- 
ingly with  Egyptian.  The  embroidery  of  the  robes,  the 
locks  of  the  hair  and  beard,  the  muscles  of  the  arms  and  legs, 
the  manes  and  trappings  of  the  horses,  and  the  accessories  in 
genei'al,  are  executed  with  a  care  so  great  as  even  to  give 
secondary  matters  a  primary  importance,  and  to  injure  the 
general  effect.  The  breadth  and  dignity,  the  religious  and 
monumental  repose,  of  Egyptian  art  are  altogether  absent; 
but,  in  place  of  them,  we  have  life,  energy,  and  motion. 
This  difierence  gives  a  striking  illustration  of  the  different 
national  characters  of  the  two  peoples. 

We  may  trace  three  distinct  periods  and  sti/les  of  Assyri- 
an art.  The  first  is  the  golden  age  of  the  North-west  pal- 
ace of  Nimrud ;  wantmg,  indeed,  in  technical  skill  and  free- 
dom, but  distinguished  by  strength  and  firmness,  spirit  and 
variety.  The  composition  is  of  the  simplest  kind ;  the  fig- 
ures, with  one  or  two  exceptions,  are  always  shown  in  pro- 
file, and  with  an  entire  absence  of  perspective,  which  leads  to 
confusion  when — as  in  some  sieges — more  than  a  very  few 
figures  are  introduced.  The  sculptures  of  the  second  age — 
that  of  Sargon  and  Sennacherib  —  aim  at  a  greater  multi- 
plicity of  detail,  and  succeed  to  a  certain  extent  by  clever- 
ness  of  arrangement,  though  still  with  an  entire  absence  of 
perspective.  The  dragging  of  a  colossal  bull  by  several 
lines  of  captives,  flanked  by  soldiers  and  by  attendants  with 
various  appliances,  and  some  of  the  battle  scenes,  are  tri- 
umphs of  ingenuity.  Effects  of  landscape  scenery  are  at- 
tempted as  backgrounds:  such  as  a  mountainous  country; 
forests,  with  their  various  denizens  ;  rivers  and  marshes, 
with  their  reeds  and  fishes — the  latter  sometimes  as  large  as 
the  boats.  (See  cut  on  p.  3G7.)  As  a  whole,  the  sculpture 
has  the  fault  of  invading  the  provmce  of  painting ;  but, 
from  the  realistic  point  of  view,  it  tells  its  story  well. 


ASSYRIAN  SCULPTURE  AND  PAINTING.  385 

In  the  last  age — tliat  of  Assliur-bani-pal  — we  might  fancy- 
that  some  new  influence  has  come  in  to  correct  the  faults  of 
composition,  while  keeping  closer  than  ever  to  the  imitation 
of  nature.  There  is  a  return  to  the  true  principles  of  bas- 
relief,  in  the  absence  of  backgrounds  of  scenery  or  of  at- 
tempts to  represent  objects  on  different  planes.  The  acces- 
sories of  the  battle  and  hunting  scenes  are  merely  indicated 
by  the  outline  of  a  fortress,  or  by  a  tree  or  two,  most  faith- 
fully represented  ;  and  the  power  of  delineating  plants  is 
conspicuous  in  scenes  where  they  form  the  principal  objects, 
and  where  the  human  figures  are  only  the  accessories,  as  in 
a  slab  representing  a  garden.  But  it  is  chiefly  in  their  ani- 
mal forms  that  the  artists  have  shown  a  truth  and  freedom, 
a  variety  and  energy,  worthy  of  at  least  the  later  age  of 
Greek  art.  "  Lions,  wild  apes,  dogs,  deer,  wild  goats,  are 
represented  in  profusion ;  and  we  scarcely  find  a  single  form 
that  is  repeated."  Among  the  best  examples  are  a  dog  held 
in  a  leash,  a  wild  ass  pulled  down  by  hounds,  and  several 
Avounded  lions  in  their  last  agonies.  But  the  human  forms 
are  as  stift',  and  their  faces  as  inexpressive,  as  in  the  older 
sculptures  ;  while  "  in  that  which  constitutes  the  highest 
quality  of  art,  in  variety  of  detail  and  ornament,  in  attempts 
at  composition,  in  severity  of  style,  and  purity  of  outline, 
they  are  inferior  to  the  earliest  Assyrian  monuments  with 
which  we  ai'e  acquainted — those  from  the  North-west  palace 
at  Nimrud.  They  bear,  indeed,  the  same  relation  to  them  as 
the  later  Egyptian  monuments  do  to  the  earlier.""'^ 

§  20.  Of  Assyrian  painting  little  need  be  said,  as  it  was 
almost  entirely  decorative,  displaying  great  skill  in  the 
choice  of  colors  and  the  arrangement  of  patterns.  Whether 
the  bas-reliefs  were  fully  colored,  like  those  of  the  Egyptians, 
is  still  a  disputed  point.  Those  in  our  museums  are  now  free 
from  color  ;  but  when  first  discovered,  both  at  Nimrud  and 
Khorsabad,  they  showed  traces  of  local  coloring.  Rawlin- 
son  sums  up  the  case  as  follows:  "All  leads  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  in  Assyrian,  as  in  classical  sculpture,  color  was 
sparingly  applied,  being  confined  to  such  parts  as  the  hair, 
eyes,  and  beards  of  men,  to  the  fringes  of  dresses,  to  horse- 
trappings,  and  other  accessory  parts.  In  this  the  lower  part 
of  the  walls  was  made  to  harmonize  sufficiently  with  the  up- 
per portion,  which  was  wholly  colored,  but  chiefly  with  pale 
hues.  At  the  same  time  a  greater  distinctness  was  given  to 
the  scenes  represented  upon  the  sculptured  slabs,  the  color 

•*!  Layard,  "Nin.and  Bab."  abridged  edit.  lutrod.  p.  xxiii.  ;  where,  as  ^7Gll  as  in 
Rawlinson  (vol.  i.  c.  vi.)  will  be  found  a  description  of  these  sculptures  for  which  we 
have  not  space. 

17 


386 


CIVILIZATION  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


being  judiciously  applied  to  disentangle  human  from  animal 
iigui^s,  dress  from  flesh,  or  human  figures  from  one  anoth- 
In  the  arts  of  gem-engraving,  especially  of  signet-cyl- 


er. 


inders,  intaglio-work,  and  ivory-cutting,  engraving  upon  met- 
als, and  casting  a  vast  variety  of  ornaments,  the  excellence 
attained  by  the  Assyrians  can  be  best  seen  by  inspecting  the 
objects  in  our  Museum. 

43  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  i.  pp.  450,  451. 


Serio-Comic  Drawing.     (From  a  Cylinder.) 


Fallen  Rock  Sculptures  at  Bavian. 


CHAPTER  XVIT. 

TilE    CUNEIFORM    WRITIXG    AND    LITERATURE,  THE    SCIENCE 


1.  Antiquity  of  letters  both  iu  Egj'pt  and  Mesopotamia.  The  three  stages  oihiero 
ull/jih'ic,  hieratic,  nr\Acnnei'/orvi  writing.  An  example.  §2.  Three  stages  of  cunei- 
form writing— archaic,  mode<  n,  and  curmne.  §  3.  A  njan  and  A  narian  writing.  Dia- 
lects of  the  latter.  §  4.  Origin  of  the  Peri?ian  trilingual  and  bilingual  inscriptions. 
The  key  to  cuneiform  interpretation.  §  5.  Progress  of  the  discovery.  Royal 
names  deciphered.  Help  from  cognate  dialects.  The  Behistun  inscription.  Per- 
sian cuneiform  inscriptions  conquered.  §  G.  Progress  of  Anarian  interpretation. 
§  7.  Difficulties  of  the  Anarian  texts.  Variety  of  characters.  Their  ideographic 
and  phonetic  power.  Limits  of  the  uncertainty.  §  S.  Materials  used  in  writing. 
Clay  cylinders,  tablets,  etc.  Evidence  of  the  use  of  paper  (or  some  such  material) 
from  existing  seivls.  5  9.  Assyrian  literature.  The  library  of  Asshur-bani-pal. 
§  10.  The  great  work  on  Assyrian  grammar.  Books  of  history,  chronology,  sta- 
tistics, law,  religion,  etc.  §  11.  Mathematical  and  astronomical  science— derived 
from  Babjionia.  §  12.  The  Chaldrean  caste,  the  possessors  of  this  science— the 
ruling  order  in  the  state.  Their  appearance  in  the  Book  of  Daniel.  §  13.  Ac- 
count of  the  Chaldjeans  by  Diodorus.  Their  chief  colleges.  Their  name  becomes 
a  by-word.  §  14.  Extent  of  Chaldoean  science.  Astronomy.  Cosmical  year  of 
43,200  years.  The  soss,  ner,  and  mr.  Divisions  of  time.  Months— Days  of  the 
week— Hours  of  the  day.  Sun-dial  and  water-clock.  §  15.  Their  astronomical 
observations.  Eclipses.  Lunar  cycle.  Constellations.  A  Babylonian  Zodiac. 
The  planets.  Chalda?an  astrology.  Prophetic  almanacs.  Influence  of  the  astrol- 
ogers. Cases  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  Sennacherib.  §  16.  Geometry  and  arith- 
metic. System  of  notation.  Table  of  squares.  §  17.  Rki.igion  of  Assyria  and 
Babylon— essentially  the  same.  Points  of  ditferonce.  Gross  Babylonian  idol- 
atry. §  IS.  The  religion  not  pure  Sabteism.  The  supreme  god— 7/  in  Babylon — 
Asuhiir  in  Assyria.  His  tithes,  temples,  and  emblems.  The  Fcrouher  and  mcred 
tree.     §  19.  The   other   deities.     First   triad:   Ana,  Bil,  and   Hoa;  cosmogouic. 


388       WRITING,  LITER  AT  UKE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 

Second  triad:  Sin,  Shamas,  Iva,  the  Suu,  Mood,  and  Atmosphere  ;  cosmic.  The 
five  planetary  deities,  Ninip  (Saturn),  Merodach  (Jupiter),  Nergal  (Mars),  Ishtar 
(Venus),  Nebo  (Mercury).  Their  relations  to  the  superior  gods.  §  20.  Genii  and 
iujerior  deities.    General  remarks. 

§  1.  The  two  great  nations  of  Mesopotamia  were  the  only 
people  of  antiquity  who  could  dispute  with  the  Egyptians 
the  first  development  of  the  elements  of  knowledge.  It  would 
be  a  profitless  quest  to  decide  the  order  of  precedence,  or  to 
determine  how  far  the  science  of  Mesopotamia  was  independ- 
ent of  that  of  the  Nile  valley  ;  but  it  can  hardly  be  doubted 
that  both  derived  much  from  the  primeval  civilization  of 
the  Hamite  and  Cushite  race. 

The  art  of  writing — tlie  instrument  of  all  the  sciences — is 
of  immemorial  antiquity  at  both  these  centres.  Alike  on 
the  quarry  stones  of  the  Gi'eat  Pyramid,  and  on  the  bricks 
of  the  oldest  Clialdaean  cities,  we  find  letters  in  use,  and  that 
not  in  their  first  stage  :  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  have  al- 
ready assumed  the  cursive  form,  and  the  Babylonian  writing 
has  passed  beyond  the  hieroglyphic  stage.  For  that  it  was 
originally  hieroglyphic,  is  a  fact  beyond  dispute.  Some 
combinations  still  recall  the  images  of  the  original  objects; 
and  the  hieroglyphic  stage  is  still  preserved  by  a  complete 
inscription  at  Susa,  which  has  not  yet,  however,  been  proper- 
ly examined. 

The  first  departure  from  strict  jncture  icritlng  was  to  rep- 
resent the  objects  by  conventional  groups  of  straight  lines 
(for  this  form  of  writing  admits  no  curves),  sometimes  retain- 
ing much  of  the  former  likeness;  as  zzd  for  "  hand,"  |  | 
for  "house,"  <^  for  "  sun"  (in  place  of  Q),  ^^^^  3  E, 


which  is  qX^hyIj  some  object^  though  lohat  is  a  disputed  point. 
In  this  form,  the  writing  is  called  hieratic^  simply  as  being 
in  its  second  stage,  like  the  so-called  Egyptian  hieratic,  and 
not  from  any  peculiarly  sacred  use.  It  was  evidently  pro- 
duced by  the  scratch  of  a  pointed  instrument  on  soft  clay, 
for  that  was  the  sole  material  at  first  used  by  these  people, 
instead  of  pen  and  ink,  papyrus  or  parchment. 

But  a  more  expeditious  mode  came  to  be  invented  by  sim- 
ple pressure  of  the  style  (many  specimens  of  which  are  found 
among  the  ruins)  upon  the  soft  clay,  which  produced  a  mark 
like  a  nail  or  wedge,  |,  whence  the  writing  is  called  cunei- 
form.^    Be  it  remembered  that  this  form — whether  perpen- 

1  The  term  arrow-headed  has  also  been  used ;  but  cuneiform  is  now  quite  estab- 
lished. The  other  term  is  also  ambiguous,  as  there  is  a  combination  of  two  cunei- 
form elements   V  which  may  be  more  properly  described  as  an  arrow-head. 


HIEROGLYFHIC  AND  CUNEIFORM  WKITING. 


389 


dicular,  horizontal,  or  oblique  ;  whether  elongated,  as  above, 
or  short,  f  ;  or  forming   (for  convenience)   a  solid  triangle, 

laro;e  oi-  small,  as  in  the  combination    Ju — that  this,  we  say, 

is  but  another  form  of  the  straight  stroke  of  the  so-called 
hieratic  writing,  and  the  07ie  element,  by  the  repetition  of 
which,  in  various  combinations,  all  the  letters  of  the  alpha- 
bet are  made.  Were  further  illustration  of  this  primary 
point  needed,  it  would  be  easy  to  construct  an  English  al- 
phabet of  cuneiform  elements,  5/V-  for  A,  7^  for  E,  etc. 

The  hieratic  and  cuneiform  characters  may  be  seen  in  some 
of  their  earliest  combinations,  and  their  essential  identity 
may  be  at  once  traced,  by  comparing  the  inscriptions  on 
two  bricks  found  at  Warka,  and  bearing  the  name  of  the 
(supposed)  most  ancient  king  mentioned  on  the  monuments: 


Cuneiform  Characters. 


N.B.— Compare  the  Hieratic  form  on  p.  390. 

This  inscription  has  been  read  as  follows:  "Beltis,  his  lady, 
has  caused  TIrukh  (or  Urkham),  the  pious  chief.  King  of 
Hur,and  king  of  the  land  (?)  of  Akkad,  to  build  a  temple  to 
her." 

§  2.  The  cuneiform  writing  itself  assumes  three  distinct 
types — the  original,  or  archciic,  the  modern,  and  the  cursive. 
The  tirst  only  is  found  on  all  the  monuments  of  the  Chal- 
dsean  plain,  except  such  as  can  be  clearly  traced  to  the  later 
Babylonian  kings.  The  second,  Avhich  is  a  simplification  of 
the  first,  is  used  in  most  of  the  older  Assyrian  inscriptions 
down  to  B.C.  1000.     The  last,  which  is  a  still  more  abbrevi- 


300      WKITING,  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 


ated  form,  for  the  sake  of  quicker  writing,  is  the  common 
type  of  the  later  Assyrian  inscriptions  07i  clay^  from  the  10th 
to  the  7th  cenHiry  B.C.  -."^  those  on  stone  were  either  in  the 
archaic  or  modern  charactei",  apparently  at  the  mere  choice 
of  the  engraver,  just  as  we  carve  inscriptions  either  in  Ro- 
man or  Gothic  letters.  The  cuneiform  writing  is  always 
from  left  to  right ;  the  cursive  from  right  to  left.  Further, 
the  archaic  is  of  one  uniform  type ;  the  modern  and  cursive 
are  varied  in  the  different  dialects  that  employed  them. 

g  3.  For  the  cuneiform  writing  is  not  confined  to  the  As- 
syrians and  Babylonians  :  it  was  used  by  all  the  nations  that 
„.     ,.   ,,,       ,  held   dominion   in    the 

Hieratic  Characters. 


I  ^*      III  MwnnnMaka 


plain  of  Mesopotamia, 
down  to  the  time  of 
Alexander.  Some  few 
inscriptions  are  even 
found  later  than  the 
Macedonian  conquest ; 
but  from  that  epoch 
it  rapidly  died  out. 
There  ai-e,  however,  re- 
markable differences  in 
the  cuneiform  v>^riting 
of  the  Persians  and  of 
the  otiier  nations  who 
employed  it.  The  Per- 
sian type  \)Qm^  Aryan^ 
the  others  are  called 
(i6\\Qci\\Q\j  Anarian.  These  are  :  (l)  The  ^l.s.s?/;'/^^?,  which 
includes  the  Babylonian^  for  the  sliglit  differences  between 
these  two  are  mei-ely  graphic,  that  is,  in  the  mode  of  ar- 
ranging the  same  combinations  of  strokes.  (2)  The  Ar- 
menian, an  Aryan  language  expressed  in  the  Anarian  type 
of  writing,  in  the  inscriptions  from  the  9th  to  the  7th 
centuries  b.c.  on  the  rocks  about  the  city  and  lake  of  Van. 
(3)  The  Smian,  a  Turanian  dialect  used  in  all  the  inscrip- 
tions of  Elam  or  Susiana.     (4)  The  Medo-Scythic,  also  a  Tu- 


Is.B.— C(;mi)nie  the  cut  on  p.  3S9. 


ranian  dialect, 
quest,  and  sur 


established 
ivins:  there 


in  Media  before  the  Aryan  con- 
as  the  language  of  the  common 
people.     (5)  The    Casdo-Scythic,  or   ChakUean,  another  Tu- 
ranian dialect,  the  proper  tongue  of  the  dominant  Chaldaeans 

2  The  cursive  characters  sometimes  approach  so  near  to  the  Phoenician  as  to  sug- 
gest that  the  source  of  the  latter,  and  consequently  of  all  the  Semetic  and  European 
alphabets,  may  have  been  from  the  cuneiform  writing.  (See  the  engraving  in  Lay- 
ard,  "  Nin.  and  Bab."  p.  171,  abridged  edition.)  As  is  natural,  the  strolces  of  the  cur- 
sive writing  aRproocb  tiie  straight  lines  of  the  hieratic.  This  form  also  admits  some 
curves. 


CUNEIFORM  INTERPRETATION.  391 

of  Babylonia,  who  preserved  it  among  themselves  as  a  sacred 
language. 

§  4.  'When  the  Persians  became  masters  of  the  whole  re- 
gion of  these  languages,  they  wrote  their  decrees  and  public 
records  in  the  three  chief  dialects  spoken  by  their  subjects, 
the  Persian^  Medo-Scythic  (or,  as  it  is  called  for  brevity.  Me- 
dian)^ and  the  Assyrian :  sometimes  in  only  two.  These 
three  dialects  represent  the  Aryan,  Turanian,  and  Semitic 
families  of  language.  Hence  the  perpetuation  of  those  hilin- 
giial  and  trilingual  inscriptions,  which  have  at  length  fur- 
nished, in  our  own  day,  a  key  to  cuneiform  interpretation, 
like  that  which  the  Rosetta  stone  supplied  for  the  hieroglyph- 
ics ;  but  with  this  most  important  difference,  that  whereas 
in  the  Rosetta  stone  one  of  the  three  versions  is  in  a  well- 
known  language  (Greek),  in  the  trilingual  cuneiform  in- 
scriptions the  characters  and  languages  were  all  alike  un- 
known. Of  these  inscriptions,  before  the  great  Assyrian  dis- 
coveries, the  principal  were  those  which  had  long  excited 
wonder  at  the  ruins  of  Persepolis  and  Ecbatana  {Ilamadan)  ; 
and  a  few  bricks  inscribed  with  cuneiform  characters,  which 
had  been  brought  from  Babylon. 

§  5.  With  such  materials,  the  German  scholar  Grotefend 
undertook  the  task  of  decipherment  in  the  same  year  in  which 
the  Rosetta  stone  was  brought  from  Egypt.  Like  Young, 
he  sought  first  for  the  royal  names  ;  but  there  was  no  car- 
touehe^to  guide  him.  He  found,  however,  a  clue  of  a  dif- 
ferent kind.     In  the  Persian  column,  the  elementary  wedge 

was  constantly  appearing  by  itself  in  an  oblique  position  '^. 

This  had  already  been  conjectured  to  mark  the  ends  of  sen- 
tences; just  as, 'in  fact,  the  short-hand  writer  uses/ for  , 

Next  Grotefend  observed  that,  on  comparing  different  in- 
scriptions, there  were  groups  of  signs  constantly  appearing 
in  one,  close  to  other  prevalent  groups;  but  in  another,  while 
one  of  these  connected  groups  1^ept  its  place,  the  other  had 
disappeared,  and  was  replaced  by  a  totally  different  group. 
Now  this  was  just  what  would  happen  in  the  inscriptions  of 
successive  kings,  each  recording  his  father's  name  with  liis 
own;  as  when  one  inscription  is  of^^Darius,  son  oi  Hystas- 
pes,""  another  o^ ''Xerxes,  son  of  Darius:'  This  happy  con- 
jecture (and  conjecture  is  the  beginning  of  all  discovery) 
supplied  the  missing  key.  The  royal  names,  once  found, 
could  be  compared  with  their  Greek  forms,  not  indeed  (as  in 
the  Rosetta  stone)  on  the  same  inscription,  but  in  the  pages 
of  history,  their  forms  being  few  and  well  marked.  There 
are  differences  of  orthography  indeed,  but  not  such  as  to 


392      WKITING,  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 

make  it  difficult  to  discover  the  name  of  ''''Xerxes  (the  son 
of)  Darius^  the  Achmnienid''^  as  ^^Khshayarsha  (the  son  of) 
Daryavahush  Hakhamcui  isli  lya.^^ 

A  certain  number  of  alphabetic  characters  being  thus  de- 
termined with  probability,  other  words  of  frequent  occurrence 
could  be  spelt.  True,  they  were  in  an  unknown  language-, 
but  the  ancient  Persian  was  known  to  be  of  the  Aryan  fami- 
ly ;  and  words  soon  came  out  v/hich  had  their  fellows  in  the 
Zend,  in  the  modern  Persian,  and  in  the  cognate  tongues. 
For  example,  the  word  which  we  have  represented  by  (the 
son),  and  which  stood  where  that  meaning  was  required, 
came  out  as  piitra^  a  well-known  Sanscrit  word  ;  nor  was  it 
difficult  to  render  the  title  Khshayathiya^  wliich  constantly 
preceded  and  followed  the  I'oyal  names,  as  king.  By  such  a 
process  the  phrase  from  which  our  examples  have  been  taken 
came  out  in  full  as  "  Khshayarsha  khshayathiya  wazarka, 
khshayathiya  khshayathiyanam,  Daryavahush  khshayathiya- 
hya  putra,  Hakhamanishiya,"  meanino;,  "Xerxes  the  king 
great,  the  king  of  kings,  of  Darius  the  king  the  son,  the  Achae- 
menid."  An  examination  of  the  phrase  will  show  some  ex- 
amples of  grammatical  inflection. 

In  1815,  Grotefend  published  a  complete  translation  of 
some  of  the  inscriptions  ;  and  the  subsequent  labors  of  San- 
scrit scholars  confirmed  the  general  trutli  of  this  metliod  all 
the  more  for  the  correction  of  some  errors  of  detail. 

The  next  great  step  was  made  by  the  transcription  of  the 
famous  trilingual  rock  inscription  of  JBehistun.^  on  the  Avest- 
ern  frontier  of  Persia.  This  had  been  difficult,  from  its  in- 
accessible position ;  but  it  was  effected  by  Sir  Henry  Kaw- 
linson  in  1835,  and  more  perfectly  in  1844  ;  and  in  1846,  this 
great  pioneer  of  recent  cuneiform  discovery  published  a  trans- 
lation of  the  Persian  column,  which  proved  to  be  the  record 
by  Darius,  the  son  of  Hystaspes  (whose  effigy  is  sculptured 
on  the  tablets),  of  the  leading  events  of  his  reign.^  "  This 
translation  has  been  subjected  to  the  most  rigorous  examina- 
tion and  criticism  by  Sanscrit  scholars  ;  and  those  who  have 
taken  the  trouble  to  acquaint  themselves  with  the  subject, 
and  are  competent  to  form  an  opinion  upon  it,  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  admit  that  the  interpretation  of  the  Persian  cuneiform 
is  placed  beyond  a  doubt.'''''^  This  result  was  achieved  at  the 
very  time  that  Botta  and  Layard  were  opening  up  the  bu- 

3  "Journal  of  the  Koyal  Asiatic  Society,"  1S46.     Comp.  chap.  xix.  §  5. 

4  Layavd,  introduction  to  the  abridged  edition  of  "Nineveh  and  Babylon,"  p.  xliv. 
"A  list,  in  the  three  cuneiform  characters,  of  the  various  satrapies  included  within 
the  dominions  of  the  kim?  of  Persia,  had  previously  been  discovered  at  Persepolis, 
and  had  enabled  Burnouf  and  Lassen  to  determine  the  value  of  several  letters  of  the 
Pei-sian  cuneiform  alphabet."    (Ibid.) 


CUNEIFORM  INTERPRETATION.  393 

lied  treasures  of  Nineveh  and  Nimrud  ;  and  thus,  as  so  often 
happens,  the  key  of  a  new  knowledge  was  obtained  just  when 
it  was  most  wanted. 

§  6.  Its  application,  however,  to  the  Anarian  dialects  still 
presented  immense  difficulties ;  which,  let  it  be  at  once  con- 
fessed, are  still  only  imperfectly  overcome.  That  the  three 
columns  of  the  Behistun  and  other  trilingual  inscriptions 
contained  the  same  matter  could  scarcely  be  doubted,  and 
was  proved  by  the  recurrence  of  groups  of  characters  in  po- 
sitions corresponding  to  the  names  of  persons,  places,  and  so 
forth,  in  the  Persian  text.  Where  these  names  differed  from 
the  latter  in  form,  as  they  often  did,  classical  and  biblical 
literature  came  in  to  aid;  and  it  was  proved  that  the  column 
presumed  to  be  Assyi-ian  was  really  in  a  Semitic  dialect. 
This  point  once  established,  the  affinities  of  the  Semitic  lan- 
guages helped  to  determine  the  meanings  of  the  words  and 
the  grammatical  inHections,  By  the  continued  labors  of  Sir 
Henry  Rawlinson,  the  late  Dr.  Hincks,  Mr.  Nori'is,  Mr.  Fox 
Talbot,  M.  Oppert,  and  others,  a  system  of  cuneiform  inter- 
pretation has  been  definitely  established  ;  the  general  mean- 
ing of  almost  any  text  can  now  be  deciphered  ;  and  the  last 
named  scholar  has  published  a  Cuneiform  Gi-ammar. 

§  7.  The  difficulties  of  the  Anarian  texts  consist  partly  in 
the  vast  multiplicity  and  variety  of  the  forms,  and  partly  (as 
with  hieroglyphics)  in  the  mixture  of  ideographic  and  pho- 
netic characters.  The  Persian  cuneiform  alphabet  contains 
only  36  characters,  and  these  are  alphabetic ;  in  the  Assyr- 
ian the  characters  are  syllabic^  and  seem  to  admit  of  an  al- 
most endless  variety,  thus  resembling  the  structure  of  the 
Chinese  rather  than  of  European  alphabets  ;  one  mark,  by- 
the-way,  of  a  Turanian  origin.  The  characters  are  of  three 
kinds  :  letters^  inonograrns^  and  determinatives.  The  second 
(like  the  arbitrary  signs  of  sliort-hand)  are  an  abbreviated 
mode  of  expressing  proper  names  and  other  words  of  fre- 
quent recurrence :  thus  the  simple  element  f  stands  for  the 
god  Asshicr,  as  the  primal  source  of  all  being.  The  third 
are  signs  prefixed  to  words  to  indicate  the  class  to  which 

they  belong  :  thus  an  eight-rayed  stni-  (~"^f^~ ,  hieratic, 
with  its  corresponding  cuneiform  »oj^     j  indicates  that  the 

following  word  is  the  name  of  a  god.  The  difficulty  from 
the  mixture  o^ ideographic  aud 2)honetic  sounds  has  been  ex- 
plained in  speaking  of  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics ;  but  in 
the  Assyrian  character  it  is  greater  i)i  degree. 

It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  this  difficultv  af 

17* 


394      WRITING,  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 

fects  the  sound  rather  than  tlie  meaning  of  the  words ;  and 
this  is  the  answer  to  those  skeptics  who,  instead  of  investi- 
gating the  subject,  point  to  the  immense  discrepancy  in  the 
readings  of  proper  names,  especially  those  of  kings.  For 
these  are  the  very  names  which  are  compounded  of  ideo- 
graphic elements  ;  and  it  is  only  in  some  few  cases  (as  that 
of  ISennache)ib)  that  their  phonetic,  value  has  been  fully  de- 
termined. But  this  does  not  affect  our  knowledge  of  the 
person  and  liis  deeds^  as  recorded  in  his  annals  and  depicted 
on  his  monuments.  Take,  for  instance,  the  builder  of  the 
North-west  Palace  of  Nimrud  :  we  explore  his  edifices  ;  we 
see  in  our  own  Museum  his  sculptured  effigy  and  the  pic- 
tures of  his  battles  and  huntings,  with  all  their  accessories ; 
we  read  his  annals  in  the  reiterated  copies  of  the  standard 
inscription  of  Nimrud ;  and  through  all  we  tracer  certain 
(jroupj  of  characters  which  identify  his  name.  Not  to  be 
quite  sure  of  the  reading  of  that  name  is  certainly  annoy- 
ing; but  what  does  it  matter  to  his  history?  Whether  tlie 
king,  of  whom  we  liave  so  much  certain  knowledge,  was 
really  called  Asshur-idan7ii-pal,  or  Asshur-izir-pal, or  Asshiir- 
nasir^xd,  or  something  else,  is  of  no  more  moment  than 
whether  we  record  the  deeds  of  our  own  greatest  king  under 
the  name  of  "  Edward  "  or  of  "  Longshanks." 

§  8.  One  word  more  as  to  the  materials  of  Assyrio-Baby- 
lonian  writing.  We  have  had  occasion  to  speak  again  and 
again  of  the  impressed  bricks;  of  the  clay  cylinders  and  tab- 
h'ts,  which  were  the  books  of  these  ancient  people,  and  of 
which  we  now  possess  an  extensive  library;  of  the  insci-ip- 
tions  on  stone  ;  and  the  innumerable  legends  on  small  ob- 
jects, such  as  metals,  gems,  and  even  glass.  In  their  inter- 
course with  otlier  nations,  and  especially  with  Egypt,  it  is 
incredible  that  they  should  not  have  used  parchment  or  pa- 
per ;  and  the  fact  of  tlieir  having  done  so  is  made  clear,  not- 
withstanding that  nearly  all  researches  thus  far  have  been  in 
palaces  where  fire  has  destroyed  every  thing  combustible; 
for,  in  the  great  Assyrian  library,  of  which  we  are  about  to 
speak,  there  'Svere  discovered  a  numbei-  of  pieces  of  fine 
clay,  bearing  the  impressions  of  seals,  which  had  evidently 
been  attached,  like  modern  official  seals  of  wax,  to  docu- 
ments written  on  leather,  papyrus,  or  parchment.  Tlie  docu- 
ments themselves  had  perished.  In  the  clay  seals  may  still 
be  seen  lioles  for  the  string  or  strips  of  skin,  by  which  the 
seal  was  fastened  to  them.  In  some  instances  the  verj/  ashes 
remal?ied,'dud  the  marks  of  the  thumb  and  finger  which  had 
been  used  to  mould  the  clay  can  still  be  ti-aced."^     Among 

6  Layard  "Nin.  and  Bab."  pp.  171-2,  abridged  edition.  The  cnrions  pn-viancnce  of 
•fficial  forms  is  shown  in  the  manner  of  afflxin;j-  the  seals. 


ASSYRIAN  LITERATURE.  39r, 

tliem  is  a  piece  of  clay  bearing  the  impress  of  two  seals,  one 
Assyrian  and  the  other  Egyptian,  suggesting  a  treaty  be- 
tween kings  of  the  two  countries.  The  Assyrian  signet  is 
unfortunately  illegible,  but  the  Egyptian  bears  the  ethgy 
and  name  of  Sabaco,  the  contemporary  of  Sargon.  This  and 
other  seals  of  the  sort  described  may  be  seen  in  the  British 
Museum. 

§  9.  Connected  with  the  system  of  cuneiform  writing, 
there  is  a  mass  of  Assyrian  gramniatlcal  literature  such  as 
was  possessed  by  no  other  people  of  antiquity,  except  the 
Sanscritic  Aryans  of  India,  and  the  Greeks.  Our  wonder  at 
tliG  difficulties  of  modern  cuneiform  scholars  ceases,  and  our 
admiration  of  their  degree  of  success  grows,  when  we  see  the 
pains  imposed  on  the  Assyrians  tl-emselves  by  the  complica- 
tion of  their  writing  and  the  varieties  of  the  Anarian  dia- 
lects. Tiiese  books  —  and,  in  fact,  the  greater  part  of  the 
whole  mass  of  Assyrian  literature,  besides  that  inscribed 
upon  the  monuments — were  found  in  two  rooms  of  the  pal- 
ace of  Asshur  bani-pal  at  Nineveh,  to  which  3Ir.  Layard  gave 
the  name  of  the  "Chambers  of  Records."  The  discovery  is 
so  much  the  more  interesting  than  that  of  the  library  in  the 
Ramesseum,^  as  that  was  empty,  while  this  retained  its  mul- 
titudinous treasures,  most  of  which  are  now  in  our  Museum. 
Like  the  other,  it  was  dedicated  to  the  god  and  goddess  of 
learning  ;  and  (probably  unlike  the  other)  it  was  :\^ puhlia, 
lihrary ;  foi-  one  of  its  most  important  books  bears  the  fol- 
lowing inscription  :  "Palace  of  Asshurd^ani-pal,  king  of  the 
world,  king  of  Assyria,  to  whom  the  god  Xebo  and  the  god- 
dess Tasmit  (the  goddess  of  knowledge)  have  given  the  ears 
to  hear  and  opened  the  eyes  to  see  what  is  the  true  founda- 
tion of  government.  They  revealed  to  the  kings,  my  prede- 
cessors, this  cuneiform  writing,  the  manifestation  of  the  god 
Nebo,  the  god  of  supreme  intelligence  :  I  wrote  it  upon  tab- 
lets, I  signed  and  arranged  them,  and  I  placed  them  in  my 
palace  ^/br  the  instruetion  of  my  subjects.'''' 

Thus  far  the  founder  of  the  library:  now^  let  us  hear  its 
discoverer.  "  The  door-way  guarded  by  the  fish-gods  led 
into  two  small  chambers  opening  into  each  other,  aiid  once 
panelled  with  bas-i-eliefs,  the  greater  part  of  which  have  been 
destroyed.  I  shall  call  these  chambers  'the  chambers  of 
records,'  for  they  appear  to  have  contained  the  decrees  of 
the  Assyrian  kings,  and  the  archives  of  the  em])ire  " — (how 
much  more  various  were  their  contents,  we  shall  see  present- 
ly). "  To  the  height  of  a  foot  or  more  from  the  fioor  they 
were  entirely  fillad  with  them — some  entire,  but  the  greater 

^  See  chap;  ix.  §  31. 


S9€y      WRITING,  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 

part  broken  into  fragments.  They  were  of  different  sizes  ; 
the  largest  tablets  were  flat,  and  measured  about  9  inches  by 
6^  inches  ;  the  smaller  were  slightly  convex,  and  some  were 
not  more  than  an  inch  long,  with  but  one  or  two  lines  of 
writing.  The  cuneiform  characters  on  most  of  them  were 
singularly  sharp  and  well-defined,  but  so  minute  in  some  in- 
stances as  to  be  almost  illegible  without  a  magnifying-glass. 
They  had  been  impressed  by  an  instrument  on  the  moist 
clay,  which  liad  been  afterwards  baked. 

"  These  documents  appear  to  be  of  various  kinds,  princi- 
pally historical  records  of  wars  and  distant  expeditions  un- 
dertaken by  the  Assyrians;  royal  decrees  stamped  with  the 
king's  name  ;  lists  of  the  gods,  and  probably  a  register  of  of- 
ferings made  in  their  temples  ;  prayers ;  tables  of  the  value 
of  certain,  cuneiform  letters,  expressed  by  ditterent  alphabet- 
ical signs  ;  trilingual  and  bilingual  vocabularies  of  the  Assyr- 
ian and  of  an  ancient  language  once  spoken  in  the  country 
[the  Accadian] ;  grammatical  phrases;  calendars;  lists  of 
sacred  days;  astronomical  calculations;  lists  of  animals, 
birds,  and  various  objects,  etc.,  etc.  Many  are  sealed  with 
seals,  and  prove  to  be  legal  contracts,  or  conveyances  of  land. 
Others  bear  impressions  of  engraved  cylinders.  On  some 
tablets  are  found  Phoenician  or  cursive  Assyrian  characters, 
and  other  signs.  The  adjoining  chambers  contained  similar 
relics,  but  in  far  smaller  numbers.  Many  cases  w^ere  filled 
with  these  tablets,  which  are  deposited  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum. We  can  not  overrate  their  value.  They  furnish  us 
with  materials  for  the  complete  decipherment  of  the  cunei- 
form character,  for  restoring  the  language  and  history  of  As- 
syria, and  for  inquiring  into  the  customs,  sciences,  and,  it  may 
perhaps  even  be  added,  literature  of  its  people.  The  docu- 
ments that  have  thus  been  discovered  at  Nineveh  probably 
exceed  all  that  have  yet  been  afforded  by  the  monuments  of 
Egypt.'" 

§  10.  Some  progress  has  been  already  made  in  deciphering 
these  documents.  The  one  which  bears  the  insci'iption  above 
quoted  proves  to  be  nothing  less  than  a  vast  Encydopedla 
of  Apj-iirio-JBahylonian  Grammar,  explaining  the  difficulties 
botli  of  the  writing  and  the  language,  and  consisting  of  the 
following  five  parts:  (1)  A  Lexicon  of  the  Accadian  (Cas- 
do-Scythic  or  Chaldaian)  Larujuaye,  with  the  meanings  of 
the  v>^ords  in  Assyrian.  Tiiis  work  removes  any  remaining 
doubt  about  the  fact  that  the  Chaldiean  order  had  a  peculiar 
language,  in  which  their  sacred  and  scientific  treatises  Avere 
composed,  and  opens  the  way  lor  the  full  understanding  of 

'  La3'ard,  "Nineveh  nucl  Babylon,"  abridged  edition,  pj).  IG'J-lTl. 


"KOYAL  LIBRARY  OF  NINEVEH."  397 

that  language.  (2)  A  Dictionary  of  Assyrian  Synonyms: 
(3)  An  Assyrian  Grammar^  containing  the  conjugations  of 
verbs  :  (4)  A  Dictionary  of  the  Characters  of  the  Anarian 
Cuneiform  W^riting,  with  their  ideograjyhic  meanings  and 
th^iv  phonetic  values:  (5)  Another  Dictionary  of  the  same 
Characters,  compared  Avith  the  primitive  hieroglyphics  from 
v.hich  they  were  derived.  The  mere  enumeration  of  these 
titles  is  enough  to  raise  the  highest  expectations  of  light  to 
be  gained  from  their  complete  decipherment.  The  several 
tablets  which  form  (so  to  speak)  the  leaves  ov  folios  of  this 
great  work,  as  well  as  those  of  the  other  books  in  the  library 
— often  written  on  both  sides — are  carefully  ?unnhered,  and 
they  were  doubtless  arranged  in  cases  in  the  order  of  this 
paging. 

Among  the  other  treasures  of  this  "Royal  Library  of  Nin- 
eveh," roughly  enumerated  above  by  Mr.  Layartl,  the  most 
important  are  the  following  :  For  history  and  chronology 
we  have  only  fragments — but  invaluable  fragm.ents — of  the 
Table  of  eponymous  Officers,  complete  for  almost  three  cen- 
turies (b.c.  911  to  660),  which,  like  the  lists  of  Athenian  Ar- 
chons  and  the  Roman  JFasti  Co)isulares,  constantly  assigns 
the  events  recorded  in  the  royal  annals  to  their  proper  years, 
and  fixes  the  succession  of  the  kings  themselves.  A  single 
fragment,  unhappily,  is  all  that  remains  of  a  Synchro7iical 
History  of  Assyria  and  Babylon,  in  parallel  columns.  There 
are  the  fragments  of  a  Geographical  Dictionary,  containing 
an  enumeration  of  the  countries,  cities,  mountains,  and  riv- 
ers known  to  the  Assyrians  ;  and  those  of  a  List  of  the  Prop- 
er JVames  used  in  the  country :  as  well  as  a  vast  mass  of 
statistical  documents  relating  to  the  hierarchy  of  administra- 
tive officers,  and  the  different  provinces  of  the  empire,  their 
productions  and  revenues.  Zair  is  represented  by  the  frag- 
ments of  a  treatise  on  private  rights  ;  and  Beligion  by  a 
vast  number  of  mythological  fragments,  not  yet  deciphered, 
and  by  the  remains  of  a  collection  of  Hymns,  the  style  of 
which  often  7-esembles  the  Hebrew  Psalms.  Tlie  taste  thus 
shown  for  these  compositions  throws  light  on  the  call  made 
upon  the  captive  Jews,  so  f;imiliar  to  us  in  the  pathetic  lan- 
guage of  their  own  Psalmody:  "By  the  rivers  of  Babylon, 
there  we  sat  down,  yea,  we  wept,  Avhen  we  remembered 
Zion.  We  hanged  our  liarps  upon  the  willows  in  the  midst 
thereof.  For  there  they  that  carried  us  away  captive  re- 
quired of  us  a  song ;  and  they  that  wasted  us  required  of  us 
mirth,  saying.  Sing  us  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion. ''''^ 

§  11.  Next  to  grammar,  however,  the  collection  appears  to 

8  Psalm  cxxxvii.  1-3.    See  note  B  to  chapter  x. 


398       WRITING,  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 

be  richest  in  that  mathematical  and  astronomical  science, 
which  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Assyrians  learnt 
Ironi  the  Babylonians.  This  science — consisting  chiefly  of 
arithmetic,  and  of  astronomy,  with  its  perversions  in  astrolo- 
gy, magic,  and  divination — seems  to  have  sprung  up,  like  the 
art  of  building,  among  the  primeval  Cushite  race.  The  uni- 
versal tradition  of  antiquity  divided  the  invention  of  these 
sciences  between  Egypt  and  Babylonia ;  and  modern  inquir- 
ies tend  to  show  that  their  priority  and  superiority  was  in 
the  lattef"  countr}^  The  exact  emplacement  of  their  earliest 
temple  tov/ers,  the  Sabaean  character  of  their  religion,  the 
astronomical  symbols  found  on  thc^ir  earliest  monuments,^ 
concur  to  indicate  that  the  Babylonians  observed  the  heav- 
ens from  remote  antiquity.  The  elaborate  chronological 
computations  of  Berosus,  and  the  stories  of  astronomical  ob- 
servations going  back  to  a  fabulous  antiquity,'"  prove,  at 
least,  that  they  possessed  a  science  the  origin  of  which  was 
forgotten  even  by  themselves. 

^  12.  This  science  was  in  the  hands  of  a  priestly  caste, 
called  the  Ciialdjkans.  They  were  a  true  caste^  for  their 
learning  was  both  exclusive  and  hereditary.  We  call  them 
priestly^  because  a  certain  religious  character  was  attaclied 
to  the  whole  body,  though  all  did  not  necessarily  falfiil  sac- 
erdotal functions.  Every  priest  must  be  a  Chahlgsa.i  :  but 
not  every  Chalda^an  was  in  practice  a  priest.  At  Babylon 
they  were  in  all  respects  the  ruling  ordei-in  the  body  politic, 
uniting  in  themselves  the  characters  of  the  Egyptian  sacer- 
dotal and  military  classes.  They  filled  all  the  highest  ofli- 
ces  of  state  under  the  king,  who  himself  belonged  to  the  or- 
der. In  the  Jewish  campaigns,  both  of  Sennacherib  and 
Nebuchadnezzar,  we  find  the  liahu-Enwia  or  Rah  Mar/  (that 
is,  the  Archimcigus)  of  the  Chalda?ans  one  of  the  princi])al 
generals;  and  we  have  seen  the  same  functionary  acting  as 
regent  twice  in  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  mention 
of  a  Rab  Mag  under  Sennacherib,  combined  with  the  sacer- 
dotal character  clearly  assumed  by  the  Assyrian  kings, 
seems  to  show  that  a  common  religion  gave  to  tlie  Chahhvan 
caste  a  similar  influence  in  Assyria  as  in  Babylon,  and  tli.'it 
the  Assyrian  kings  were  initiated  into  the  ordei-.'' 

It  is  in  the  Book  of  Daniel  that  the  Chaldaean  caste  mnke 
their  appearance  most  distinctly,  as  the  possessors  not  only 
of  a  special  "  learning,"  but  of  a  peculiar  "  tongue.'"^     They 

■'  As  the  moon  on  the  signet-cylinder  of  Umlih.  lo  See  ahove,  chap.  x.  note  A. 

11  The  continuance  of  this  royal  co-optation,  even  when  Babyloii  was  under  the 
Greek  kings  of  Syria,  may  perhaps  be  indicated  by  the  fact  that  Strabo  calls  Seleucus 
a  ("haldfenn  (xvi.  1. !-'  6) ;  but  this  may  mean  only  "  King  of  Chaldsea." 

12  Daniel  i.  4. 


THE  CIIALDiEAN  ORDER.  39& 

are  associated  with  the  magicians,  astrologers,  sorcerers,  and 
soothsayers — probably  classes  of  the  order. '^  They  are  ap- 
plied to  by  Nebuchadnezzar  to  expound  his  dreams,  and  by 
Belshazzar  in  their  character  of  "  interpreters  "  of  oracles  in 
an  unknown  tongue.  The  jealousy  characteristic  of  a  priv- 
ileged religious  order  is  seen  in  their  readiness  to  accuse 
Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego  before  Nebuchadnezzar.^* 
We  have  examples  of  initiation  into  their  order  in  the  case 
of  these  three  Jews  and  Daniel  ;^^  and  the  latter  was  made 
by  Nebuchadnezzar  the  "  master  of  the  magicians,  astrolo- 
gers, Chaldieans,  and  sooths;iyers."'^  Herodotus  and  Ctesias 
both  conversed  with  the  Chaldtean  priests  at  Babylon;  and 
the  account  given  of  them  by  the  latter  is  preserved  by 
Diodorus  Siculus. 

§  13.  This  writer  says  that  the  Cliald^eans  were  the  most 
ancient  of  the  Bahyloniivns — a  most  important  testimony  in 
reference  to  the  vexed  question  of  their  origin — and  that 
they  formed  in  the  state  a  class  like  the  priests  of  Egypt, 
Established  to  practice  the  worship  of  the  gods,  they  passed 
their  whole  lives  in  meditating  cpiestions  of  philosophy,  and 
acquired  a  great  reputation  for  their  astrology."  They  were 
addicted  especially  to  the  ai"t  of  divination,  and  framed  pre- 
dictions of  the  future.  They  sought  to  avert  evil  and  to 
insure  good  by  purifications,  sacrifices,  and  enchantments. 
They  were  vei'sed  in  the  arts  of  ])rophesying  by  means  of  the 
flight  of  bird^,  and  of  explaining  dreams  and  prodigies,  and 
the  omens  furnished  by  the  entrails  of  victims  offered  in  sac- 
rifice. The  writer  adds  that  this  knowledge  w^is  not  ac- 
quired in  the  same  inanner  as  among  the  Greeks ;  for  the 
learning  of  the  Chaldeans  was  a  family  tradition.  The  son 
who  inherited  it  from  his  father  was  exempt  from  all  public 
imposts.  Having  their  parents  for  instructors,  they  had  the 
double  advantage  of  being  taught  every  thing  without  re- 
serve, and  of  giving  more  implicit  credit  to  their  teachers. 
Trained  to  the  study  from  their  infancy,  they  made  great 
progress  in  astrology — both  from  the  facility  with  whicli  the 
young  learn  and  from  the  long  period  of  their  instruction. 
The  Chalda?ans,  always  resting  at  the  same  fixed  stage  of 
learning,  receive  their  traditions  unaltered  ;  while  the  Greeks 
(says  Diodorus),  thinking  only  of  gain,  are  always  forming 
new  sects,  contradicting  one  another  about  the  most  impor- 
tant doctrines,  and  thus  disturbing  the  minds  of  their  dis- 
ciples, who,  tossed  about  in  a  continual  uncertainty,  end  by 

>3  Daniel  ii.  2,  10  ;  iv.  7  ;  v.  T,  11.  i*  Dan.  iii.  S. 

15  Dan.  i.  ifiDan.  v.  11. 

"  The  ucrrpoXoYia  of  Dioclorus  is  primarily  astronomy,  including  also  astrology. 


400     WRITING,  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 

believing  nothing.  Divested  of  the  cynical  way  of  ])utting 
the  motives  and  results,  we  have  here  a  valuable  allusion  to 
the  difference  between  the  stereotyped  learning  of  an  au- 
thoritative caste  and  the  vigorous  spirit  of  free  inquiry. 

The  Clialdasans  were  settled  throughout  the  whole  coun- 
try, but  there  were  some  special  places  where  they  had  reg- 
ular colleges.  The  chief  of  these  w^ere  Borsippa,  near  Baby- 
lon, and  Uv  (Orcho^),  in  the  lower  country;  whence  Strabo 
recognizes  two  schools  of  the  Chalda?ans,  the  Borsippeni  and 
Orchoeni.'*  Their  next  seats  in  importance  were  Babylon 
itself,  and  the  twin  cities  of  Sippara  (Sepliarvainj)."'  Under 
the  supremacy  of  Rome,  their  contributions  to  science  were 
still  remembered  with  honor  ;^°  but  more  generally  tlieir 
name  had  become  a  by-word  for  the  arts  of  prophetic  and 
magical  imposture.^'  Just  as  the  fortune-tellei-s  of  modern 
times  liave  been  called  Egyptians  (Gypsies),  so  Avere  astrol- 
ogers and  conjurers  in  general  styled  Bahj/lonians  and 
Chcildceans  ;  their  occult  science  was  the  Ars  Chaldmorum  ; 
their  genethliacal  calculations,  Babylonii  numeri  and  ra- 
tiones  Chaldaicm  ;'^'^  their  replies  to  inquirers  into  the  future, 
Chcddceoriim  monlta,  Chaldfporuni  naUdUia  proKVicta. 

§  14.  The  real  science  on  which  this  mixed  reputation  was 
based  was,  as  w^e  liave  said,  chiefly  astronomical  and  arith- 
metical;  involving  also  a  regular  calendar,  an  elaborate 
scheme  of  astronomical  chronology,  and  the  system  of  weights 
and  measures  which  has  been  handed  down,  Uirough  Phoe- 
nicia and  Greece,  to  all  the  nations  of  Europe." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Babylonian  astronomy  was 
more  truly  scientific  than  the  Egyptian,"  and  that  it  I'cached 
the  highest  j^erfection  attainable  without  the  aid  of  optical 

»8  Strab.  xvi.  p.  TSi).  '^  Pliii.  "  H.  N."  vi.  26. 

2ocic.  "De  Div."  i.  41  — "Chaldfei  cogrnitione  astrorum  sollertiaque  ingeniorum 
aiitecellimt:"  comp.  Sliab.  xv.  p.20S  ;  Diod.  ii.29. 

21  Cic.  "Div."  /.  c. ;  Hor.  "Od."  i.  11,  2  ;  Jnv.  vi.  552,  x.  94;  Appiau.  Syr.  c.  58;  Curt 
i.  10,  V.  1 ;  Cato,  "  R.  R."  v.  4 ;  Joseph.  "  B.  J."  ii.  7,  §  3. 

22  Also  in  Greek,  XuXdcKajf  ixtOodot,  \a\6aioov  \l/n<pidev. 

23  For  the  exposition  of  this  system,  which  would  be  out  of  place  here,  see  Bockh's 
Metrologi^che  Untersuchungen,"  Mr.  Grote's  discussion  of  that  work  in  the  "  Classical 
Museum,"  and  the  articles  on  Weights  and  Measures  in  the  "Dictionary  of  Antiqui- 
ties." i'd  edition.  It  is  enough  here  to  say  that  the  system  is  based  on  the  onli, 
realh)  natural  and  scientific  foundations,  of  the  dimensions  of  the  human  body  for 
smaller  measures  and  the  sexagesimal  subdivision  of  a  large  circle  of  the  earth  for  the 
larger,  the  former  being  corrected  by  the  latter;  and  the  measures  of  sui face,  solid 
capacity,  and  weight,  being  derived  from  these.  Hence  it  appears  that  the  modem 
French  metric  sjiMem  is  as  much  at  variance  with  history  as  it  is  with  nature  (in  its 
abandcmment  of  the  measures  of  the  human  body),  and  with  science  (in  its  basis  on 
the  centesimal  division  of  the  quadrant,  which  was  rejected  by  mathematicians  and 
astronomers  almost  as  soon  as  it  was  invented  by  the  fanatical  decimalists  of  the 
Revolution.  It  is  not  even  properly  decimal;  for  then  the  circle  would  have  to  be  di- 
vided into  100  or  1000  degrees,  not  400). 

2*  See  above,  chap.  ix.  §  2. 


CHALDEAN  ASTRONOMY.  401 

instruments.  The  Chaldaeans  knew  the  synodic  period  of 
the  moon,  the  equinoctial  and  solstitial  points,  the  true  length 
of  the  year,  as  dependent  on  the  annual  course  of  the  sun 
(within  a  narrow  limit  of  error),  and  even  the  precession  of 
the  equinoxes.  But,  as  might  have  been  expected  from  their 
want  of  accurate  instruments,  they  made  a  mistake  in  the 
amount  of  the  precession,  and  calculated  it  at  30  seconds  in- 
stead of  50.  Hence  tlieir  great  cosmical  year — that  is,  one 
complete  revolution  of  the  equinoctial  points  among  the 
fixed  stars — was  made  too  long  in  the  like  proportion,  name- 
ly, 43,200  solar  years  instead  of  26,000  (to  use  round  num- 
bers). This  period  ot  43,200  years  was  the  basis  both  of 
their  arithmetical  and  chronological  computations:  and  we 
have  already  seen  that  the  antediluvian  age  of  Berosus  con- 
tained 10  such  cosmic  years  (432,000  solar  years).  If  we 
consider  this  as  a  greater  cosmical  year^  his  so-called  histor- 
ical period  of  36,000  years  (including  the  mytiiical  first  dy- 
nasty) would  be  the  months  or  twelfth  part^  of  such  a  year ; 
and  this,  again,  is  10  times  the  period  of  3600  years,  which 
the  Babylonians  called  the  sar.  Berosus  tells  us  that  their 
chronological  computations  were  based  on  these  three  de- 
nominations— the  soss  {(Til)fTfTOQ)  of  60  years,  the  ner  (vrjpog)  of 
600  years,  and  the  sar  [rrapog)  of  3600  years ;  and  his  antedi- 
luvian period  of  432,000  years  is  composed  of  120  sars." 

With  regard  to  the  more  prevalent  divisions  of  time,  they 
ajipear  to  have  used  the  month  of  30  days,  and  the  year  of 
12  months,  from  immemorial  antiquity  ;  and  also  the  week 
of  7  days,  the  nomenclature  of  which,  from  the  7  chief  heav- 
enly bodies,  coincides  with  the  7  stages  of  their  temple-tow- 
ers, and  seems  on  other  grounds  also  to  have  been  invented 
by  them.  The  system  is  well  worth  a  few  words  of  expla- 
nation, especially  as  it  is  often  derived  fi-om  mistaken  data. 
Tlie  Latin  names  of  the  days  will  best  show  the  planets  from 
which  they  are  derived:  (1)  Dies  Solis  ;  (2)  D.  Lunse;  (3)  D. 
Martis  ;  (4)  D.  Mercurii  ;  (5)  D.  Jovis ;  (6)  D.  Veneris ;  (7) 
D.  Sat  urn  i. 

25  Beios.  "Chaldaica,"  ap.  Syucell,  p.  17,  Euseb.  "Chron.  Arm."  Pars  i.  c.  1,  ?5  1,  2. 
The  statemeut  of  Apollodoruy,  that  Berosus  represented  Alorns,  the  first  Chald'uan 
King  of  Babylon,  as  reigning  10  sars  (30,000  years)  is  a  very  valuable  testimony  that 
Berosus  recognized  the  period;  but  Moses  of  Choreuc  pointed  out  that  the  King's 
nanie  arose  from  the  tendency  of  ancient  writers  to  personify  periods  of  time.  It  is 
also  to  be  observed  that  Berosus  says  nothing  of  the  7node  by  which  the  sar  v/as  de- 
rived from  the  ner  and  the  ner  from  the  soss.  It  is  obvious,  arithnieticallv,  that  as  the 
soss  =  00 years,  the  ')ier  =  10  sossi  =  GOO  (?,  c,  GO  x  10)  years,  and  the  sar  ^  G  neri  =  GC 
sossi  z=  8G00  {i.  e.,  either  GO  x  10  x  6,  or  at  once  GO  X  GO)  years.  Professor  Rawlinson 
considers  that  the  system  went  on  by  alternate  multiples  of  6  and  10:  thusGX  10  =  GO, 
the  soss ;  60  X  10  =  GOO,  the  ner ;  GOO  X  GO  =  3G00,  the  sar ;  3GO0  X  10  =  36,000,  the  "  pe- 
riod of  Alorns;"  but  the  next  multiple  is  not  G  but  12,  giving  the  antediluvian  period 
of  412,000,  which  Berosus,  however,  at  once  derived  from  the  sar,  as  120  sars. 


402     AVKITIXG,  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 

The  curious  point  here  is  the  want  of  any  astronomical  se- 
quence, whether  on  the  Ptolemaic,  or  Copernican,  or  any  con- 
ceivable system.  One  simple  solution  is  that  each  hour  was 
under  planetary  government,  and  the  influence  ruling  the 
day  was  that  presiding  over  \i^  first  hour.  As  the  day  con- 
tains 24  (r=:3  X  7  +  3)  hours,  the  ruler  of  the  second  day  is  the 
^d  in  order  after  the  ruler  of  the  first  day,  and  so  on.  Be- 
ginning the  1st  day  witli  Saturn,  the  chief  Babylonian  plan- 
etary god,  and  counting  inward  according  to  the  most  an- 
cient (the  so-called  Ptolemaic)  solar  system,  the  25th  hour, 
or  the  first  of  the  2d  day,  falls  to  the  Sun;  the  first  of  the 
3d  day  to  the  Moon;  of  the  4th  to  Mercury;  of  the  5th  to 
Mars;  of  the  6th  to  Jupiter ;  of  the  7th  to  Venics. 

This  explanation  is  furnished  by  Dion  Cassius ;  but  Sir 
Henry  Rawlinson  prefers  a  scheme  based  on  the  sexagesimal 
division  of  the  day  (into  60  hours),  which  he  maintains  that 
the  Babylonians  had  in  common  with  the  Hindoos.  Begin- 
ning with  the  planet  nearest  to  the  earth,  the  first  hour  be- 
longs to  the  Moon,  and  the  first  day  is  Monday ;  the  61st 
hour  falls  to  Mars,  and  the  day  is  Tues-(Tidsco''s-)day ;  the 
121st  to  Mercury,  Wednes-(Woden''s-)day;  the  181st  to  Ju- 
2nter,Thurs-(Thor's-)day;  the  241st  to  Venus,  Fri-{Friga''s-)- 
day ;  the  301st  to  Saturn,  Satur-day ;  the  361st  to  the  S^in, 
Sun-day. 

Herodotus  tells  us  that  the  Greeks  learned  from  the  Baby- 
lonians tlie  division  of  the  day  into  12  hours  (/.  e.,  of  the  day 
and  night  into  24),  as  well  as  the  sun-dial  and  the  gnomon  ;" 
a  testimony  the  more  important  as  it  occurs  incidentally  in  a 
passage  recounting  Egyptian  contributions  to  science.  But 
their  hours  were  the  true  equinoctial  hours,  wliereas  those 
of  the  Greeks  were  of  variable  length,  according  to  tlie 
time  of  sunrise  and  suuset.  They  also  measured  time  by  the 
icater-clock — the  clepsydra  of  the  Greeks. 

§  15.  The  report  of  their  famous  series  of  observations,  go- 
ing back  to  1903  years  before  Alexander's  conquest  of  Baby- 
lon, has  now  been'proved  to  be  a  mistake  ;  bu.t  Pliny  quotes 
the  testimony  of  E])igenes,  that  they  liad  simihir  records  for 
720  years,  inscribed ^on  tablets  of  burnt  brick."  Berosus 
states  that  these  observations  reached  back  to  the  time  of 
Nabonassar,  who  destroyed  the  records  of  previous  kings; 
and  this,  therefore,  is  not  to  be  considered  tlie  limit  of  their 
observations.     Ptolemy  specifies  tlie  same  limit  (of  B.C.  747) 

26  Herod,  ii.  109.  The  giwvion  was  the  style  or  other  edge  which  casts  the  shadow 
on  the  dial.— See  "Diet,  of  Ants."  art.  Pot.us. 

.  27  piin.  "  H.  N."  yii.  50.     "Epigenes  apud  Babylonias  DCCXX.  annonr.n  obfcrva- 
tiones  siderum  coctilibus  latercufis  inscriptas  docet." 


CHALDEAN  ASTRONOMY.  403 

in  speaking  of  their  accurate  observation  of  eclipses ;  and 
among-  those  he  quotes  are  live  of  the  moon,  which  have 
been  verified  as  falling  in  the  years  b.c.  721,  720,  621,  523. 
The  first  (on  March  10,  b.c.  721)  is  especially  noteworthy  as 
having  been  total  at  Babylon.  They  ascribed  solar  eclipses 
to  their  true  cause ;  but,  according  to  Diodorus,  their  skill 
only  extended  to  the  2^^"edictw?i  of  Itoiar  eclipses,  and  they 
were  content  with  observing  the  solar.  Among  recent  dis- 
coveries is  a  tablet  containing  the  record  of  a  solar  eclipse  in 
the  reign  of  Asshur-danin-il  it,  June  15,  b.c.  763,  which,  with 
the  help  of  the  Canons,  fixes  Assyrian  chronology  as  far 
back  as  b.c.  900.  This  power  of  calculating  eclipses  implies 
a  knowledge  of  the  "Metonic"  or  "golden  cycle"  of  223  lu- 
nations, after  which  the  eclipses  recur  in  the  same  order;  and 
we  are  expressly  told  that  they  reckoned  this  cycle  at  18 
years  10  days.^® 

Their  observations  of  the  apparent  motions  of  the  sun, 
moon,  and  planets,  imply  a  careful  identification  of  the  fixed 
stars;  and  there  is  little,  if  any,  doubt  that  they  invented 
the  system  of  constellate  ns,  of  which  mention  is  made  as 
early  as  the  Book  of  Job.^'  We  have  in  the  British.  Museum 
a  conical  black  stone,  carved  with  figures,  Avhich  seem  evi- 
dently to  represent  some  of  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac  and  oth- 
er constellations.  The  Sun,  in  its  twofold  form — male  and 
female — and  the  Moon,  are  grouped  as  a  triad  in  the  centre  ; 
and  among  the  surrounding  figures  are  clearly  the  Ram,  the 
Bull,  the  Serpent,  the  Scorpion,  the  Dog,  the  Eagle,  and  the 
Arrow.  There  are  also  quadrangular  figures  (like  a  house 
or  altar),  surmounted  by  emblems,  which  may  perhaps  repre- 
sent the  "Houses  "  of  the  Sun  and  the  positions  of  the  plan- 
ets at  the  time  of  engraving  the  stone.^°  The  Babylonians 
appear  to  have  divided  the  Zodiac  in  two  ways,  according 
to  the  paths  of  the  Sun  and  the  Moon;  the  one  set  of  divis- 
ions being  called  the  "  Houses  of  the  Sun,"  the  other  the 
"  Houses  of  the  Moon  ;"  but  the  nature  of  the  distinction  is 
not  understood.  The  existing  records  of  planetary  observa- 
tions are  said  to  contain  notices  of  the  satellites  of  Jupiter 
and  even  of  Saturn.  Of  the  former,  at  least  one  has  been 
seen  with  the  naked  eye  even  in  our  own  climate  ;^'  but  the 

-8  Gcmimis,  ?  15.  The  exact  period  is  18  years,  10  daj's,  7  hours,  43  minutes.  Tbc 
Greek  astronomer  Metou,  in  the  lime  of  the  Peloponnesiau  War,  reckoned  it  at  19 
years  inclusive,  which  Is  really  18  years.  29  job  xxxviii.  31,  32. 

30  poj.  views  of  the  stone  and  the  figures  upon  it,  see  Rawlinson,  "Five  Mon- 
archies," vol.  iii.  pp.  418,  419.  The  date  is  said  to  be  of  tiie  12th  century  kg.  Over 
one  of  the  so-called  "Houses"  is  the  exact  symbol  now  used  for  Vcmm  ?,  and  an 
arrow-head  $  ,  which  is  still  the  symbol  of  Mars  $  ,  looking  singularly  like  a  conjunc. 
tion  of  the  tv.'o  planets  :  hut  this  may  be  mere  fancy. 

31  This  statement  is  made  from  personal  kno\vled;j,e,  confirmed  by  several  observers 


40i     WRITING,  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 

latter  can  hardly  have  been  visible,  even  to  the  most  prac- 
ticed  eyes  and  in  a  Chald^ean  atniospliere,  without  telescopic 
aid.  The  j^ossibilit^/  of  this  is  suggested  by  the  discovery 
of  a  coiwex  lens,  which  is  now  in  the  British  Museum. 

The  Astrology  of  the  Chaldeeans— so  constantly  referred 
to  in  Scripture  and  in  classical  literature — was  the  exact  pro- 
totype of  all  the  later  forms  of  that  gigantic  but  seductive 
imposture.  Its  leading  character  was  genethUaml — the  sys- 
tem, namely,  which  foretold  the  fortune  that  would  follow 
the  "  native"  through  life,  and  especially  at  certain  epochs, 
from  the  configuration  of  the  heavenly  bodies  at  the  moment 
of  his  birth,  oi"  (as  some  astrologers  ])referred  to  reckon)  of 
his  conception.  It  was  believed  (as  Diodorus  tells  us)''  that 
every  human  being  was  born  under  tlie  influence  of  some 
star — benignant  or  malignant ;  but  this  influence  might  be 
crossed,  opposed,  or  intensified,  by  various  others  ;  so  that,  to 
tell  the  fortune  of  any  "  native,"  it  was  necessary  to  repro- 
duce by  calculation  the  exact  figure  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
at  his  natal  hour:  and  this  was  his  "horoscope." 

But  Diodorus''  also  informs  us— and  existing  tablets  con- 
firm his  testimony  —  that  the  Babylonian  astrology  had  a 
wider  range.  "  The  Chaldceans  professed  to  predict  from  the 
stars  sucirthings  as  the  changes  of  the  weather,  liigh  Avinds 
and  storms,  great  heats,  the  a))pearance  of  comets,  eclipses, 
earthquakes,  and  the  like.  They  published  lists  of  lucky  and 
unlucky  days,  and  tables  showing  what  aspects  of  the  heav- 
ens portended  good  or  evil  to  particular  countries.  Lists 
of  these  two  kinds  have  been  found  by  Sir  Henry  Raudin- 
son  among  tlie  tablets Tiie  great  majority  of  the  tab- 
lets are  of  an  astrological  character,  recording  the  supposed 
influence  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  singly,  in  conjunction,  or 
in  opposition,  upon  all  sublunary  aflairs,  from  the  fate  of 
empires  to  the  washing  of  hands  or  the  paring  of  nails."'* 
They  also  ventured  to  predict  the  weather  which  would  oc- 
cur on  particular  days  of  the  year."  Thus  it  appears  that 
these  Chaldnean  almanacs  were  the  veritable  prototypes  of 
our  own  "  Moore's,"  "  Murphy's,"  and  "Zadkiel's  "—in  short, 
of  the  utterly  abominable  class  of  astrological  almanacs,  with 
their  predictions  about  kings  and  states,  and  their  fortunate 
or  unfortunate  influences  attached  to  the  several  days,  by 
means  of  which  even  now  a  few  knaves  or  crazy  enthusiast- 
ics  prey  upon  ignorance  or  sillier  cariosity. 

32  Diod.  Sic.  ii.  Bl,  §  1.  "  Diod.  ii.  30,  §  5. 

s-i  Rawliusoii,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iii.  pp.  425,  42G.  The  examination  of  the 
whole  series  of  tablets,  on  which  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  is  now  enjj;aj2:ed,  may  be  ex- 
pected to  throw  much  fuither  lii^ht  on  the  astronomical  knowledge  of  the  Baby- 
lonians. ^^  Colum.  xi.  1.  §  3. 


GEOMETKY  AND  AKITIIMETIC.  405 

Bnt  in  those  days  the  laith  was  real ;  and,  whether  as 
scribes  and  interpreters,  as  framers  of  horoscopes,  or  utterers 
of  magic  forrauhiries,  or  exorcists  of  evil  spirits,  the  Chal- 
daeans  were  in  a  great  measure  tlie  masters  of  public  and 
private  life:  if  they  could  not  conti'ol  destiny,  they  directed 
the  steps  which  brought  it  on.  The  picture  drawn  by  Eze- 
kiel  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  mode  of  deciding  whether  to  march 
against  Kabbah  or  Jerusalem — "  For  the  king  of  Babylon 
stood  at  the  parting  of  the  way,  at  the  head  oftlie  two  ways, 
to  use  divination :  he  made  his  arrows  bright,  he  consulted 
with  images,  he  looked  in  the  liver "^^ — receives  the  fullest 
confirmation  from  Sennacherib's  records  of  his  own  faith  in 
astrology.  On  one  occasion  this  king  refused  to  give  a  de- 
cisive battle,  and  on  another  he  kept  back  from  a  promising 
campaign,  because  the  conjunctions  of  the  stars  Avere  unfa- 
vorable." 

§  16.  The  astronomical  and  astrological  calculations  imply 
a  considerable  knowledge  of  geometrical  constructions;  and 
Strabo  says  that  the  Greek  geometers  often  quoted  the  works 
of  certain  Chaldaeans — as  Ciden,  Naburianus,  and  Sudinus.^^ 
But  of  the  system  of  Arit/nnetie  which  was  used  in  Baby- 
lonia from  a  very  high  antiquity,  we  know  sometliing  from 
existing  tablets,  and  from  the  occurrence  of  numerals  in  in- 
scriptions. Their  system  of  deobnal  notation  had  a  remark- 
able likeness  to  the  Koman.  The  simple  Avedge  Y  stands  for 
1  ;  and  there  are  new  signs  for  10,  /;  for  50,  the  simple 
wedge  again,  T;  and  for  100,  ^^.     From  1  to  9,  the  units  are 

merely  accumulated  with  a  peculiar  grouping  (the  Roman 
system  of  subtracting  units  by  prefixing  them  to  X  being 
unknown).     From  11  to  19,  we  have  the  unit  groups  with 

the   sign   of  10  (\\  prefixed,  just  like  the  Boman  XL,  etc. 

So  20,  30,  40  are  expressed  by  two,  three,  and  four  of  the 
signs  for  10,  just  like  XX.,  etc.,  and  from  60  to  90  by  the 
proper  number  of  lO's  with  the  sio;n  of  50  prefixed,  like  LX., 
etc.^^  Xot  so,  however,  with  the  hundreds,  which  are  ex- 
pressed by  prefixing  the  proper  number  of  units  to  the  sign 
for  100,  just  as  we  say  o?ie-hundred,  ^^/'O-hundred,  etc.,  up  to 
1000,  which   is   one-tenAwm^YQ^.      The  system   will  now  be 

36  Ezek.  xxi.  21  ;  compare  Isaiah  xlvii.  13. 

37  See    further,  respectiug   the    Chaldseau    astrology,  Clitarchus,  ap  Diog.  Laert. 
Prooem.  §  G  ;  Theophrastns,  ajj.  Procl.  "  Comment,  iu  Plat.  Tim."  p.  285,  F. 

»«  Strab.  xvi.  1,  5  (5. 

3'-'  Bnt  sometimes  the  arrow-heads  are  ncGHnuilated  (like  the  uedgrs  for  vvitft)  from 

10  to  90,  giving  ^^^  for  50,  and  so  on. 


406      WHITING,  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 

easily  seen  in  the  following  table  (from  Professor  Rawlin* 
son) : 


>    T 

11 

<y 

100 

!  T- 

2  rr 

12 

<TT 

200 

in- 

3  m 

20 

« 

300 

im- 

4   V 

30 

<« 

400 

VI- 

^  w 

40 

'i' 

500 

W  I- 

6  m 

50 

1 

600 

RIT- 

7       f 

GO 

K 

700 

TT- 

8       YT 

70 

K< 

800 

wT- 

0      f?f 

80 

r«< 

900 

10       < 

90 

i<^< 

1000 

y<r- 

The  same  notation  was  employed  for  the  sosses  and  sars^ 
by  which  large  numbers  were  expressed.  Thus  a  single 
wedge  y  represents,  besides  the  simple  unit  1,  the  unit  of  the 
soss,  60,  and  the  unit  of  the  sar,  3600  ;  and  the  arrow-head  / 
represents  not  only  10,  but  also  10  sosses  (i.  e.,  600  =  1  ner)^ 
and  10  5«?-5,  or  36,000.    Thus  the  group  ^^^  yjT  ^^    I  means 

45  sosses  and  21  units  — 4:^  x  60  +  21  =2601.  This  example  is 
taken  from  a  curious  table  of  squares  of  all  numbers  from  1 

to  60;  in  which  it  stands  as  equal  to  Cf^y  'v^^  Y,i.  e.,^/ie 

square  of  51.  This  table  was  found  at  JSenkei'eh,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  be  of  high  antiquity.  The  numbers  are  accurate 
throughout.  The  very  fact  of  such  a  table  being  compiled 
implies  the  constant  practice  of  considerable  arithmetical 
operations,  in  which  it  would  be  of  use.  The  library  of 
Asshui--bani-pal  at  Nineveh,  which  lias  furnished  us  with  the 
astronomical  tables  above  referred  to,  contained  also  several 
treatises  on  arithmetic,  among  the  fragments  of  which  seem 
to  be  those  of  a  multiplication  table,  like  that  which  has  be- 
come famous  under  the  name  of  Pythagoras.     Such  discov- 


KELIGION  OF  ASSYRIA  AND  BABYLON.  407 

eries — with  others  that  we  have  noticed  from  time  to  time 
— have  a  double  importance,  not  only  as  revealing  the  actual 
state  of  ancient  Oriental  civilization,  but  as  throwing  new 
light  on  the  Eastern  contributions  to  European  civilization, 
which  are  attested  by  the  uniform  tradition  of  those  "  quick- 
witted Greeks  "  whom  some  moderns  believe  to  have  learnt 
nothing  from  the  dull  stagnation  of  the  Asiatic  mind  ! 

§  17.  The  Religion  of  Assyria  and  Babylon  was  essentially 
the  same.  With  the  exception  of  a  difference  in  the  name 
of  the  Supreme  Deity,  and  in  a  few  minor  particulai's,  they 
had  the  same  Pantheon,  the  same  symbols,  the  same  connec- 
tion of  their  divinities  with  the  heavenly  bodies,  the  same 
forms  of  worship,  and  the  same  system  of  sacred  learning  in 
the  hands  of  an  exclusive  caste.  The  chief  differences  are  in 
the  peculiar  identitication  of  certain  deities  with  the  inter- 
ests and  honor  of  the  two  nations,  and  of  particular  kings 
and  dynasties ;  and  in  certain  developments  which  show  the 
Cushite  or  Semitic  character  respectively. 

Few  now  contest  the  statement  that  the  religion  had  its 
primitive  seat  in  Babylonia,  where  the  Chaldaeans  were  its 
chief  ministers  to  the  latest  age  of  its  existence.  It  is  in 
Babylonia  that  we  find  most  developed  its  character  of  a 
Pantheistic  Sabneism,  side  by  side  with  those  grosser  forms 
of  popular  religion  which  have  always  prevailed  among  the 
Hamite  race;  while  in  Assyria  the  Semitic  mind  gave  to 
the  same  original  conceptionsrall  the  spiritual  elevation  of 
which  they  were  susceptible.  It  w^as  from  their  connection 
with  Babylon  that  Israel  learnt  to  worship  and  burn  incense 
to  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  heavenly  host,"  or — in  the 
prophet's  comprehensive  phrase — "  the  frame  of  heaven  ;"" 
and  it  was  in  imitation  of  a  Babylonian  custom  that  the 
kings  of  Judah  dedicated  horses  to  the  sun."^  The  corrup- 
tion of  a  purer  nature-worship  into  idolatry  took  place  in 
both  nations  ;  but  the  immense  number  and  variety  of  the 
Babylonian  idols,  in  particular,  is  proved  by  the  languages 
alike  of  Hebrew  prophets  and  classical  historians,  and  by  the 
existing  monuments,  cylinders,  and  engraved  stones.  Up 
to  the  very  hour  of  the  city's  fall,  "  they  praised  the  gods 
of  gold,  and  of  silver,  of  brass,  of  iron,  of  wood,  and  of 
stone."" 

§  18.  From  the  prominence  given  to  its  astronomical  em- 
blems, the  religion  is  often  called  Sabceism.  But  this  is  not 
strictly  correct.  Pure  Sabteism,  in  ascribing  divine  intelli- 
gence to  the  heavenly  bodies,  excludes  every  other  personal 

40  2  Kings  xvii.  IG ;  xxi.  3, 5 ;  2  Chr.  xxxiii.  5 ;  Jer.  viii.  2 ;  xix.  13. 

*i  Jer,  vii.  18  ;  xliv.  17, 18, 19,  25.  ^^  9  Kiugs  xxiii.  11.  *^  Dan.  v.  4. 


408      WRITING,  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 

conception  of  them,  and  especially  all  anthropomorphism  and 
all  idolatry.  But  the  gods  of  Babylon  and  Assyria  are  dia- 
tinctly  ^9e?'6'o??s/  they  are  represented  in  human  and  animal 
forms,  and  by  other  symbols  besides  those  of  the  heavenly 
host :  in  fact,  the  highest  deities  of  all  were  not  those  repre- 
sented by  the  sun,  moon,  and  planets.  ^  In  the  compendious 
summary  of  Berosus  —  "they  (the  Chalda^ans)  worshipped 
Behis,  and  the  stars,  and  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  live 
planets" — Bel  takes  precedence  of  the  heavenly  host. 

The  same  author  seems  to  recognize  an  original  element 
of  monotheism  in  the  fabulous  account  of  the  origin  of  Bab- 
ylonian civilization.  Without  entering  into. a  wide  contro- 
versy, it  is  enough  here  to  record  the  opinion,  that  the  prime- 
val idea  of  one  god  is  indicated  in  the  supreme  deity  who  is 
placed  above  all  the  other  divinities  of  the  Assyrio-Babylo- 
nian  Pantheon.  The  very  name  of  this  deity,  II  (or  Ilou), 
seems  to  attest  a  connection  with  the  Hebrev>'  Ul ;  while  his 
other  name,  Ba,  fits  in  as  strikingly  with  the  Egyptian  relig- 
ion. In  Babylonia — where  there  was  a  marked  preference 
for  local  deities,  and  where  the  partialities  of  kings  and  dy- 
nasties gave  the  supreme  place  variously  to  Bel-Merodacli  or 
to  Nebo— we  find  few  traces  of  the  worship  of  II,  and  no  tem- 
ple seems  to  have  been  raised  to  him  after  that  firsL  which — 
according  to  the  native  etymology  of  Bab-il — was  called 
simply  the  Gfjte  or  HoJtse  of  God.^* 

The  Assyrians  attached  a  nauch  more  definite  and  perma- 
nent conception  to  this  supreme  deity,  to  whom  they  gave 
the  national  name  of  Asshur.*^  As  this  name  is  introduced 
in  the  list  of  Genesis  x.,  without  explanation  of  its  meaning 
— and  as  no  significant  etymology  of  it  seems  to  have  been 
discovered — we  are  left  in  doubt  as  to  the  precedence  of  the 
divine  or  ethnic  name — whether  the  nation  was  called  Assyr- 
ian, as  being  the  people  of  Asshur,  or  the  deity  Asshur,  as 
being  the  god  of  the  Assyrians."  The  latter  seems  the  more 
probable,  and  in  this  case  we  may  perhaps  regard  tlie  name, 

^*  The  Greeks  found  au  analogy  in  this  deity  to  the  original  conception  of  Cronns. 

45  It  may  be  here  observed,  with  regard  to  the  whole  religion  of  the  nation,  that 
"in  Assyria  ampler  evidence  exists  of  what  was  material  in  the  religions  system, 
more  abundant  representations  of  the  objects  and  modes  of  worship,  so  that  it  is 
possible  to  give,  by  means  of  illustrations,  a  more  graphic  portraiture  of  the  exter- 
'uals  of  the  religion  of  the  Assyrians  than  the  scantiness  of  the  remains  permits  in  tlie 
case  of  ihe  primitive  Chald«ans  (or  even  of  the  later  Babylonians)."— Rawlinson, 
"Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii.  chap.  viii.  p.  2'29.  For  the  graphic  illustrations,  which 
we  have  not  space  to  give,  and  for  a  fuller  account  of  the  Assyrian  religion,  the  readei 
is  referred  to  the  chapter  cited. 

40  It  must  be  remembered  that  both  in  the  Assyrian  language  and  in  Hebrew  tho 
names  of  the  coxmtry  and  the  people  are  ulentiml  with  that  of  the  r/od,  Asuhiir.  The 
only  diffei-ence  (common  to  all  three  senses)  is  that  between  the-forms  A-sMtr  and 
Asshur.  In  Assyrian  inscriptions  the  meanings  are  distinguished  by  the  determvw,- 
tive  x>refix.    See  above,  §  7.    The  name  is  also  abbreviated  to  .4s. 


ASSHUR  THE  SUPREME  GOD,  409 

not  as  the  proper  name  of  the  deity,  but  as  an  ellipsis  for 
"the  god  of  Asshur."" 

At  all  events,  the  national  character  of  this  deity  is  con- 
spicuous. He  is  regarded  throughout  all  the  Assyrian  in- 
scriptions as  the  special  tutelary  deity  both  of  the  kings 
and  of  the  country.  "  He  places  the  monarchs  upon  their 
throne,  firmly  establishes  them  in  the  government,  lengthens 
the  years  of  their  reigns,  preserves  their  power,  protects  their 
forts  and  armies,  makes  their  names  celebrated,  and  the  like. 
To  him  they  look  to  give  them  victory  over  their  enemies, 
to  grant  them  all  the  wishes  of  their  heart,  and  to  allow 
them  to  be  succeeded  on  their  thrones  by  their  sons  and 
their  sons'  sons,  to  a  remote  posterity.  Their  usual  phrase, 
when  speaking  of  him,  is  Asshifr,  my  lord.  They  represent 
themselves  as  passing  their  lives  in  his  service.  It  is  to 
spread  his  worsliip  that  they  carry  on  their  wars.  They 
fight,  ravage,  destroy,  in  his  name.  Finally,  when  they  sub- 
due a  country,  they  are  careful  to  '  set  up  the  emblems  of 
Asshur,'  and  teach  the  people  his  laws  and  worship,"^*  We 
have  seen  how  the  kings  at  once  glorify  and  honor  his  name, 
and  claim  his  special  protection,  by  the  formation  of  their 
own  names  from  his.  The  people  are  described  as  "  the 
servants  of  Asshur  ;"  their  enemies  as '- th.e  enemies  of  As- 
shur ;"  and  the  Assyrian  religion  as  ''' the  worship  of  As- 
shur." 

His  supremacy  above  all  the  othef  gods  is  shown  by  t\v^ 
precedence  given  to  his  name  in  all  invocations,  and  by  his 
titles — "  the  great  god  " — "the  king  of  all  the  gods  " — "  he 
who  rules  supreme  over  the  gods."  We  can  not  but  trace 
in  all  this  a  certain  degree  of  Semitic  tenacity  of  the  highest 
conception  of  a  personal  deity.  "  It  is  indicative  of  the  (com- 
paratively speaking)  elevated  character  of  Assyrian  poly- 
theism, that  this  exalted  and  awful  deity  continued  from 
first  to  last  the  main  object  of  worship,  and  was  not  super- 
seded in  the  thoughts  of  men  by  the  lower  and  more  intel- 
ligible divinities,  siich  as  Shanias  and  iS7;/,  the  Sun  and 
MooUj  Nergal^  the  god  of  war,  A^m,  the  god  of  hunting,  or 
Zv«,  the  wielder  of  the  thunder-bolt."''^  The  same  suprema- 
cy  is  shown  by  the  universal  worship  of  Asshur  throughout 
all  Assyria;  though  the  great  temple  at  Asshur  seems  to  in- 
dicate that  he  was  peculiarly  honored  at  the  city  which 
bore  his  name.'"     This  is,  however,  the  only  temple  yet  dis- 

<■'  We  have  .1  similar  ellipsis  iu  -cA  least,  oue  passage  of  the  Bible:  "This  is  the 
generation  of  them  that  seek  him,  that  seek  thy  face,  6  Jacob."     (Psalm  xxiv.  C.) 

<«  Eawlinson,  vol.  ii.  pp.  229,  2.^0.  ■*"  Rawllnson,  I.  e.  p.  2".!. 

50  The  bricks  of  this  temple,  at  Kileh-fihcrghat,  bear  the  name  of  Aahit,  which  Sir 
Heury  Rawliusoii  supposes  to  be  an  archaic  form  of  Asshur  (Essay  X.  "  On  the  Re- 

18     ^" 


410      AVRITING,  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 


Emblems  of  Asshnr  (after  Lajard). 


covered  that  was  specially  dedicated  to  him ;  and  it  has 
been  supposed  that,  instead  of  separate  temples,  he  had  a 
first  place  in  the  fanes  of  all  the  other  gods. 

Asshur  is  represented  by  a  curious  emblem,  Avhich  is  seen 
on  the  sculptures  of  the  kings — often  hovering  over  their 
heads  in  battle — and  on  their  signet-cylinders  :  the  emblem 
was  also  used  by  the  Persians,  under  the  name  oi  Ferouher^ 
as  the  symbol  of  deity.  It  is  a  winged  circle,  from  which 
issues  a  small  human  figure,  with  the  horned  cap,  generally 
holding  a  ring,  and  often  a  bow,  the  latter  sometimes  bent 
and  with  the  arrow  on  the  sti'ing. 

The  symbol  is  explained  as  denoting  eternity  by  the  cir- 
cle, omnipresence  by  the  wdngs,  and  intelligence  by  the  hu- 
man figure.  That  this  figure, 
however,  was  not  essential,  ap- 
pears from  the  frequent  form  of 
the  emblem  as  a  simple  winged 
circle,  closely  resembling  the 
Egyptian  winged  globe.  It  ap- 
pears in  one  very  curious  form  on 
the  signet-cylinder  of  Sennache- 
nb,  where — besides  the  principal  human  figure — the  wings 
of  the  circle  support  two  other  heads  ;  but  what  triad  this 
indicates  is  unknown. 

Here  the  symbol  is  seen  in  one  of  its  frequent  positions^ 
over  the  sacred  tree^  which  is  another  constant  emblem  of 
Asshur,  and  which  is  often 
placed,  as  here,  between  two 
worshipping  figures,  one  of 
them  being  the  king.  "  Like 
the  winged  circle,  this  emblem 
has  various  forms.  The  sim- 
plest consists  of  a  short  pillar 
springing  from  a  single  pair  of 
rams'  horns,  and  surmounted 
by  a  capital  composed  of  two        „     ,  ^  ,.  .      ^o        .    -^ 

*' .  r»  11^  1  Roj'al  Cylinder  of  Sennaclienb. 

pairs  01  rams    horns  separated 

by  one,  tw^o,  or  three  hoi-izontal  bands ;  above  which  there 
is,  first,  a  scroll  resembling  that  which  commonly  sur- 
mounts the  winged  circle,  and  then  a  flower,  very  much 
like  the  '  honeysuckle '  ornament  of  the  Greeks.  More 
advanced  specimens  show  the  pillai"  elongated,  with  a  cap- 
ital in  the   middle   in   addition  to  the   capital   at  the   top. 


while  the  blossoi 


above  the  upper  capital  and  generally 

Herod- 


iigion  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians, "'in  the  Appendix  to  Rawlinson's 
otus,"  vol.  1.  p.  5SS). 


THE  OTHER  DEITIES,  411 

the  stem  likewise,  throw  out  a  luunber  of  similar  smaller 
blossoms,  which  are  sometimes  replaced  by  iir-cones  or  pome- 
granates. Where  the  tree  is  most  elaborately  portrayed, 
we  see,  besides  the  stem,  and  the  blossoms,  a  complicated 
net-work  of  branches,  which,  after  iiitei'lacing  with  one  an- 
other, form  a  sort  of  arch,  surrounding  the  tree  itself,  as  with 
a  frame. '"^ 

§  19.  After  this  supreme  god,  the  mysterious  source  of  all 
being,  come  a  series  of  external  manifestations,  in  an  order 
indicating  the  connection  of  cosmogony  with  religion.  They 
are  arranged  in  Triads;  not  composed — like  those  of  Egypt 
— of  father,  mother,  and  son,  but  of  three  male  deities,  each 
of  whom  is  accompanied  by  a  goddess.  The  First  Triad 
consists  of  Ana  or  Anu^  Bil  or  Bd  or  Belns,  and  Ilea  or 
Hoa,  whose  atti-ibutes  resemble  those  of  Hades  (Pluto),  Ju- 
piter, and  Xeptune,  in  the  classical  mythology.  The  attend- 
ant female  deities — in  the  language  of  the  inscriptions,  the 
reflection  of  those  attributes — are  Anat  (Anaitis),  Bilit  (Bel- 
tis)  or  Mylitta^  and  Daokina.  This  triad  has  a  cosmogonic 
character ;  Ami  representing  the  primordial  chaos  ;  Bel  (or, 
more  specifically,  Bel-Xiprii)^^''  the  power  that  reduces  it  to 
order;  and  Hea  or  Hoa^  the  intelligent  spirit  of  the  universe 
— the  fish-god  Oannes  of  Bei-osus,  who  brought  in  the  earli- 
est civilizadon.^' 

The  Second  Triad  consists  of  Sin  or  Hurki^  Shamas^  San, 
or  Sa7isi,  and  Iva."* — the  Moon,  Sun,  and  the  Attnosp/iere  or 
^ther,  with  their  consorts,  "  the  great  lady,'"'  Gida  or  Anu- 
it,  and  Shala  or  Tala.  The  cosmic  character  of  this  triad 
forms  a  transition  to  the  sidereal  group  of  inferior  divinities, 
representing  the  five  planets  known  from  the  earliest  times 
— Ninip  {Sditnvu),  3Ierodach  {^u\)\tQv),Xergal  (^l'dvs)^Isktar 
(Venus),  and  Nebo  (Mercury).  Though  infei-ior  to  the  old 
deities  of  the  triads,  these  deities  became  especially  popular. 
Merodach  was  the  supreme  deity  of  Babylon ;  Ninip,  the  As- 

51  Hawlinson,  vol.  ii.  n.  2oG.  On  the  curious  question  of  a  probable  connection  of 
the  Aj<syrian  sacred  tree  with  the  Asherah  ("grove"  in  onr  version),  which  was  an 
object  of  idolatry  with  the  Jewish  Icings,  see  the  ensuing  remarks  of  Rawlinson,  and 
the  article  Grove  in  the  "Dictionary  of  the  Bible,"  where  also  a  representation  of 
the  sacred  tree  Avill  be  found. 

52  This  title  (in  which  some  see  a  deification  of  Nimrod)  distinguishes  the  older  Bei 
from  Bel'Merodach,  i.  e.,  Tjord  Merodach,  the  great  god  of  the  later  Babylonian  kings. 

53  Some  identify  Oannes  with  Ann ;  but  Oa  seems  to  be  the  older  name  of  the  tish- 
god  (  nr,  in  Helladins,  'Aw  in  Damascius)  ;  and  one  title  of  Iloa  is  "  the  intelligent- 
lish."  His  consort  Dawkina  also  points  to  the  same  character  under  the  name  of 
Daqan  oi-  Dagon. 

54  This  is  one  of  the  cases  where  the  phonetic  power  is  quite  uncertain.  Other 
readings  are  Vnl  and  An.  The  uncertainty,  of  course,  extends  to  the  royal  names 
compounded  of  this  element. 

55  The  proper  name  of  the  Moon-goddess  hasnot  been  found  ;  but  she  is  often  con- 
founded with  Bultis. 


412      WRITING,  LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  RELIGION. 


sjM-ian  Hercules— also  personified  as  the  fish-god — was  a  fa^ 
vorite  deity  at  Nineveh  :  and  in  both  countries  Nebo  (like 
Hermes  and  IVIercury)  was  the  patron  of  learning,  the  inspir- 
ing genius  of  prophecy  and  eloquence,  and  of  royal  authori- 
ty? ^  These  sidereal  deities  reproduce  to  some  extent  the 
characters  of  the  first  triad  ;  Ninip  of  Anu  ;  Merodach  of 
Bel ;  Xebo  of  Ao  ;  Islitar  of  Beltis.  The  last  was  the  great 
goddess  of  nature  ;  and  her  serious  and  voluptuous  charac- 
ters were  embodied  in  the  twofold  form  of  Tacnith  and  Zar- 
panit  (or  Nana),  like  the  celestial  and  popular  Venus  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans.  The  grossly  licentious  worship  of  the 
latter  at  Babylon  is  described  by  Herodotus.^^ 


Emblems  of  the  Principal  God?.     (From  au  Obelisk  iu  the  British  Musei;ra.) 


g  20.  The  supreme  deity,  II  or  Asshur,  with  the  two  tri- 
ad's and  the  five  planets,\appear  to  make  up  the  "twelve 
oivat  o-ods.'"'  Below  these  there  were  a  host  of  genii  and 
mferior  deities  ;  such  as  Msroch  or  Salman,  the  eagle-head- 
ed and  wino-ed  deitv  of  the  Assyrian  sculptures,  "  the  king 
of  fluids,"  and  "governor  of  theV-ourse  of  human  destiny;" 
and  Adrammelech  and  Anammelech,  the  gods  of  the  tvx'o 
Sipparas  (Sepharvaim),  whose  people  made  their  children 
pass  through  the  fire  to  these  deities."'  But  to  enumerate 
these  minor  deities,  and  even  to  specify  the  titles,  attributes, 
genealoo'ical  relations,  temples,  and  other  important  particu- 
lars relating  to  the  greater  gods,  and  to  describe  the  system 
of  cosmoooTiy  which  was  connected  with  the  Babylonian  re- 
ligion, would  far  exceed  our  limits.  This  is  the  less  to  be 
rc^oretted,  as  the  whole  subject  is  beset  with  coinplications 
and  difticulties,  the  solution  of  which  awaits  the  light  to  be 
gained  from  the  immense  mass  of  undeciphered  cuneiform 
literature."' 

5«  Ilerod.  i.  109.  ,  ,  , 

5'  Orherwise.  exclndln?  Asshur  as  above  all  the  rest,  the  twelve  are  made  np  by 

introdnr.iiig  BeUis.    There  are  also  other  ways  of  reckoning  them. 
*8  '2  Kings  xvii.  .31.  ,  .     ^  x-  • 

5«  For  a  full  account  of  all  that  is  at  present  known  on  the  subject  (to  say  notning 

of  what  is  only  conjectured)  see  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  Essay  X.  to  Herodotus,  Book  I. ; 

and  Professor  Rawlinson's  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol  i.  c.  vii.  ;  vol.  ii.  c.  vin.  ;  ^oj.  ni. 

pt.  ii.  c.  vii. ;  and  Leuormaut,  "  Histoire  Ancieune,"  chnp.  vlii.  5  5 ;  chap.  viii.  ?§  «,  S. 


Peisepohs. 


BOOK  III. 


THE  MEDO-PERSIAN  EMPIRE.  A^J)  ITS  SUBJECT 
COUNTRIES  IN  ASIA. 


CHAPTER  XVHI. 


THE   PRIMITIVE   AKYANS  AND  THE   RELIGION   OF  ZOROASTER. 

2  1.  Place  of  the  Meclo-Persians  in  history.  §  2.  Both  were  branches  of  the  Aryan 
race.  §  3.  Its  country  the  table-land  of  Iran.  Its  two  branches — the  Aryas  and 
Tavanas.  §  4.  Testimony  of  language  to  their  primitive  condition.  §  5.  Their 
social  life,  moral  and  political  condition.  §  (3.  The  primitive  Aryan  religion.  Its 
corruption  into  dualism  and  pantheistic  nature-worship.  Cosmogony.  Tradition 
of  the  Deluge.  §  7.  Westward  migration  of  the  Yavanas.  Mythical  legends  of 
the  Iranian  Aryans  — Jemshid  —  Zohak  —  Caneh  —  Feridun.  The  sacred  leather 
standard.  §  8.  Conflict  of  the  Iranians  and  the  Turanians.  Social  organization 
at  this  period.  §  D.  The  religions  reform  ascribed  to  Zouoastkr.  His  persona! 
history  unknown.  Antiquity  of  the  Zoroastrian  religion.  §  10.  Its  origin  in 
Bactria.  Marvels  about  Zoroaster,  only  found  in  later  writers.  §  11.  The  sacred 
books  called  Zendavesta.  High  antiquity  of  the  Gfithus,  etc.  §  12.  Nature  of  the 
Zoroastrian  religion,  or  Mazdeism.  Its  reaction  from  pantheistic  naturalism. 
The  Ahuras  (good  spirits)  and  Daevas  (evil  spirits).  §  13.  Doctrine  of  Ahura 
mazda  {Ormazd),  the  one  supreme  god.  His  attributes.  His  symbol  Light.  §  14. 
His  creative  work  by  the  creative  Word.  §  15.  The  doctrine  of  Dualism.  Ques- 
tion of  its  origin.  Angromainijufi  {Ahriman),  the  opponent  of  Ahuramazda.  His 
ultimate  destruction.  Later  opinions.  §  16.  The  antagonistic  spiritual  hierar- 
chies. §  17.  The  doctrine  of  creation.  The  temptation  and  fall  of  man.  §  IS. 
Future  rewards  and  punishments,  §  19.  Zoroastrian  morality.  §  20.  The  Zoro- 
astrian Worship.  §  21.  Oppositicm  to  the  Zoroastrian  reform.  Separation  of  the 
Iranian  and  Indian  Aryans.  §  22.  Settlement  of  the  Iranians  in  Media  and  Per- 
sia.    §  23.  Adoption  of  Magism  in  Media. 

§  1.  The  nations  whose  history  we  have  thus  far  followed 
were  of  the  Hamitic  and  Semitic  races  :  but  now  we  see  the 


4U     PRIMITIVE  ARYANS  AND  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER. 

third  family  of  mankind  entering  on  the  dominion  assigned 
to  it  by  Providence  and  prophecy.  The  Japhetic  race,  "  en- 
larged "  by  increase  and  by  conquest,  begins  to  make  Ham 
his  "  servant,"  and  to  "  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem."  The 
former  races,  settling  in  the  two  great  fertile  plains  which 
were  ready  to  nourish  the  earliest  civilization,  have  built  up 
kingdoms  on  a  vast  scale  of  despotic  power  and  rude  mag- 
nificence, and  cultivated  the  arts  and  sciences  which  minister 
to  the  material  wants  of  man  ;  but  their  despotisms  have 
grown  eftete,  and  their  science  has  been  prostituted  to  su- 
perstition. Even  the  nation  chosen  out  of  the  rest  to  pre- 
serve a  pure  religion  and  a  simple  commonwealth,  has  proved 
unfaithful  to  its  trust,  and  been  doomed,  for  a  time,  to  learn 
its  errors  by  the  discipline  of  captivity  and  servitude.  At 
this  juncture  the  third  race — the  hardy  natives  of  the  ruder 
climate  and  the  freer  air  of  highlands  ;  trained  to  war  by 
conflicts  with  the  nomad  Turanian  tribes  ;  and  animated  by 
a  religion  based  on  pure  and  spiritual  prin(;iples — takes  pos- 
session of  the  fruits  of  civilization  prepared  for  it,  and  reor- 
ganizes an  empire  which  is  destined  in  its  turn  to  succumb 
before  the  more  vigorous  spirit  of  Western  freedom. 

§  2.  The  united  Medes  and  Persians,  to  whom  this  part 
in  history  was  assigned,  belonged  to  the  great  race  which 
ancient  usage  and  modern  science  concur  in  denoting  by  the 
name  of  Aryax.'  This  has  never  been  doubted  in  the  case 
of  the  Persians ;  but  as  to  the  Medes,  some  confusion  has 
arisen  from  the  fact  that  the  land  always  called  Media  by 
the  ancient  writers  had  in  early  times  a  Taranian  (or  aVcj/- 
thic)  population.  Hence  we  have  seen  that  the  so-called 
"Median"  column  of  the  trilir.gual  inscriptions  of  the  Per- 
sian kings  is  really  in  a  Turanian  dialect,  which  we  call  for 
convenience  Medo-Scythic.  But  the  Medes  of  history — those 
who  founded  the  empire  to  whicli  the  Persians  succeeded — 
were  indubitably  Aryans.  "The  Medes  were  anciently 
called  by  all  people  Arians,"  says  Herodotus  f  and  they  are 
always  so  called  by  the  Armenian  writers.  The  ethnic  af- 
finity is  moreover  implied  in  that  inseparable  connection  of 
the  "  Medes  and  Persians,"  which  was  already  a  proverb  in 
the  time  of  Cyrus,  and  of  which,  indeed,  some  find  traces 
much  earlier  in  the  Assyrian  inscriptions.  They  had  the 
same   language  and  religion,  the  same  customs  and  dress ; 

1  It  was  usual,  till  recently,  to  adopt  the  Greek  orthography  Arian  {Afnot,  Herod, 
rii.  62  ;  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  etc.) ;  but,  besides  the  incouvenient  identity  of  this  form 
With  a  term  of  totally  different  meauin;?  (a  follower  of  Arius),  the  ?/  represents  the 
original  native  orthography.  The  twofold  parallels  between  the  ethnic  Aryan  and 
Arvienian  and  the  theological  Arian  and  Armiman  are  illustrations  of  the  frequency 
of  carious  coincidences.  ^  Herod,  vii.  02. 


THE  TABLE-LAND  OF  IRAN.  415 

and  Herodotus,  in  mentioning  the  identity  of  their  equip- 
ments, observes  that  the  dress  common  to  both  was  rather 
Median  than  Persian.  Their  common  institutions  are  at- 
tested by  their  own  celebrated  formula,  "  The  law  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians,  which  altereth  not.'"  Their  affinity 
with  the  races  of  Northern  India  on  the  one  hand,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  with  the  European  races  which  follow  them 
in  the  course  of  history,  calls  for  some  general  notice  of  the 
great  family  to  which  they  belonged. 

§  3.  Let  us  first  glance  at  the  region  of  which  w^e  have 
now  to  speak.  Repeated  mention  has  been  made  of  the 
great  table-land  of  Iran^  which  reaches  in  longitude  from 
the  mountains  of  Kurdistan  and  Luristan^  which  form  the 
eastern  boundary  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  valley,  to 
those  o^  Suleiman ^v,^\\\q\\  skin  the  Indus  valley  on  the  west. 
On  the  south  it  rises  from  the  shores  of  the  Indian  Ocean  by 
the  desert  steppes  of  Beloochistan  (the  ancient  Gedrosia) ; 
and  it  is  backed  up  on  the  north  by  the  chain  of  the  Indian 
Caucasus.  The  northern  slopes  of  this  chain,  as  we  follow  it 
from  west  to  east,  look  dovv  n  first  upon  the  burning  strip  of 
land  alono'  the  shore  of  the  Caspian  ;  then  over  the  vast  des- 
ert of  Khim,  which  extends  to  the  Sea  of  Aral  and  the 
Oxus  :  and  lastly  upon  the  fair  region  of  mountains  and  val- 
leys watered  by  the  upper  course  and  tributaries  of  this  riv- 
er, and  lying  in  the  angle  between  the  Hindoo  Koosli.  (Par- 
opamisus  M.)  and  the"  great  range  of  Bolor  Tagh,  which 
runs  to  the  north.  To  this  region,  anciently  called  Bactria, 
or  one  not  far  from  it,  the  traditions  of  the  chief  nations  of 
the  Aryan  family  point  as  the  primeval  cradle  of  the  race , 
and  thev  recognize  a  distinction,  even  in  that  primitive 
abode,  between^  the  Aryas,  or  "  elder  "  branch,  who  dwelt  to 
the  east,  and  the  Yavanas.ov  "younger"  stock,  who  dwelt 
to  tlie  west.  The  former  were  the  ancestors  of  those  who 
remained  in  Asia,  and  peopled  India  and  the  table-land  of 
Iran  ;  while  the  latter  migrated  to  the  west,  and  spread  in 
successive  waves  over  Europe.  Their  original  name  is  pre- 
served in  the  Javan  of  Genesis  x.,  in  the  Greek  Ionians,^\\A 
in  the  words  signifying  young  in  the  several  languages  of  the 
Indo-European  Germanic  fiimily. 

§  4.  The  evidence  of  those  languages  throws  a  flood  of 
light  on  the  primitive  condition  of  the  Aryan  race.  It  is 
alelf-evident  principle  of  comparative  philology,  that  words 
identical  in  several  cognate  languages — or,  what  is  riiore  de- 
cisive still,  diflering  only  by  the  changes  characteristic  of  the 
several  languages— belong  to  the  common  stock  of  the  origi- 

Dan.  vi.  S,  1?,  15. 


410     PRIMITIVE  ARYANS  ANr  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER. 

iial  mother  tongue  ;  and  from  their  identity  we  infer  the  ex- 
istence among  the  undivided  race  of  the  objects,  customs, 
and  institutions  which  they  denote.  When,  for  example,  we 
find  the  leading  terms  relating  to  the  life  of  the  shepherd 
and  the  herdsman,  and  the  names  of  the  chief  domestic  ani- 
mals— the  ox,  sheep,  goat,  swine,  horse,  dog,  goose — common 
to  the  Aryan  languages,  we  infer  that  the  primitive  Aryans 
were  a  pastoral  people,  and  that  they  possessed  and  tended 
these  animals.  On  similar  evidence,  we  conclude  that  they 
harnessed  horses  and  oxen  to  carriages,  but  that  riding  on 
horseback  was  unknown,  as  indeed  we  find  it  still  rare 
among  the  Greeks  and  Trojans  of  the  Homeric  age.  They 
had  acquired  the  art  of  working  in  gold,  silver,  and  bronze, 
but  not  yet  in  iron  :  their  arms  were  furbished,  and  not  rude 
masses  ;  and  they  made  ornaments  of  metal.  Though  a 
pastoral  people,  they  were  not  nomad  dwellers  in  tents,  but 
had  fixed  abodes,  and  built  themselves  houses.  They  tilled 
the  soil,  but  only  by  the  rudest  methods ;  and  it  was  in  the 
course  of  their  subsequent  migi-ations  that  they  learned  fi-om 
races  more  advanced  in  agriculture  the  use  of  the  plough, 
the  growing  of  various  kinds  of  grains  and  \egetables,  and 
the  production  of  wine  and  oil.  Slill  they  raised  corn  enough 
to  form  the  staple  of  their  diet,  and  to  distinguish  them,  as 
they  advanced  westward  and  northward,  from  the  aborigii.es 
who  fed  on  acorns  and  berries.  They  also  ate  meat,  and 
seasoned  it  with  salt.  They  had  begun  to  venture  on  rivers 
and  lakes  in  skitfs ;  but  masts  and  sails  were  as  yet  unknown. 

§  5.  Still  more  important  is  the  evidence  borne  by  lan- 
guage to  their  social  life,  morals,  and  religion.  Marriage  w^as 
not  only  known,  but  w^as  contracted  with  solemn  ceremonies, 
and  by  the  sign  which  still  forms  its  chief  symbol  and  fre- 
quent name,  the  union  of  hands.  They  were  uncorrupted  by 
polygamy ;  and  the  wife  was  treated  with  the  honor  which 
has  been  transmitted  to  modern  times  by  that  Teutonic 
branch  of  the  race  which  preserved  its  primitive  simplicity 
the  longest.  The  happiness  of  possessing  children,  their 
mutual  help  and  love,  and  the  reward  reaped  from  tlieir  in- 
dustry, shine  forth  in  most  expressive  terms.  A  boy  is  the 
"giver  of  joy,"  the  "  increaser  of  happiness,"  the  "  dispelier 
of  vexation ;"  a  girl  is  "  she  that  causes  rejoicing."  The 
brother  is  "  he  who  supports,"  and  the  sister  is  '"  the  good," 
"  the  friendly  :"  the  son  is  the  "  protector  "  and  "  nourisher  " 
of  the  family;  the  daughter  is  "the  keeper  of  the  llocks," 
"  the  tender  of  the  cows." 

The  family  constitution  formed  the  basis  of  that  wider 
union  of  the  trihe^  the  gens^  the  brotherhood  ((pparpia),  the  cla?ij 


PRIMITIVE  AEYAN  RP:LIGI0N.  417 

which  has  survived  to  the  present  day  at  the  eastern  and 
western  extremities  of  the  chain  of  Aryan  nations,  aniono- 
the  Persians  and  our  own  Celts.  The  authority  of  tlie  patri- 
arch, chief,  or  paterfamilias^  rested  on  a  law  of  nature,  but 
was  kept  from  arbitrary  abuse  by  a  council  of  elders,  gener- 
ally consisting  of  seven  heads  of  families.  The  chief  of  these 
patriarchs  was  the  King,  who  was  chosen  for  his  wisdom  and 
courage.  The  mode  of  his  installation,  by  being  placed  upon 
a  stone,  is  probably  referred  to  in  the  Greek  name  ftamXevg  ; 
and  many  memorials  of  the  custom,  ancient  as  well  as  mod- 
ern, might  be  added  to  the  example  of  the  ancient  Scottish 
coronation  stone,  upon  Avhich  our  kings  are  still  crowned  at 
Westminster. 

The  king's  chief  function  was  to  lead  in  war;  for  the  eai-ly 
Aryans  were  a  martial  race:  and  the  same  evidence  of  lan- 
guage proves  their  knowledge  of  weapons  and  of  some  de- 
fensive armor — the  sword  and  pike,  the  javelin  and  ari-ow, 
the  bow  and  quiver,  the  helmet,  shield,  and  breastplate. 
Towns  and  villages  were  already  fortified,  though  but  rude- 
ly. The  prisoner  taken  in  battle  was  made  a  slave.  Tlie 
king  was  also  the  chief  judge  ;  but  from  his  limited  discern- 
ment there  was  an  appeal  to  the  judgment  of  God  in  the 
very  forms  familiar  to  us  as  a  Teutonic  custom,  and  in  our 
own  early  history.  The  old  Indian  laws  of  Mann,  which  are 
doubtless  based  on  primitive  traditions,  and  th«  Eamaydna^ 
the  most  ancient  Sanscrit  epic,  refer  to  the  ordeals  by  hi-e 
and  by  hot  and  cold  water. 

§  6.  Concerning  the  primitive  Aryan  religion,  the  recent 
science  of  comparative  mythology  has  added  in uch  to  the  in- 
formation derived  from  the  sac'red  books  of  the  old  Indians 
and  Persians,  the  Vedas  and  the  Zenclavesta;  but  the  sub- 
ject is  too  large  for  full  exposition  here,  especially  as  we 
shall  have  to  speak  more  particularly  of  the  Median  and 
Persian  developments  of  religion.  Its  monotheistic  basis  is 
preserved  in  the  name  of  the  Supreme  Being,  Dewa,  Dens, 
Gcoc,  God;  and  in  the  titles  which  attest  His  spiritual  es- 
sence :  "  the  living  " — Ashura  of  the  Indians,  Ahifra  of  the 
Iranians,  ^sar  of  the  Etruscans,  Esiis  of  the  Celts  :  "  the 
sj)irit " — 3Ianyu  in  the  Vedas,  Mainyu  among  the  Iranians  : 
and  N'ara^  "  the  divine  and  eternal  spirit  v/hich  pervades  the 
universe."  The  tone  of  the  Hebrew  Psalms  is  recalled  to 
mind  by  the  language  of  a  hymn  of  the  Rig-Yeda :  "He  is 
the  only  master  of  the  world  :  he  fills  heaven  and  earth :  he 
gives  life  ;  he  gives  strength  :  all  the  other  gods  seek  for  his 
blessing  :  death  and  immortality  are  but  his  shadow  :  the 
mountains  covered  with  frost,  the  ocean  with  its  waves,  tlie 

18* 


418     PRIMITIVE  ARYANS  AND  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER. 

vast  regions  of  heaven,  proclaim  his  power.  By  him  the 
heaven  and  earth,  space  and  the  firmament,  have  been  solid- 
ly founded :  he  spread  abroad  the  light  in  the  atmosphere. 
Heaven  and  eartli  tremble  for  fear  before  him.  He  is  God 
I  above  all  the  gods." 

The  usual  first  step  in  the  corruption  of  monotheism  can 
be  seen,  in  this  case,  in  anotlier  hymn  of  the  Rig-Veda,  whicli 
savs  that  "  the  wise  men  give  many  names  to  the  Being  who 
is  one,"  according  to  the  ways  in  whicli  He  manifests  him- 
self or  is  regarded  by  His  worshippers.  The  pantlieistic 
polytheism  of  the  Aryans  assumed  a  more  terrestrial  form 
than  that  of  the  Egyptians  or  of  the  Babylonians.  Besides 
the  Sun  and  Moon,  the  Earth  and  the  visible  Heaven,  they 
deified  the  powers  of  earth,  air,  and  water,  trees  and  forests, 
fountains,  rivers,  and  seas,  winds,  rain,  clouds,  and  lightning. 
Their  imagination  was  strongly  attracted,  as  we  see  in  the 
Vedas,  to  the  perpetual  conflict  between  the  forces  of  the 
physical  world— the  day  contending  with  the  night,  the 
solar  rays  struggling  w^ith  the  mists  covering  the  earth,  the 
lightning  striking  the  cloud  and  setting  free  its  fertilizing 
showers  ;  in  all  of  which  they  saw^  types  of  the  warfare  be- 
tween good  and  evil  in  the  moral  world.  Wanting  the 
science  which  teaches  the  balance  of  physical  forces,  and  the 
faith  in  moral  order  inspired  by  revelation,  and  yet  believing 
in  a  divine  government,  they  were  early  led  by  all  these  an- 
tagonisms tx)  that  dualistic  doctrine  of  two  opposite  divine 
principles,  which  received  its  full  development  in  the  religion 
of  Zoroaster.  Of  their  w^orship,  the  most  important  element 
was  sacrifice^  usually  resembling  the  "  meat-offering "  and 
"drink-offering"  of  the  Hebrew  ritual ;  but  the  most  solemn 
occasions  demanded  the  blood  of  a  victim,  which  ^yas  gen- 
erally a  horse.  The  material  sacrifice  was  accompanied  with 
the  spiritual  offerings  of  prayers  and  hymns,  taught— it  was 
held— by  the  holy  "Word  (  Fae,  i.  e.,  vox),  the  organ  of  all 
wisdom  both  for  gods  and  men,- and  the  inspiring  spirit, 
breathing  like  the  winds  through  all  the  worlds — "My  grent- 
ness ,"  says  a  hymn  of  the  Rig- Veda,  "  exalts  itself  above  this 
earth,  above  the  heaven  itself" 

From  this  pantheistic  religion  sprang  the  cosmogony  M'hich 
we  have  already  learned  from  Hesiod  and  Ovid  ;  in  which 
the  universe  springs  from  chaos,  not  by  the  process  of  crea- 
tion, but  oi  emanation.  Among  the  oldest  traditions  of  the 
Aryan  race,  that  of  the  Deluge  and  the  Ark  appears  in  a 
great  variety  of  forms.  These  can  not  be  recounted  here  ; 
but  it  is  worth  M'hile  to  observe  that  the  Indian  legend  says 
nothino-  of  that  moral  reaso?/  for  the  catastro|)he — the  cor- 


CONFLICT  OF  ARYANS  AND  TURANIANS.  419 

riiption  of  the  human  race — which  is  conspicuous  in  the 
Greek  story  of  Deucalion's  clehige,  as  well  as  in  the  sacred 
narrative  of  Noah's  flood. 

§  7.  It  is  beyond  the  scope  of  our  work  to  discuss  the 
movements  which  impelled  the  Yavanas  on  their  migrations 
westward,  and  which  caused  the  Aryas,  who  were  left  be- 
hind, to  spread  from  Bactria  northward  to  Sogdiana,  be- 
tween the  Oxus  and  Jaxartes,  and  south^vard  over  the  table- 
land of  Iran,  the  Arlana  of  classical  geography.  The  myth- 
ical reign  of  Jemshid^  in  Firdusi's  "  Book  of  the  Pei-sian 
Kings,"  represents  the  time  when,  being  settled  in  this  re- 
gion, they  advanced  in  social  organization,  improved  their 
agriculture,  began  to  build  great  towns,  and  gave  their  re- 
ligion a  more  polytheistic  development ;  for  the  legend,  ani- 
mated with  the  Zoroasti'ian  spirit,  reproaches  Jemshid  with 
tarnishing  his  glory  by  establishing  idolatry. 

This  period  is  followed  by  the  tyranny  of  the  "Arabian" 
Zohak,  in  which  some  have  seen  traces  of  a  Cushite  con- 
quest; but  the  legend  has  better  claims  to  notice  from  its 
connection  with  the  later  history  of  Persia.  This  Zohak 
was  a  ferocious  tyrant,  who  outraged  morality,  and  practiced 
an  obscene  and  monstrous  religion.  Among  the  victims 
whom  he  seized  daily,  to  feed  two  serpents  which  twined 
about  his  shoulders,  were  two  of  the  fairest  youths  of  Isfahan 
—for  the  scene  of  the  legend  is  transferred,  in  its  existing 
Mohammedan  version,  to  the  later  capital  of  Persia.  The 
father  of  these  youths,  a  smith  named  Caveh,  was  at  Avork 
at  his  forge  when  the  news  of  his  children's  fate  was  brought 
to  him.  Rushing  out  just  as  he  was,  in  his  working-dress, 
he  raised  his  leather  apron  on  a  stick,  and  the  people  rally- 
ing round  this  strange  standard  helped  him  to  slay  the 
tyrant,  and  to  place  Feridim,  the  son  of  Jemshid,  on  the 
throne.  In  memory  of  this  national  tradition,  the  Sassanids, 
who,  in  the  third  century  of  our  era,  overthrew  the  Parthian 
dynasty  and  re-established  the  religion  of  Zoroaster,  adopted 
a  sacred  standard  of  leather  emblazoned  with  gems.  It  was 
regarded  as  the  palladium  of  the  monarchy  and  relioion,  only 
to  be  unfurled  in  a  great  crisis,  when  the  kini^  took  the  field 
in  person,  and  its  loss  at  the  battle  of  Kadesieh  was  the  sig- 
nal of  the  triumph  of  Islamism  in  Persia. 

§  8.  The  next  stage  in  Iranian  tradition  relates  to  that  in- 
teresting conflict  of  races,  one  phase  of  which  we  have  seen 
in  the  traditions  of  Mesopotamia.  The  Turyas  oi-  Turanians 
—-the  great  family  now  represented  by  the  Tatar  and  Fin- 
nish tribes— the  Asiatic  Scythians  of  the  Greek  writers- 
had  wandered  or  been  forced  back  into  the  inhospitable  re- 


420    PRIMITIVE  ARYANS  AND  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER. 

gions  of  Central  Asia,  north  of  the  Jaxartes,  whence  they 
made  repeated  descents  upon  the  more  fertile  countries  to 
the  south.*  The  ancient  writers  preserve  a  constant  tradi- 
tion of  a  Scythian  domination  in  Western  Asia — Justin  says 
for  1500  years.  Their  first  movements  brought  them  into 
conflict  with  the  Aryans,  who  represent  the  war  as  one  of 
kindred  races.  This  tradition  agrees  with  modern  ethno- 
graphical researches,  which  tend  to  the  conchision  that  the 
Turanians  were  a  Japhetic  I'ace,  who  had  separated  tiiem- 
selves  very  early  from  the  main  stock.  They  had  attained 
to  a  high  degree  of  material  culture ;  but  their  moral  state 
was  degraded,  and  their  religion  was  a  mixture  of  the  gross- 
est forms  of  Sabseism  with  serpent- worship.  Their  chief 
deity  was  the  great  serpent,  called  apparently  by  themselves 
Farr our sarr abba,  and  by  the  Iranians  Afrasiah^  whom  Zoro- 
aster chose  for  the  emblem  of  the  evil  principle,  Ahriman. 

In  their  conflict  with  the  Aryans,  the  animosity  of  a  re- 
ligious war  was  added  to  the  collision  of  nations  which  were 
already  neighbors,  and  were  struggling  for  the  possession  of 
lands  contiguous  to  both.  While,  to  the  east,  the  Turanians 
tried  to  drive  the  Aryans  from  the  fertile  valleys  of  Bactri- 
ana  and  Sogdiana,  another  portion  of  their  tribes  advanced 
through  Margiana  upon  the  highlands  of  Media  and  Kurdis- 
tan, to  whicirthe  Aryans  were  spreading  as  their  increasing 
numbers  overflowed  from  the  east.  The  ascendency  which 
the  Turanians  at  first  obtained  in  this  western  part  of  the 
table-land  of  Iran  explains  the  Scythic  character  of  the  early 
population  of  Media. 

The  most  ancient  Veclas — which  belong  to  this  interval  be- 
tween the  Avestern  migration  of  the  Yavanas  and  the  divis- 
ion of  the  Aryans  inlo  their  two  great  branches,  the  Ira- 
nian and  the  Indian — exhibit  a  further  development  of  the  so- 
cial state  described  above.  With  the  growth  of  population, 
large  cities  are  multiplied,  agriculture  is  improved,  and  the 
occupation  of  the  husbandman  becomes  more  impoilant  than 
the  shepherd's.  The  organization  of  society  tends  to  the 
formation  of  classes  in  which  occupations,  are  hereditary, 
though  not  yet  oi castes  separated  by  impassable  limits.  The 
classes  are  those  of  priests,  warriors,  and  countrymen — the 
last  sometimes  divided  into  shepherds  and  laborers.  These 
are  the  three  classes  which  the  Avesta  recognizes  aniojig  the 
Iranians,  and  into  Avhich  Herodotus  describes  the  Persians 

<  It  is  an  interesting  question  for  future  resenrch,  to  what  extent  the  migrations 
of  mankind  may  have  been  affected  by  changes  of  climate  within  the  history  of  our 
race  ;  and  especially  whether  the  northern  regions,  which  certainly  had  onco  a  milder 
climate  than  now,  may  not  at  first  have  invited  the  settlers  whom  they  afterwards 
repelled. 


MARVELS  ABOUT  ZOROASTER.  421 

as  divided.  It  Avas  in  India,  under  tlie  influence  of  the 
Braiiminical  religion  and  the  circumstances  of  the  conquest, 
that  these  three  classes  became  the  three  superior  castes, 
vviiile  the  conquered  Hamites  were  distributed  into  the  lower 
and  despised  castes. 

§  9.  It  is  to  this  period  also  that  the  preponderance  both 
of  ancient  tradition  and  of  modern  opinion  ascribes  the  great 
religious  reform  which  is  personified  under  the  famous  name 
of  Zoroaster.  Some  Avriters,  indeed,  of  high  authority — 
influenced  by  an  idea  that  the  reformation  suits  a  period 
when  the  old  Aryan  iaith  had  been  corrupted  by  the  Median 
development  of  Magisni — catch  at  the  one  piece  of  seeming 
evidence  otfered  by  the  name  of  Vistappa,  the  Persian  Gush- 
tas]),  to  make  Zoroaster  contemporary  with  Hystaspes,  tlie 
father  of  Darius  I.,  in  the  6th  century  n.c.  Had  this  been 
the  case,  we  can  not  doubt  that  Zoroaster  would  have  been 
presented  to  us  in  the  pages  of  Herodotus  in  his  clear  per- 
sonal identity,  instead  of  only  looming  as  he  does  through 
the  mists  of  traditions  so  legendary  as  to  have  led  Niebuhr 
to  pronounce  him  a  mere  myth. 

The  records  of  Medo-Persian  history  in  the  ancient  writers 
leave  a  clear  impression  that  the  national  religion  Avas  set- 
tled long  before  the  time  even  of  Cyrus  ;  and  we  now  find 
its  essential  elements  in  the  Zendavesta.  Royal  names  are 
so  constantly  repeated,  that  a  name  alone  proves  nothing  ; 
and,  except  the  name,  the  Gushtasp  of  Zoroaster  has  not  one 
point  in  common  with  the  father  of  Darius.  The  former  is 
king  of  Bactria  (not  of  Persia),  and  son  of  king  Auravata9pa, 
or  Lohrasp,  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Kayanians :  the  latter  is 
the  son  of  Arshama  (in  Greek  Arsames),  of  the  family  of  the 
Acha?menids,  and  neither  he  nor  his  father  was  a  king. 

All  ancient  writers  agree  in  giving  Zoroaster  a  very  re- 
mote date  ;  and  some  assign  him  a  fabulous  antiquity.  Her- 
mippus,  the  Greek  translator  of  his  reputed  vv^orks,  places  him 
5000  years  before  the  taking  of  Troy ;  Eudoxus,  6000  years 
before  the  death  of  Plato.  Among  more  moderate  dates, 
the  lowest  is  that  assigned  by  Xanthus  of  Lydia,  six  centu- 
ries before  Darius  I.  (/."^.,  about  1100  b.c.)  ;  while  Pliny,  plac- 
ing him  1000  years  before  Moses  (that  is,  about  the  middle 
of  the  25th  ceiitury  B.C.),  falls  into  a  curious  agreement  with 
the  tradition  of  Berosus,  making  Zoroaster  the  leader  of  the 
Median  dynasty  in  Chaldsea.  M.  Spiegel  and  M.  Oppert  ac- 
cept this  as  the  true  date  ;  but,  without  attempting  to  de- 
cide this  question,  or  even  that  of  the  i)ersonal  existence  of 
Zoroaster,  Ave  may  be  content  with  the  probability  that  the 
system  embodied  under  his  name  belongs  to  the  remote  tra- 


422     PRIMITIVE  ARYANS  AND  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER. 

ditional  times  of  the  united  Aryan  race.  The  legends  of  his 
personal  history  are,  of  coarse,  only  valuable  for  the  light 
they  throw  on  the  development  of  the  system.  These  le- 
gends are  found  in  the  Zendavesta,  the  later  classical  writers, 
and  Oriental  works  of  the  Mohammedan  period. 

§  10.  All  agree  in  placing  the  scene  of  his  mission  in  Bac- 
triana,  which  some  make  his  native  land  ;^  and  the  title  of 
"the  happy  Bakhdi  (Bactria)  with  the  lofty  banner"  (in  one 
of  the  earliest  sections  of  the  Zendavesta)*'  seems  to  mark 
the  land  as  then  the  chief  seat  of  the  Aryan  race. 

The  Zendavesta  simply  recoixls  the  appearance  of  Zara- 
thriistra'  in  Bactriana,  then  I'uled  by  the  king  Vista9pa  (the 
Gushtasp  of  the  Persians  and  Jlf/fitaspes  of  the  Greeks),  the 
son  of  Auravata9pa  (the  Lo/iras])  of  the  later  Persians),  son 
of  Kava  Ou9rava  {Ka'l-Khosro}i)^  son  of  KavaOus  {Kdi-Ka- 
oiis),  son  of  Kava  Khavata  {Kcu-Kobad)^  founder  of  the  dy- 
nasty of  the  Kavja  (in  modern  Persian,  Kayanians).  It 
knows  nothing  of  the  marvels  recorded  by  late  Greek  and 
Latin  writers — from  traditions  of  various  countries  and  ages 
— as  attendant  upon  his  birth  and  career.  Thus  it  is  said 
that  he  laughed  on  the  day  of  his  birth,  and  that  his  brain 
palpitated  so  violently  as  to  heave  up  the  hand  that  was 
placed  on  his  head  ;  that  he  retired  into  the  desert  at  the  age 
of  ten,  and  lived  there  for  twenty  years  on  cheese,  and  was 
thus  preserved  from  feeling  old  age*^:  that  during  this  seclu- 
sion, which  the  later  Median  legcmd  places  in  a  cave  of  Mt. 
Elburz,  he  received  from  Ahuramazda  and  his  attendant  spir- 
its the  revelations  which  he  recorded  in  the  Zendavesta ; 
that,  coming  forth  from  his  retirement,  he  appeared  at  the 
court  of  Hystaspes  at  Bactria,  and  by  the  power  of  his  mira- 
eles  converted  the  king  to  the  new  faith,  which  was  soon 
adopted  by  all  Bactria,  though  a  part  of  the  Aryans  refused 
to  accept  it. 

From  this  point  the  legend  assumes  two  different  charac- 
ters. According  to  one  story,  the  Turanians,  who  were  hos- 
tile to  the  new  religion,  invaded  Bactria,  took  the  capital  by 
storm,  profaned  its  temples  Avith  fire,  and  killed  Zoroaster. 
According  to  another,  the  reformer  appears  in  a  character 

»  Cephaliou,  Fr.  1  ;  Arnob.  "Adv.  Gent."  i.  52.  Ammiamis  Marcellinns  (xxiii.  (5,  5 
2),  who  must  have  obtained  his  information  from  the  Persians  during  the  campaign 
of  Jnlian,  makes  Zoroaster  a  Bactrian  ;  Ctesias  (pp.  70,  91,  ed.  Lion.),  copied  by  Jus- 
tin (i.  1),  calls  him  a  king  of  Bactria,  and  so  does  Mnr,es  of  Chorene  (i.  6).  The  state- 
ments which  make  him  a  Median  (Clem.  Alex.  "Strom."  i.  p.  r.99),  a  Perso-Median 
(Suidas,  s.  v.),  a  Persian  (Diog.  Laiirt.  "Prasf."),  an  Armenian,  a  Pamphylian  (Arnob. 
i.  12),  and  even  a  native  of  Proconnesus  (PJin.  "H.N."  xxx.  1,  §  2),  seem  to  have 
arisen  as  the  Zoroastrian  religion  spread  westward. 

«  First  Fargard  of  the  Vendidad,  §  7. 

7  The  name  is  explained  as  "splendor  of  gold,"  evidently  denoting  the  purity  and 
lustre  of  the  religion.     The  later  Persian  form  is  Zerdusht. 


THE  ZENDAVESTA.  423 

compounded  of  Moses  and  Mohammed,  a  religious  and  polit- 
ical  legislator,  Avho  becomes  king  of  Bactria,  and  leads  forth 
his  armies  to  im^^ose  his  new  religion  on  the  rest  of  the 
Aryans,  and  even  (according  to  Berosus)  on  the  Hamites  of 
Babylonia. 

Of  all  this,  as  we  have  said,  the  Zendavesta  knows  noth- 
ing. In  it  Zoroaster  appears  only  as  the  recipient  of  the 
revelations  made  to  him  by  Ahuramazda  in  the  formula 
"Ahuramazda  said  to  the  holy  Zoroaster."  While  this  ab- 
sence of  fabulous  embellishments  is,  on  the  one  hand,  an  ar- 
gument against  regarding  Zoroaster  as  merely  mythical,  it 
leaves  so  little  of  his  distinct  personality,  that  we  can  only 
use  his  name  as  a  convenient  embodiment  of  the  doctrine 
which  formed  a  reaction  from  the  pantheistic  naturalism  and 
polytheism  which  had  corrupted  tlm  early  Aryan  faith. 

§  11.  This  doctrine  is  contained  in  tlie  remains  of  the  sa- 
cred books  usually  called  the  Zend-avesta,  but  more  proper- 
ly Avesta-zend,  a  contraction  of  Avesta-u-zera.^  ("Avesta  and 
Zend"),  that  is,  ^^7ext  and  Comment,"  or,  as  some  interpret, 
"Law  and  Reform;"  for  the  Zoroastrian  religion  always 
claims  to  be  no  new  doctrine,  but  a  restoration  of  the  old 
Aryan  faith  before  its  corruption  by  tlie  tyrant  Zohak.  The 
fragments  which  have  come  down  to  us  belong,  in  their 2:>res- 
entform,  to  the  age  of  the  Persian  dynasty  of  the  Sassauids, 
who  overthrew  the  Parthians  in  a.d.  226,  and  re-established 
the  Zoroastrian  religion  in  Persia.  The  books  were  then 
transcribed  in  the  existing  alphabet,  and  subjected  to  a  re-* 
vision,  which  has  been  compared  to  that  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment by  Ezra.  But  the  ancient  lanf/iiage  was  preserved  ; 
and  that  language  (hence  called  Zend),  which  bears  a  close 
resemblance  to  that  of  the  Achaemenian  inscriptions,  is 
proved  by  its  affinity  to  Sanscrit  to  be  one  of  the  oldest 
forms  of  Aryan  speech. 

At  the  time  of  its  collection  under  the  Sassauids,  the 
Zendavesta  comprised  21  books  {na(;k(is),  of  which  the  great- 
er part  have  perished,  not  so  much  by  lapse  of  time  as  by 

f'  This  is  the  form  always  nscd  in  the  Pehlevi  books,  "Avesta  (ava-fitha)  means 
'text,'  ' scriptnre  ;'  its  Pehlevi  form  is  avistak,  and  it  is  cognate  with  the  late  San- 
scrit and  Mahratta  pmtak,  'book.'  Zend  (zand)  is  'explanation,'  'comment.'  (Sec 
Hang's  'Essays  on  the  Sacred  Language,  Writings,  and  Religion  of  the  Parsees,' 
Bombay,  1SG2,  pp.  120-122)."— Rawlinson,  vol,  iii.  p.  93.  The  Zendavesta  has  been 
printed  by  Westergaard  (1852-54)  and  Spiegel  (1S51-5S).  The  latter  has  translated 
it  into  German,  and  the  former  is  understood  to  be  engaged  on  a  translation  into 
English.  Partial  translations  have  l)eeu  made  of  the  tirst  and  9th  chapters  of 
the  Yagna  by  Burnonf  ("  Commentaire  snr  le  Ya^na,"  Paris,  1S33),  and  of  the  GA- 
thas  by  Dr.  Martin  Ilaug  (2  vols.  Leipsic,  1858-GO),  whose  "Essays"  above  quoted 
form  the  best  source  of  information  on  the  Zendavesta.  An  excellent  account  of 
the  Zoroastrian  doctrine  is  given  in  Milmau's  "History  of  Christiauitv,"  vol.  i-  pp. 
66,  foil. 


424     PKIMITIVE  ARYANS  AND  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER. 

Mussulman  fanaticism  after  the  conquest  of  Persia  in  a.d, 
651.  The  only  book  which  has  come  down  to  us  entire  is 
the  Vidae-vaddta  (in  Persian  Vendidad),  that  is,  "  the  law 
against  demons."  The  Yavia  and  Visj^ered  are  collections 
of  fragments.  The  former,  or  book  of  "  sacrifice,"  contains 
some  of  the  most  precious  parts  of  the  collection  in  the 
Gdthds  or  "hymns,''  which  were  used,  with  the  prayers,  in 
the  sacrificial  rite^'.  These  three  —  the  Vendldad,  YaQna^ 
and  Vispered — form  the  collection  called  Vendidad-H'adk 
There  is  another  collection,  called  the  Yesht-Sade.  These 
comprise  all  that  remains  in  the  Zend  language  ;  but  we  have 
also  a  portion  of  the  sacred  books,  treating  of  Cosmogony, 
and  called  Bundekesh^  translated  into  Pehlevi^  the  ordinary 
language  of  Persia  under  the  Sassanida. 

Even  those  who  maintain  that  Zoroaster  himself  lived  un- 
der Hystaspes,  the  father  of  Darius,  admit  that  its  internal 
evidence  shows  the  first  section  (Faiv/ard)  of  the  Vendldad 
to  have  been  written  before  the  migi-ation  of  the  Aryans  into 
Media ;  and  that  the  Gdthds,  which  traditioi\  specially  as- 
signs to  Zoroaster  himself,  are  of  higher  antiquity  still^  and 
belong  to  "  a  time  w^hen  the  Aryan  race  was  not  yet  sepa- 
rated into  two  branches  ;  and  when  the  Easterns  and  West- 
erns, the  Indians  and  Iranians,  had  not  yet  adopted  the  con- 
flicting creeds  of  Zoroastrianism  and  Brahminism."'  These 
Gathas  are  distinguished  from  the  other  fragments  by  a 
more  archaic  style  and  a  much  greater  simplicity.  M.  Haug 
places  them  as  high  as  the  time  of  Moses. 

§  12.  The  Zendavesta  claims  to  be  the  revelation  of  3faz- 
deism  ("  universal  knowledge "),  made  by  "  the  excellent 
Word,  the  pure  and  active,"  to  Zoroaster,  and  through  him 
to  all  mankind  as  "the  good  law."  This  religious  law  is  es- 
sentially a  reaction  from  '  pantheistic  naturalism,  sensuous 
Avorship,  and  polytheism  ;  and  from  that  of  emanation  in  cos- 
mogony. One  result  of  this  reaction  is  a  curious  confusion 
of  divine  names :  the  gods  (daevas)  of  the  old  system  be- 
come the  devils  of  the  new  ;  and  thus  the  very  deity  of 
iigiit  {Indrd)^  whose  conflict  with  the  spirit  of  darkness 
{Vritrd)  shows  the  original  germ  of  Aryan  dualism,  becomes 
a  principal  of  evil.  The  process  is  analogous  to  that  by 
which  the  early  Christians  identified  the  heathen  deities 
with  the  followers  of  Satan — as  v.'orked  out  in  Milton's  cata- 
logue of  the  fallen  angels — and  by  whicli  the  Greek  dcemon. 
has  come  down  to  us  in  the  sense  of  devil.     In  contrast  with 

®  Rawlinson,  vol.  iii.  p.  94.  In  onr  complete  darkuess  as  to  the  personal  life  of 
Zoroaster,  the  questiou  of  his  age  resolves  itself,  after  all,  into  that  of  the  date  of  the 
oldest  Zoroastriau  literature. 


AHURAMAZDA.  425 

these  daevas  (in  Persian  devs)^  or  evil  spirits,  the  old  word 
A/iura^°  (which  signified  living  or  spiritual  being)  is  appro- 
priated to  the  good  spirits.  But  some  of  the  old  daevas  are 
ranked  exceptionally  with  the  ahuras,  under  the  name  of 
izeds,  or  angels. 

§  13.  Thus  the  doctrine  of  superior  beings  is  2)erso7icd,  as 
opposed  to  pantheism ;  but  it  is  equally  remote  from  poly- 
theism. Tiie  Ahinxis  are  created  beings,  all  inferior  to  the 
supreme  Ahur6-3fazddo^-  or  Ahuramazda  (the  Persian  Or- 
mazd  or  Ormuzd^  and  the  Greek  Oromasdes).  Notwith- 
standing a  mixture  of  physical  conceptions,  such  as  the  as- 
cription to  him  of  health — which  may,  perhaps,  be  likened  to 
the  anthropomorphism  of  our  Scriptures — this  supreme  be- 
ing is  really  a  spiritual  god,  self-existent,  uncreated,  and  eter- 
nal, of  a  nature  essentially  good,  tlie  creator,  preserver,  and 
governor  of  the  universe,  and  the  proper  object  of  adoration. 
He  is  called  the  "holy  spirit"  {gpento  maini/us),  and  is  sym- 
bolized by  the  sun,  and  the  fire,  which  is  called  his  son. 

A  long  collection  of  titles  might  be  culled,  ascribing  to 
him  the  creation  of  all  good  things,  and  the  attributes  of 
goodness,  truth,  purity,  holiness,  happiness,  health,  wealth, 
virtue,  wisdom,  immortality ;  but  a  clearer  conception  may 
be  formed  from  a  very  ancient  invocation  in  the  Ya9na:  "I 
invoke  and  celebrate  the  creator  Ahuramazda,  luminous,  re- 
splendent, most  great  and  good,  most  perfect  and  energetic, 
nost  intelligent  and  beautiful,  excelling  in  purity,  the  pos- 
sessor of  all  good  knowledge,  the  source  of  pleasure,  who 
created,  formed,  and  nourished  us,  the  most  perfect  of  intelli- 
gent beings."  The  special  quality  of  ii(//it,  which  seems  to 
be  attributed  to  him  in  no  mere  metaphorical  sense,  is  thus 
expressed :  "  He  is  true,  lucid,  shining,  the  originator  of 
the  best  things,  of  the  spirit  in  nature,  and  of  the  growth  in 
nature,  of  the  luminaries,  and  of  the  self-shining  brightness 
which  is  in  the  luminaries  " — words  which  irresistibly  sug- 
gest the  invocation  drawn  by  ]\Iilton  from  a  moi-e  sacred 
source : 

*'Hail,  hi.ly  Light!    off-:prin(r  of  heaveu  first-born, 
Or  of  the  Kternal  co-eternal  beam 
May  T  express  thee  nnblamed  ?    Since  God  is  li!,'ht, 
And  never  but  in  unapi)roached  lijTht 
;  Dwelt  fr>in  eternity,  dwelt  then  in  thee, 

Bri'^ht  elHuence  of  bright  essence  increate." 

The  last  line   exactly  expresses  the  teaching  of  the  Yayna, 

^o  In  Sanscrit  Asiira. 

11  This  name  is  variously  interpreted  as  "  the  .living  wise,"  "  the  living  creator," 
"the  divine  mucli-kuowing,"  "the  divine  much-giving,"  "the  great  giver  of  life." 
Both  its  elements  are  used  to  express  the  sense  of  "god  ;"  bnt,  when  used  apart,  the 
latter  iMazddo  or  ^fazda)  seems  to  be  more  specifically  the  name  of  the  supreme  god. 


426    PRIMITIVE  ARYANS  AND  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER. 

which  makes  Ahnramazcla  the  source  oflight^  which  most  re- 
sembles him,  and  calls  him  gcitJiro — that  is,  "  having  his  own 
light." 

§  14.  Equally  pure  and  near  to  revealed  truth  is  the  con- 
ception of  his  creative  work,  by  means  of  "  the  creative 
Word  which  existed  before  all  things."  On  this  point  the 
Ya9na  contains  the  following  most  remarkable  conversation: 

"  Zoroaster  asks  of  Ahuramazda  :  O  Ahuramazda,  most 
holy  spirit,  creator  of  existent  worlds,  truth-telling  !  What, 
O  Ahuramazda,  was  the  Speech  which  existed  before  the 
heaven,  before  the  water,  before  the  cow,  before  the  tree, 
before  the  lire,  the  son  of  Ahuramazda,  before  the  truthful 
man,  before  the  Daevas  and  the  carnivorous  animals,  before 
all  the  existent  universe,  before  all  the  good  created  by 
Mazda,  and  having  its  germ  in  truth  ? 

"Then  Ahuramazda  replies:  I  will  tell  thee,  most  holy 
Zoi-oaster,  what  was  the  whole  of  the  creative  Word.  It 
existed  before  the  heaven,  etc.  (as  above).  Such  is  the 
whole  of  the  creative  Word,  which,  even  when  unpronounced 
and  unrecited,  outweighs  a  thousand  breathed  prayers,  which 
are  not  pronounced,  nor  uttered,  nor  recited,  nor  sung.  And 
he  who,  in  this  existent  world,  O  most  holy  Zoroaster,  re- 
members the  whole  of  the  creative  Word,  or  utters  it  when 
he  remembers  it,  or  sings  it  when  he  utters  it,  I  will  lead  his 
soul  thrice  across  the  bridge  of  the  better  world,  to  the  bet- 
ter existence,  to  the  better  truth,  to  the  better  days.  ...  I 
pronounced  this  Speech  which  contains  the  Word  and  its 
v\'orking  to  accomplish  the  creation  of  this  heaven  ;  before 
the  creation  of  the  water,  of  the  earth,  of  the  tree,  of  the 
four-footed  cow,  before  the  birth  of  the  trutliful  man  who 
walks  upon  two  feet." 

This  Word  appears  to  be  the  utterance  of  that  spirit  of 
Truth,  which  is  a  chief  attribute  of  Ahuramazda,  and  whicli 
formed  the  glory  of  Persian  morality.  The  celebrated  "prayer 
of  21  words,"  which  is  ascribed  to  Zoroaster  himself,  and 
which  his  followers  were  commanded  to  repeat  a  hundred 
times  a  day,  is  in  the  following  terms:  "As  the  Word  from 
the  supreme  Will,  so  the  effect  only  exists  because  it  pro- 
ceeds from  the  truth.  The  creation  of  what  is  good  in  thought 
or  action  belongs  in  the  world  to  Mazda,  and  the  kingdom  is 
Ahura's,  who  is  constituted  by  his  own  Word  the  destroyer 
of  the  wncked." 

§  15.  Thus  far  the  ancient  Zoroastrianism  of  the  undivided 
Iranian  race  appears  as  a  pure  monotheistic  religion,  op- 
posed alike  to  pantheism  and  polytheism.  It  is  distinguished 
by  the  spiritual  and  philosophic  character,  wdiich   seems  a 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  DUALISM.  427 

natural  gift  of  the  Aryan  intellect.  But  this  very  intellect- 
ual refinement  tempted  to  its  great  corruption.  The  mys- 
tery of  evil  ever  working  in  the  world — seeming  to  "  labor 
to  pervert  that  end  "  for  which  the  earth  and  heavens,  living 
beings  and  men,  w^ere  created — turning  light  into  darkness, 
genial  warmth  into  biting  cold,  fertility  into  desolation, 
pleasure  into  pain,  life  into  death,  and,  in  the  world  of  mind 
and  spirit,  joy  into  sorrow,  and  virtue  into  vice— led  this 
thoughtful  race  to  confront  the  great  problem  of  the  origin 
of  evil.  Raised  above  the  pantheism  which,  in  Kgypt,  and 
in  some  of  the  later  philosophies  of  Greece,  was  content  to 
accept  good  and  evil  as  parts  of  the  existhig  state  of  things, 
opposite  only  in  appearance ;  and  destitute,  on  the  other 
hand,  of  the  special  revelation  which,  without  satisfying  our 
curiosity  as  to  the  source  of  evil,  and  the  reason  for  its  per- 
mission, assures  our  faith  that  it  does  but  enhance  the  final 
triumph  of  good  ;  the  Iranians  were  driven  to  the  solution 
known  by  the  name  of  Dualism,  the  doctrine  of  two  inde- 
pendent and  co-ordinate  principles,  one  the  source  of  all 
good,  the  other  of  all  evi!. 

It  is  still  disputed  how  early  this  doctrine  assumed  its 
fully  developed  form,  in  which  the  principles  of  good  and 
evil  are  divine  persons ;  and  whether  it  was  an  original  part 
of  the  Zoroastrian  system.  Its  germs  are  confessedly  to  be 
found  in  the  oldest  Aryan  faith  ;  and  the  picture  of  the  an- 
tagonism of  the  two  principles  in  the  oldest  portions  of  the 
Zendavesta  is  recognized  even  by  those  who  contend  that 
Ahriman  is  not  yet  acknowledged  as  a  ^^erso??.  "The  con- 
trast between  good  and  evil  is  strongly  marked  in  the  Ga- 
thas;  the  writers  continually  harp  upon  it;  their  minds  are 
evidently  struck  with  this  sad  antithesis,  which  colors  the 
moral  world  to  them.  They  see  everywhere  a  struggle  be- 
tween right  and  wrong,  truth  and  falsehood,  purity  and  im- 
purity. Apparently  they  are  blind  to  the  evidences  of  har- 
mony and  agreement  in  the  universe,  discerning  nothing 
anywhere  but  strife,  conflict,  antagonism.  Nor  is  this  all. 
They  go  a  step  farther,  and  personify  the  two  parties  to  the 
struggle.  One  is  a  'white'  or  holy  'spirit'  {^penio  jnai- 
nyusj,  and  the  other  a  '  dark  spirit '  {anc/ro  niainj/us).^''^ 
But  it  is  contended  that  "this  personification  is  merely  po- 
etical or  metaphorical,  not  real.  The  '  white  spirit '  is  not 
Ahuramazda,  and  the  '  dark  spirit '  is  not  a  hostile  intelli- 
gence. Both  resolve  themselves,  on  examination,  into  mere 
figures  of  speech — phantoms  of  poetic  imagery — abstract 
notions,  clothed  by  language  with  an  apparent,  not  a  real, 

'2  "  See  especially  Yapua,  xlv.  2,  and  compare  xxx.  3-C."— Rawlinson,  vol.  iii.  p.  105. 


428    PRIMITIVE  ARYANS  AND  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER. 

personality."  And  the  final  descent  to  dualism  is  ascribe^ 
to  that  principle  by  which  "language  exercises  a  tyranny 
over  thought,  and  abstractions  in  the  ancient  world  were 
ever  becoming  persons.'"'  The  other  view  regards  the  prim- 
itive o;ei-ms  of  dualism  as  distinctly  adopted,  and  developed 
into  a  personal  Ibi'm,  in  the  original  Zoroastrian  theology, 
as  the  logical  solution  of  the  difficulty  presented  by  the  ap- 
parent limits  of  and  opposition  to  Ahuramazda's  power  for 
good.  At  all  events,  it  is  agreed  that  this  full  development 
appears  in  the  First  Fargard  of  the  Vendidad,  which  is  next 
in  antiquity  to  the  Gathas,  and  before  the  settlement  of  the 
Iranians  in  Media. 

Ahuramazda  is  perpetually,  and  from  all  past  eternity  has 
been,  opposed  in  all  his  works  of  creation,  of  goodness,  and 
of  truth,  by  a  principle  like  to  him  in  nature,  and  equal  in 
power,  the  "  dark  "  or  "  evil  spirit,"  Ayigro-mainyus  (in  Per- 
sian Ahriman)^  the  author  of  all  moral  and  material  evil, 
and  of  death  itself.  The  creation  came  from  the  hands  of 
Ahuramazda,  pure  and  perfect  as  himself.  Ahriman  cor- 
rupts and  turns  it  upside  down,  and  labors  to  destroy  it ;  for 
he  is  emphatically  "the  destroyer,"  as  well  as  the  spirit  of 
evil.  In  the  First  Fargard  of  the  Vendidad  Ave  have  an 
enumeration,  doubly  interesting  from  its  geographical  char- 
acter, of  the  fair  regions,  which  Ahuramazda  created  success- 
ively for  the  habitation  of  the  Aryan  race;  but  which  Ahri- 
man forthwith  set  himself  to  blast  by  creating  "  a  mighty 
serpent,"  deep  snow,  hail,  and  earthquake,  pestilence,  war, 
and  pillage,  buzzing  insects  and  poisonous  plants,  poverty 
and  devastation,  sickness,  unknown  ("  Un-aryan  ")  plagues, 
and  fevers ;  and,  besides  these  physical  evils,  unbelief,  ui> 
natural  vices,  inexpiable  crimes,  witchcraft,  and  the  pov.'cr 
of  evil  spirits:  thus  ever  striving,  like  Milton's  Satan, 

"To  waste  the  whole  even! ion,  ar.cT  possess 
All  as  his  owu :" 

and,  in  relation  to  intelligent  creatures,  having,  like  him, 

"So  deep  a  malice,  to  coufouucl  the  race 
Of  maukind  in  one  root,  and  earth  with  hell 
To  mingle  and  involve,  done  all  to  spite 
The  great  Creator.    But  this  spite  still  serves 
His  glory  to  angment:"— 

and  of  this  conclusion  Zoroaster  seems  to  have  been  not  al- 
together without  some  idea.  His  system  was  not  at  iirst 
pushed  to  the  hard  consistency  of  making  the  two  principles 
eternally  equal,  and  their  conliict  everlasting.  In  the  ^j>«.s^ 
they  are  co-equal  and  co-eternal :  in  the  present,  the  balance 

13  See  Professor  Max  Miiller'.s  Es;  ay  in  the  "Oxford  Essays"  for  1S5G,  pp.  34--37. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  DUALISM.  429 

of  victory  inclines  to  neither  side  :  and  yet,  even  here,  a  sort 
of  precedence  is  given  to  Orniazd,  whose  good  work  is  done 
before  Ahrinian  conies  to  mar  it ;  and  in  that  precedence,  as 
well  as  in  the  sympathy  of  the  whole  system  with  the  good 
powei',  we  seem  to  see  the  issue  to  which  the  whole  is  tend- 
ing; but  as  to  the  future,  Zoroaster  appears  to  have  been 
inspired  by  a  better  hope,  or  at  least  to  have  shrunk  from 
an  eternity  of  evil.  Though  Ahriman  is  without  beginning, 
he  will  have  an  end.  The  time  will  come,  at  the  end  of  the 
ages,  when  three  prophets,  sprung  from  Zoroaster,  JJkhsyad- 
ereta  (the  "increasing  trwih''^)^  Uk/isy ad- eremds  (the  "in- 
creasing light"),  and  Aptvad-ereta  (the  "existing  truth"), 
Avill  bri»g  into  the  world  the  three  last  books  of  the  Zend- 
avesta,  and  will  convert  all  mankind  to  Mazdeism  :  evil  Avill 
be  conquered  and  annihilated  :  creation  will  return  to  its 
pi-istine  purity  ;  and  Ahriman  will  vanish  forever. 

It  was  reserved  for  later  sects  to  pervert  the  Zoroastrian 
doctrine  into  that  essential  and  eternal  conflict  of  good  and 
evil,  so  necessary  and  so  equal  as  to  exclude  a  moral  prefer- 
ence for  either,  which  has  become  famous  under  the  name  of 
Mamchwism.  The  morality  of  primitive  Zoroastrianism  is 
preserved  at  the  expense  of  its  metaj)hysics.  It  abstains 
from  any  attempt  to  reconcile  the  principles  of  dualism; 
and,  in  so  abstaining,  confounds  the  essential  distinction  of 
eternity  and  time.  Its  past  eternity  is  but  an  indefinite  ex- 
tension backward  of  present  time.  But  a  new  sect  arose 
long  afterwards,  apparently  about  the  age  of  Alexander — the 
Zarvanians  (who  are  represented  by  the  modern  Guebres 
and  Parsees),  who  held  that  time  itself  was  eternal,  at  least 
in  the  only  sense  in  which  they  conceived  eternity.  "  Time," 
they  said,  "existed  before  all  else:  to  conceive  of  its  begin- 
ning would  be  impossible:  hence  it  is  in  it  and  by  it  that 
Orrnr.zd  himself  was  produced."  This  conception  was  per- 
sonified as  Zarvdnakarana  ("  Time  without  bounds"),  whose 
essence  seems  to  be  confounded  with  the  material  universe. 
From  him  both  Ormazd  and  Ahriman  proceeded  by  emana- 
tion, and  in  him  they  will  be  absoi-bed  again.  Of  this  es- 
sentially pantheistic  conception — which  substitutes  emana- 
tion for  creation,  confounds  the  moral  distinction  between 
good  and  evil  by  making  both  alike  the  offspring  of  one  prin- 
ciple, and  reduces  Ormazd  from  the  supreme  creator  to  the 
demiurgus,  who  merely  organizes  the  pre-existent  matter 
into  which  he  will  be  again  absorbed — no  trace  appears  in 
the  Zendavesta.  It  is  essentially  opposed  to  the  spirit  of 
Zoroastrianism,  and  appears  to  spring  froin  an  infusion  of 
the  gross  material  pantheism  of  the  Chaldaean  system. 


430    PKIMITIVE  ARYANS  AND  KELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER. 

§  16.  Both  Ahuraraazda  and  Angromainyus  rule  over  a 
hierachy  of  spirits,  strictly  personal,  but  as  strictly  created 
beings ;  in  no  sense  deities,  but  angels  and  demons,  who 
counsel  and  serve  them — 

"  Aud  works  of  love  or  enmitj'  falfill/" 

The  first  creatures  of  Ahuramazda  were  his  six  Couiicil- 
lors,  called  Ameshao  fSpentao,  "  Immortal  Saints  "  (in  Per- 
sian, Ams/iashpands)  :  Vohu-mano  yBahman)^  "  the  good 
mind,"  who  maintained  life  in  animals  and  goodness  in  man  : 
Ashovaliisto  {Ardibehesht) ,  "  the  brightest  truth  "  or  "  best 
purity,"  who  was  the  light  of  the  universe,  maintaining  the 
splendor  of  the  iieavenly  luminaries,  and  preserving  all  the 
forms  of  being  that  depend  on  light :  Khshathso-vairyo  or 
Khshathra-vairya  (^hahravar)^  the  "  powerful "  or  "  wealthy 
king,"  presiding  over  metals  and  dispensing  riches :  (^penta- 
armditi  (Isfand-cmnai)^  the  "white"  or  "holy  earth,"  at 
once  the  genius  of  the  earth  and  the  goddess  of  piety,  for 
agriculture  was  a  sacred  duty  with  the  Iranians:  Hauroatat 
(7rAo?Y?6?c?),  explained  by  some  "the  universe,"  by  others 
"  liealth  ;"  and  Ameretdt  {Amerddt)  "  Immortality :"  the  two 
last  had  the  care  of  the  vegetable  world. 

In  opposition  to  these  Amshashpands  Ahriman  created 
his  six  Darvands:  AM-rnano^  the  "bad  mind,"  or,  more 
exactly,  the  "  naughty  mind,"  who  prompts  men  to  evil 
thoughts,  words,  and  deeds:  Ander  (the  ancient  god  ofhre, 
and  the  Indra  of  the  Sanscritic  Aryans),  the  wic;lder  of  the 
thunder-bolt,  and  the  demon  of  storm,  war,  and  all  violent 
destruction  :  ^aurva^  whose  identification  with  the  Indian 
Siva  is  doubtful:  JSfaonhaitya^  a  single  demon,  correspond- 
ing to  the  Yedic  JVcisati/as  or  two  Aswins,  the  Dioscuri  of 
the  Indian  mythology;  and  lustXy ,  Taric  and  Zaric,  the  per- 
sonifications of  "Darkness"  and  "^"Poison."  The  true  char- 
acter of  the  whole  system,  as  spiritual  rather  than  physical, 
is  seen  in  the  precedence  given  in  each  council  to  the  "good 
mind"  and  the  "bad  mind." 

After  the  six  councillors,  in  each  of  the  kingdoms  of  good 
and  evil,  come  hosts  of  other  spirits  in  a  graduated  hie- 
rarchy. On  the  side  of  Ahuramazda  are  the  Yazatas  (in  Per- 
sian Yzeds),  good  spirits  distributed  throughout  the  uni- 
verse, watching  over  the  preservation  of  its  several  parts, 
and  resisting  tbe  destructive  attempts  of  the  evil  spirits. 
"At  the  head  of  Ahuramazda's  army  is  the  angel  Smosha 
(/S'erosA), '  the  sincere,  the  beautiful,  the  victorious,  the  true, 
the  master  of  truth.'  He  ])rotects  the  territories  of  the  Ira- 
nians, wounds  and  sometimes  even  slays  the  demons,  and  is 


ANTAGONISTIC  SPIRITUAL  HIERARCHIES.  431 

engaged  in  a  perpetual  struggle  against  them,  never  slum- 
bering day  nor  night,  but  guarding  tiie  world  with  liis  drawn 
sword,  more  particularly  after  sunset,  when  the  demons  have 
the  greatest  power.'"^  Below  the  Yazcitas  were  the  Fervers, 
elemental  spirits,  not  confounded  with,  but  corresponding  to, 
the  terrestrial  and  other  objects,  of  wliich  they  are  the  im- 
mortal types.  Every  created  being  —  stars,  animals,  men, 
even  angels — had  its  Fewer,  an  invisible  and  ever-watchful 
protector,  to  be  honored  and  propitiated  by  prayer  and  sac- 
rifice. When  a  man  died,  liis  Fewer  remained  in  heaven, 
and  prayers  for  the  dead  were  offered  to  their  Fervers.  Fu- 
neral ceremonies  were  instituted  in  their  honor,  and  the  last 
ten  days  of  the  year  were  sacred  to  them.  The  higher  a 
man's  character  for  nobleness  and  justice  during  life,  the 
more  powerful  was  his  Fewer  after  death. 

To  this  angelic  hierarchy  Ahriman  opposed  his  Daevas 
(in  Persian  Devs),  "  devils  "  or  "  demons,"  with  attributes  di- 
rectly contrary.  They  seem  to  have  no  leader  correspond- 
ing to  Serosh  ;  but  high  rank  is  given  to  Dnik/is,  "destruc- 
tion," Aes/iemo,  "rapine,"  Daivis,  "  deceit,"  Driicis,  "  pover- 
ty," and  others.  They  are  the  tempters  of  mankind,  and  by 
them  the  first  man  was  enticed  into  the  fallen  state  from 
wliich  the  revelation  of  the  Zendavesta  is  to  raise  him  up. 
But  his  restoration  can  only  be  accomplished  by  a  mediator, 
who  partakes  of  the  divine  essence :  and  this  character  is 
not  assumed  by  Zoroaster,  as  it  was  later  in  the  Indian  sys- 
tem by  (^aki/a-Mouni  (Buddha).  Zoi-oaster  is  but  the  in- 
spired prophet,  to  whom  ^Vhuramazda  addresses  his  revela- 
tion :  the  true  mediator  is  Mithra,  who  appears  to  proceed 
from  Ahuramazda,  and  to  be  consubstantial  Avith  him.*'" 
The  development  of  the  Mithraic  worship,  in  its  more  ma- 
terial form,  in  which  3Iithra  personifies  the  Sun,  belongs  to 
the  later  Persian  religion  ;  but  the  worship  itself  is  common 
both  to  the  Iranian  and  Indian  systems ;  and  it  clearly  be- 
longed, in  its  elements  at  least,  to  the  old  Zoroastrian  faith. 
Though  Mithra  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Gathas,  we  find  in 
the  next  oldest  portions  of  the  Zendavesta  his  name  ;  his 
title  of  "  the  victorious,"  who  drove  Ahriman  fi-om  Jieaven 
in  the  form  of  the  two-footed  serpent ;  and  his  supreme  rank 
as  the  gu?.rdian  of  men  during  life,  and  their  judge  after 
death.  He  also  has  his  antagonist  in  the  kingdom  of  Ahri- 
man, called  Jfit/ira  Daradj,  "Mithra  the  Bad,"  who  is  ever 
laboring  to  destroy  the  other's  works  of  goodness. 

1*  "  See  the  Serosh  Yafiht,  or  hymu  in  praise  of  Serosh  (Yapna,  Ivii.  2)."— Rawlinsou, 
vol.  iii.  p.  112. 
15  The  origin  of  Mitbia  is  not  clearly  set  forth  in  the  Zendavesta. 


432    PKLMITIVE  ARYANS  AND  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER. 

§  17.  The  great  work  of  Ahiiramazda  in  creating  the  world 
and  man,  and  the  corruption  of  this  work  by  Ahriman  as  the 
tempter,  is  related  in  a  form  only  differing  in  details  from 
the  account  in  the  book  of  Genesis.  The  simple  idea  of 
creation  distinguishes  Mazdeism  from  the  elaborate  cosmog- 
onies of  the  Chaldean  and  other  systems.'®  Ahuramazda, 
with  the  aid  of  the  Amshashpands  as  his  ministers,  created 
the  universe  out  of  nothing  in  six  periods,  each  of  which  is 
called  Galianhdr  (a  "  union  of  the  times  "),  and  has  also  its 
appropriate  name,  appended  to  the  story  of  each  period's 
work,  as  in  the  following  formula  :  "  In  45  days,  I  Ormazd, 
with  the  Amshashpands,  wrought  well ;  I  gave  tlie  heaven  : 
then  I  celebrated  the  Gahanhm\  and  gave  it  the  name  of 
Gah-3Iediozereiny  In  the  Gah-Medioshem^  of  65  days,  wa- 
ter was  given  :  in  the  Gah-Peteshem^  of  75  days,  the  earth  : 
in  the  Gah-Eiathrem,  of  30  days,  the  trees  :  in  the  Gah- 
Mediareh^  of  80  days,  the  animals :  finally,  in  the  Gah-Ha- 
niesjythmedeon^  of  75  days,  man.  Each  of  these  epochs  is 
celebrated  by  a  sacrifice  ;  and  the  last  is  called  "that  of  the 
long  sacrifice,  of  the  perpetual  sacrifice."  The  sum  of  these 
periods,  370  days,  seems  to  point  to  a  cosmic  year;  especially 
if  tliere  be  somewhere  an  error  of  5  days  in  excess. 

Tlie  temptation  and  fall  of  man  is  related  in  the  Pehlevi 
version  of  the  Bundehesh  :  "Ormazd  speaks  oi  3Ies1da  and 
Meshiane  (the  first  man  and  woman).  Man,  the  father  of 
the  world,  existed.  His  destiny  was  heaven,  on  condition 
that  he  was  humble  in  heart,  and  that  he  bore  with  humility 
the  work  of  the  law,  that  he  v.-as  pure  in  his  thoughts,  pure 
in  his  words,  and  that  he  did  not  invoke  the  Devs.  .  .  .  At 
first  they  spoke  these  Avords — '  It  is  Ormazd  who  has  given 
the  water,  the  earth,  the  trees,  the  animals,  the  stars,  the 
moon,  the  sun,  and  all  the  blessings  which  come  from  a  pure 
root  and  a  pure  fruit.'  Then  the  Lie  (the  Dev  of  falsehood) 
invaded  their  thoughts  :  he  subverted  their  dispositions,  and 
said  to  them—'  It  is  Ahriman  who  has  given  the  water,  the 
earth,  the  trees,  the  animals,  and  all  that  lias  been  named 
above.'  It  is  thus  that  in  the  beginning  Ahriman  deceived' 
them  in  what  related  to  the  Devs  ;  and  to  the  end  this  cruel 
being  has  sought  only  to  seduce  them.  By  believing  this 
lie,  they  both  became  Darvands^  and  their  souls  will  be  in 
hell  till  the  renewal  of  their  bodies.  .  .  .  The  Dev  who  ut- 
tered the  lie,  becoming  bolder,  presented  himself  a  second 
time,  and  brought  them  fruits  which  they  ate^  whereby  of 

1^  Those  who  speak  of  the  "Moeaic  cosmogony"  and  the  "  Zfn'oastrian  cosmogo- 
ny" use  a  term  totally  inapplicable  to  systems  which  reject  the  essential  idea  implied 
in  the  word  "cosmo-^oji?/." 


FUTURE  REWARDS  Al^D  PUNISHMENTS.  433 

a  thousnnd  blessings  they  enjoyed  there  reniaiiiod  not 
one." 

The  Deluge  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Zendavesta;  but  vv^e 
have  already  found  it  in  the  Oldest  traditions  of  the  Aryan 
race. 

§  18.  The  doctrine  of  future  rewards  and  punishments  is 
,  clearly,  though  briefly,  taught  in  the  Zendavesta;  the  lost 
books  of  Avhich  probably  contained  further  details.  Here 
we  have  the  original  of  Mohammed's  famous  "way,  extend- 
ed over  the  middle  of  hell,  which  is  sharper  than  a  sword 
and  finer  than  a  hair,  over  which  all  must  pass."  In  the 
Zendavesta,  this  passage  is  called  chinvat  2)eretu^"-  thehvidge 
of  the  gatherer ;"  and  there  the  souls  of  all  who  died  are 
assembled  on  the  day  following  the  third  night  from  their 
death.  The  wicked  fall  into  the  gulf  below,"into  the  dark- 
ness of  the  kingdom  of  Angromainyus,  where  they  are  con- 
demned to  feed  on  poisoned  banquets.  The  good,  upheld 
by  the  Yazatas  and  especially  by  the  angel  Serosh,  and  aid- 
ed by  the  prayers  of  their  surviving  friends,  are  received  on 
the  other  side  by  the  archangel  \^humano,  who  rises  from 
his  throne  to  give  them  the  greeting — "  How  happy  art  thou 
who  hast  come  here  to  us,  from  niortality  to  immortality." 
Thence  tliey  are  conducted  to  Paradise,  Avhere  Ahuramazda 
and  the  Amshashpands  sit  on  golden  thrones ;  and  their 
glorified  spirits  at  once  join  the  conflict  against  evil,  and  be- 
become  formidable  antagonists  to  the  Daevas.  Whether 
the  resurrection  of  the  body,  which  was  held  in  the  IMagian 
creed,"  and  is  found  in  some  ancient  portions  of  the  Zenda- 
vesta, was  an  article  of  the  orginal  Zoroastrian  faith,  is  still 
disputed. 

§  19.  The  morality,  which  was  thus  rewarded  by  an  eter- 
nal abotie  in  Paradise,  Avas  at  once  simple  and  pure,  prac- 
tical and  spiritual.  The  one  great  duty  of  the  faithful  was 
to  work  with  Ormazd  in  combating  all  forms  of  evil,  both 
within  and  without.  Truth  and  purity,  piety  and  industry, 
were  the  highest  virtues:  lying  is  regarded  with  profound 
horror;  and  ag^riculture  is  the  most  honorable  work.  '-Evil 
was  ti-aced  up  to  its  root  m  the  heart  of  man  ;  and  it  Avas 
distinctly  taught  that  no  virtue  deserved  the  name  but  such 
as  was  co-extensive  v.ith  the  whole  sphere  of  human  activity, 
including  the  thought,  as  Avell  as  the  word  and  deed.""  Of 
its  practice  the  Zendavesta  speaks  as  follows  :  "  He  is  a  holy 

17  Theopompus,  ap.  Diog.  Laiii-t.  "Proosm."  §  P,  ar.d  ^Eii.  Gaz.  "  Dial,  de  An.  Im- 
niort."  p.  7T.     See  Han-j-,  "Essays,"  )>p.  143,  20G  ;  and  Rawiiiison,  vol.  iii.  pp.  110, 117. 

18  "On  the  triad  of  tliought,  word,  and  act.  see  Ya^na.  xii.S;  xxxii.  5;  xxxiii.2: 
XXXV.  1 ;  xlvii.  1  ;  xlix.  4,  etc."— Rawlinson,  vol.  iii.  p.  113. 

1!) 


434    PRIMITIVE  ARYANS  AND  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER. 

man,  says  Ahuramazda,  who  constructs  upon  the  earth  a  hab- 
itation in  which  he  maintains  hre,  cattle,  his  wife,  his  children, 
and  good  flocks.  He  who  makes  the  earth  produce  corn, 
who  cultivates  the  fruits  of  the  fields,  he  maintains  purity; 
lie  promotes  the  law  of  Ahuramazda  as  much  as  if  he  offered 
a  hundred  sacrifices."  For  such  a  course  aided  in  preserv- 
ino-  the  good  creation,  and  combated  the  work  of  Angro- 
maiiiyus,  who  had  brought  thorns,  weeds,  and  barrenness 
upon  the  earth.  In  fact,  the  earth  itself,  the  genius  of  which 
we  have  seen  to  be  one  of  the  Amshashpands,  was  an  object 
of  even  superstitious  reverence  :  which  must  not  be  defiled 
by  the  burial  of  the  dead.  For  a  like  reason,  thev  must  not 
be  burned,  for  fire  was  too  pure  to  be  brought  in  contact 
with  corruption ;  and  it  only  remained  to  leave  them  to  be 
devoured  by  birds  of  prey  in  inclosures  set  apart  for  the 
purpose.  On  a  similar  principle,  all  the  objects  of  creation 
were  divided  into  two  classes,  as  belonging  to  the  respect- 
ive empires  of  Ormazd  or  of  Ahriman.  Useful  animals,  corn, 
pasture,  water,  fire,  are  sacred  things,  as  being  the  Avork  of 
the  good  principle;  while  noxious  animals  are  regarded  as 
the  creatures  and  instruments  of  the  evil  principle.  But,  by 
a  curious  inference,  the  condition  of  each  creature  in  this  re- 
spect is  changed  by  death  ;  for  Ahriman,  in  putting  an  end 
to  the  life  which  vras  received  from  Oi'mazd,  remains  master 
of  the  dead  body,  wliich  is  therefore  impure:  and  the  con- 
trary  happens  when  Ormazd  kills  a  creature  of  Ahriman. 
On  this  principle,  bloody  sacrifices  were  interdicted  in  the 
pure  Mazdean  worsliip;  for  the  creatures  of  Ormazd  might 
not  be  destroyed  (except  from  necessity,  for  food),  and  the 
creatures  of  Ahriman  would  pollute  the  altars  of  Ormazd. 

§  20.  The  pure  Zoroastrian  worship  consisted  of  prayei-s 
and  hymns  (such  as  the  Gathas),  both  to  Ahuramazda  and  to 
his  councillors  and  angels.  For,  though  the  former  was  the 
only  object  of  supreme  adoration,  a  sort  of  inferior  worship 
was  rendered  to  the  Amshashpands  and  Yazatas,  and  to  all 
creatures  superior  to  man ;  among  the  rest  to  the  heavenly 
bodies,  the  worship  of  which  received  a  gi-eat  development 
under  the  Aclia^menids,  perhaps  through  Chalda?an  influence. 
With  these  prayers  and  hymns  were  combined  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  sacred  and  sacrificial  fire,  and  the  ciii-ious  cere- 
mony, derived  from  the  highest  Aryau  antiquity,  of  offei'ing 
the  j\iice  of  the  plant  called  Iloma  (tlie  Soma  of  the  i^edas, 
where  the  rite  is  much  more  developed,  and  Soma  becomes 
the  Moon-god,  in  association  with  Mithra  as  the  Sun-god). 
"The  ceremony  consisted  in  the  extraction  of  the  juice  of 
the   Homa   plant  by   the    i)riests    during   the    recitation   of 


ZOROASTRIAN  WORSHIP.  435 

prayers,  the  formal  presentation  of  the  liquid  extracted  to 
the  sacrificial  fire,''"*  the  consumption  of  a  small  portion  of  it 
by  one  of  the  officiating  priests,  and  the  division  of  the  re- 
raainder  among  the  worshippers.  As  the  juice  was  drunk 
immediately  after  extraction,  and  before  fermentation  had 
set  in,  it  was  not  intoxicating."""  Such  was  the  compromise, 
so  to  speak,  under  which  tlje  Zoroaslrian  system  retained  a 
rite  wliich  in  the  old  nature-worsiiip  had  been  one  of  gross 
intoxication. 

The  utter  abhorrence  of  all  idolatry,  by  which  Zoroastri- 
anism  was  distinguished,  is  testified  by  Herodotus  in  his  in- 
teresting account  of  the  religion  of  the  Pei'sians.''  "They 
have  no  images  of  the  gods,  no  temples  nor  altars,  and  con- 
sider the  use  of  them  a  sign  of  folly.  This  comes,  I  think, 
from  their  not  believing  the  gods  to  have  the  same  nature 
with  men,  as  the  Greeks  imagine.  Their  wont,  however,  is  to 
ascend  the  summits  of  the  loftiest  mountains,  and  there  to 
ofi'er  sacrifice  to  Jove,  which  is  the  name  they  give  to  the 
whole  circuit  of  the  firmament.  They  likewise  offer  to  the  sun 
and  moon,  to  the  earth,  to  fire,  to  water,  and  to  the  winds. 
Tiiese  are  the  only  gods  whose  worship  has  come  down  to 
them  from  ancient  times.  At  a  later  period  they  began  the 
worship  of  Urania,  which  they  borrowed  from  the  Arabians 
and  Assyrians.  Mylitta  is  the  name  by  which  the  Assyri- 
ans know  this  goddess,  whom  the  Arabians  call  Alitta,  and 
the  Persians  Mitra.^'^  To  these  gods  the  Persians  offer  sac- 
rifice in  the  following  manner:  they  raise  no  altar,  light  no 
fire,  pour  no  libations  ;  there  is  no  sound  of  the  flute,  no  put- 
ting on  of  chaplets,  no  consecrated  barley-cake;  but  the  man 
Avho  wishes  to  sacrifice  brings  his  victim  to  a  spot  of  ground 
which  is  pure  from  pollution,  and  there  calls  upon  the  name 
of  the  god  to  whom  he  intends  to  offer.  It  is  usual  to  have 
the  turban  encircled  with  a  wreath,  most  commonly  of  myr- 
tle. The  sacrificer  is  not  allowed  to  pray  for  blessings  on 
liimself  alone,  but  he  prays  for  the  welfare  of  the  king,  and 
of  the  whole  Persian  people,  among  whom  he  is  of  necessity 
included.     He  cuts  the  victim  in  pieces,  and,  having  boiled 

-^  Tr  wa?  shoicn  to  the  tire,  not  poured  upon  it  (Hang,  "  Essays,"  p.  239). 

'^^  Ra\\ii;isnn,  vol.  iii.  p.  114. 

*i  The  on.y  approach  to  a  representation  of  the  deity  (in  a  symbolic,  not  personal, 
form)  is  the  emblem  called  Ferouher,  which  is  universallii  associated  on  Persian  in- 
scriptions with  the  efR<Ty  of  the  king  as  early  as  the  time  of  Darius  I.,  and  which  we 
know  to  have  been  of  Assyrian  origin  (see  the  picture  on  p.  410).  There  seem  also  to 
be  signs  of  the  adoption  of  Egyptian  religions  emblems  in  sculptures  of  the  time  of  Cy- 
rus at  PasargadiB  (Murghanb).     See  Rawlinson's  "  Herodotus,"  note  to  Book  I.  c.  lai . 

22  Herodotus  here  confounds  Mithra  with  Annitis,  whose  worship  appe;\rs  in  the 
Achi-emeniau  inscriptions  as  late  as  Artaxerses  Mnamou  in  conjunction  with  that  o" 
Mithra. 


436     PRIMITIVE  ARYANS  AND  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER. 

the  flesh,  he  lays  it  out  upon  the  tenderest  herbage  that  he 
can  And,  trefoil  especially.  When  all  is  ready,  one  of  the 
Magi  comes  forward  and  chants  a  hymn,  which  they  say  re- 
counts the  origin  of  the  gods.  It  is  not  lawful  to  sacrifice 
unless  there  is  a  Magus  present.  After  waiting  a  short  time 
the  sacrificer  carries  the  flesh  of  the  victim  away  with  him, 
and  makes  whatever  use  o;'  it  he  may  please."^^  In  this  de- 
scription of  ceremonies,  to  which  Herodotus  was  doubtless 
often  an  eye-witness  during  his  travels,  we  see  elements 
strange  to  primitive  Zoroastrianism  —  iiature-woi'ship,  ani- 
mal sacrifices,  and  the  Magian  priesthood  —  the  origin  of 
which  is  a  most  interesting  question  in  the  history  of  the 
Iranians. 

§  21.  The  Iranian  traditions  represent  the  reformation  of 
Zoroaster  as  encountered  by  vehement  opposition,  leading  to 
long  and  bloody  religious  wars  among  the  Aryans.  Such 
an  opposition  would  be  certain  on  the  part  of  the  adherents 
to  the  pantheistic  nature- worship,  which  had  corrupted  the 
ancient  Aryan  faith,  and  its  natural  leaders  would  be  the 
priests.  Accordingly,  the  Persian  traditions  of  Zoroaster 
mention  as  his  chief  antagonists  a  poition  of  the  Aryan 
priesthood.  The  very  anachionism  by  which  these  are 
called  Brahmans  tells  us  where  to  seek  their  successors; 
and  when  we  find  the  hymns  of  the  Rig- Veda  heaping  male- 
dictions upon  Zoroaster  {DJaraddsJdi),  we  can  scarcely  doubt 
that  the  two  parties  in  this  religious  war  were  those  repre- 
sented by  the  doctrines  of  the  Zendavesta  and  the  Vedas, 
and  that  it  caused  the  separation  of  the  Iranian  and  Indian 
branches  of  the  Aryan  race.  The  latter  appear  to  have  been 
worsted  in  the  struggle,  and  to  have  been  driven  out  of  the 
common  home  in  Bactria.  Crossing  the  Hindoo  Koosh,  they 
occupied  successively  the  regions  of  Paropamisus,Drangiana, 
Arachosia,  and  finally  the  valley  of  the  Indus  and  its  tribu- 
taries (Scinde  and  the  Pimjab).  Here  their  religion  was  de- 
veloped into  Brahminism,  which  still  retains  the  gross  natu- 
ralism which  they  had  defended  against  the  reforms  of  Zoro- 
aster. After  a  struggle,  which  lasted  for  centuries,  they  con- 
quered the  Cushite  aborigines  of  the  Indian  peninsula,  and 
rt'duced  them  to  the  position  of  inferior  castes.  It  does  not 
lie  within  our  plan  to  follow  iari  her,  at  present,  the  history 
of  the  Indian  branch. 

§  22.  The  Iranian  branch  kept  possession  of  Bactriana, 
Sogdiana,  and  Margiana,  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Indian 
Ca\icasus.  As  their  numbers  increased,  they  passed  that 
range  into  the  western  part  of  the  table-land  of  Iran,  and 

"  Herod,  i.  131, 132. 


THE  IRANIANS  IN  MEDIA  AND  PERSIA.  437 

overran  Media,  eastern  Siisiana,  Persia,  and  the  fertile  parts 
of  Carmania  ;  expelling  from  those  countries  or  reducing  the 
old  Cushite  inhabitants,  whom  the  Iranian  legends  describe 
as  men  of  a  black  complexion,  with  short  and  woolly  hair. 
Thus  tlie  power  of  the  Aryans  was  established  throughout 
the  highlands  bordering  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  valley  on 
the  east;  and  Ave  have  seen  indications  of  their  dominion  for 
a  time  in  that  valley  itself  But  the  degree  of  their  power 
was  very  ditierent  in  ditferent  parts  of  these  regions.  In 
Persia  and  Carmania  they  scarcely  encountered  a  serious  re- 
sistance; and  those  countries  became  the  great  seats  of  tlie 
pure  Zoroastrian  faith.  In  Susiana  the  Cushite  population 
held  their  ground  in  the  congenial  lowlands;  while  in  the 
adjacent  hills  the  names  of  the  Cosstei  and  Elyman"  show 
the  presence  of  a  mixed  Cushite  and  Semitic  population. 

In  Media  the  Turanians,  who  had  long  been  established  in 
the  country,  and  given  it  the  name  it  has  since  borne,"  re- 
newed theold  conflict  of  race  and  religion  with  the  Aryan 
invaders.  The  contest  seems  to  liave  lasted  for  about  a 
thousand  years,.and  only  to  have  been  decided  at  last  by  the 
aid  which  the  Persians  gave  to  their  brethren  in  Media.  It 
is  to  these  great  wars  of  Iran  and  Turan  that  tlie  Persian 
legends,  in  Firdousi's  poem  of  "the  Book  of  Kings,"  refer  the 
greatest  exploits  of  tlieir  national  heroes,  Rustem,  Kai-Khosru, 
Farrukhzad. 

§  23.  When  the  Ai-yans  at  last  prevailed  in  Media,  it  was 
as  a  coiiquering  minority  among  a  conquered  people,  who 
retained  their  own  language  and  corrupted  the  religion  of 
their  masters.  We  have  seen  that  the  Achaemenid  kings 
addressed  edicts  to  their  Median  subjects  in  a  Turanian  dia- 
lect;  and  it  was  from  the  Turanians  of  Media  that  the  Ira- 
nian religion  derived  that  Mayian  character  which  has  often 
been  mistaken  for  the  real  nature  of  Zoroastrianism.  The 
contusion  dates  from  Herodotus,  Avho  saw  the  worship  in  its 
Median  form,  l)nt  did  not  visit  Persia  Proper;  and  it  was 
confirmed  by  the  proneness  of  the  later  Achaemenids  to  adopt 
foreign  forms  of  worship.  Thus  Artaxerxes  Mnemon,  who 
was  a  chief  corrupter  of  the  old  religion,  introduced  the  wor- 
ship of  xVnaitis,  and  gave  prominence  to  that  of  the  stars. 
The  old  Turanian  religion  was  essentially  elemental,  and  the 
Magi  were  its  priests.  The  chief  points  of  their  worship, 
when  it  vras  ingrafted  upon  that  of  the  Aryans,  are  enumer- 
ated in  the  above  extract  from  Herodotus. 

It  is  still  in  dispute  whether  the  fire-icorsldp^  which  is  so 
conspicuous  a  feature  in  the  later  Persian  religion,*was  de- 

2-J  lu  Gen.  X.  22,  Elam  is  the  eldest  son  of  Sheni.  "^  See  chiip.  xix.  5  G. 


438     PRIMITIVP:  ARYANS  AND  RELIGION  OF  ZOROA8TER. 

rived  from  the  Magi,  or  whether  they  only  gave  a  grosser 
form  to  an  old  Zoroascrian  adoration  of  light  and  fire  as  the 
symbols  of  Ahuramazda.  The  lyyrcptkra^  or  fire-towers,  the 
only  Medo-Persian  temples,  are  fonnd  along  the  mountain 
heights  of  Armenia,  Azerbijan,  Kni'distan,  and  Luristan,  which 
would  naturally  be  the  native;  strongholds,  and  where  we 
also  find  insei-iptions  in  the  Turanian  dhileet ;  and  it  was  here 
that  tradition  placed  the  primitive  seat  of  the  Magian  wor- 
ship. It  seems  more  certain  that  demon- worship  was  a  cor- 
ruption which  arose  from  the  Turanian  cult  of  the  serpent 
Afrasiab.  Identifying  him  with  Ahiiman,  they  adopted  the 
heresy  which  made  the  latter  in  all  respects  co-equal  Avith 
Ormazd  ;  and,  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  pure  Zoroastrianism, 
they  worshipped  the  evil  power  as  much  as  the  good.  Hence, 
not' improbably,  the  origin  of  the  sect  of  Yezidis,  or  "devil- 
worshippers,"  which  stiTl  exists  in  Irak-Ajemy  and  Northern 
Mesopotamia.  From  the  fusion  of  Zoroastrianism  Avith  Ma- 
gism  in  Media,  while  it  retained  its  purity  in  Persia,  arose  a 
distinction  between  the  two  nations  which  had  political  con< 
sequences  of  great  importance. 


Th@  Persian  "  Ferou'ier.' 


The  Eock  of  Behistnn. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

RISE    OF   THE    MEDIAN    KINGDOM. 

5  1.  Ktlation  of  Media  and  Persia  to  Ariaiia.  Geiieial  sketch  of  Media.  §  2.  And 
of  Pkrsxa.  §  3.  Extent  of  Media.  Atiopatene  aud  Media  Magna.  The  Caspian 
shore.*.  §  4.  Physical  charactei-  of  Media.  The  sterile  highlands.  Lake  Urum- 
iyeh.  The  rivers.  Irrigation  of  the  desert.  The  great  horse  pastures.  §  5.  Cities 
of  Media.  Ecbatana.  Rhagpe.  Bagistan  {Behistun),  and  its  monumental  rock. 
Aspadana  {L'^/ahnn).  §  (5.  Origin  of  the  Median  people.  §  T.  Assyrian  notices 
of  the  ISIedes!  Conquests  by  Sargon,  Sennacherib,  and  Esar-haddou.  Imperfect 
subjection  To  Assvria.  §  S.  Classical  accounts  of  Media— inconsistent  and  in  great 
part  faI)ulons.  The  scheme  of  Ctesia.s.  His  chronology  artificial.  §9.  Account 
of  Herodotus.  Elevation  of  Df.iookb  to  the  kingdom.  The  story  conceived  in  a 
Greek  spirit.  His  name  a  representative  title.  §  10.  The  six  tribes  of  the  Medi- 
ans. §  11.  The  capital  of  Ecbatana,  as  described  by  Herodotus.  Traces  of  Sab;e- 
ism.  Hypothesis  of  two  Ecbatanas.  The  historic  capital.  §  12.  The  Adminis- 
tration of  Deioces  — Typical  of  an  Oriental  despotism.  §  1.3.  PnTi.voKTEr^,  Frn- 
vartish,  probably  derived  in  part  from  a  personage  of  later  times.  First  collision 
of  the  Medes  with  Assyria,  perhaps  led  by  Phraortes  and  his  son  Cyaxares.  The 
Medes  repulsed  and  Phraortes  slain.  Cyaxares  organizes  the  Median  army.  §  1^- 
Cyaxakes,  the  true  founder  of  the  Median  kingdom.  §  15.  Beginning  of  the  Medo- 
Persian  Empire. 

§  1.  The  preceding  chapter  followed  that  great  brancli  of 
the  Aryan  race,  wliich  was  destined  to  possess  the  empive 


440  EISE  OF  THE  MEDIAN  KINGDOM. 

of  Western  Asia,  to  their  settlements  in  Media  and  Persia. 
Those  countries  may  be  roughly  described  as  formed  by 
the  mountain  belt  included  by  the  ancients  under  the  gen- 
eral name  of  Zagrus,  which,  ruiniing  in  a  south-easterly  di- 
rection from  Annenia  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  Persian  Gulf, 
separates  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  from  the 
higher  table-land  of  Iran  ;  to  which  we  must  add  a  portion 
of  the  table-land  itself  The  eastern  limit  was  determined 
by  the  physical  character  of  the  region.  The  Iranian  pla- 
teau, M'hich  nowhere  rises  so  much  as  3000  feet  above  the 
sea,  is  for  the  most  part  a  sandy  desert.  On  the  north  and 
north-east,  indeed,  the  rivers  flowing  from  the  Indian  Cauca- 
sus and  the  Paropamisus  redeem  from  the  desert  regions  of 
more  or  less  fertility,  forming  the  districts  of  Parthia,  Aria, 
Drangiana,  and  Arachosia.  But  these  streams,  like  those 
iiowing  from  the  eastern  slopes  of  Zagrus,  form  an  exception 
to  the  law, 

"  As  to  the  sea  retiiraiuc?  rivers  roll," 

and  are  lost  in  the  rainless  desert  which  occupies  the  central 
portion  of  the  table-land,  down  to  the  shore  of  the  Indian 
Ocean.  The  desert  resembles  a  vast  parallelogram  standing 
on  this  shore  as  its  base,  and  extending  obliquely  with  a 
north-westerly  slope  upward  to  the  mountains  south  of  the 
Caspian. 

The  whole  table-land,  exclusive  of  Media  and  Persia — but 
inclusive  (in  the  widest  sense  of  the  term)  of  tlie  eastern 
slopes  of  the  mountains  down  to  the  Indus,  and  the  Aryan 
regions  of  Bactiiana,  Sogdiana,  and  3Iargiana,  on  the  north- 
ern side  of  the  Indian  Caucasus — was  included  by  the  geog- 
raphers of  the  Roman  Empire'  under  the  general  name  of 
Ariaxa,  which  answers  to  the  later  Persian  Iran^  and  the 
land  of  the  Airya  in  the  Vendidad,  the  Ariya  in  the  Achce- 
menian  inscriptions.^  The  Airyanem  vaejo  ("source"  or 
'native  land  of  the  Aryans")  of  the  Yendidad,  which  some 
suppose  to  denote  this  region,  designates  evidently  the  pri- 
meval abode  of  the  race. 

The  mountains,  which  divide  this  great  table-land  on  the 
west  from  Mesopotamia  and  the  Persian  Gulf,  consist  of  no 
less  than  six  or  seven  parallel  ranges,  all  converging,  at  their 

1  In  particular  Strabo  (xv.)  aucl  Pliny  ("IL  N."  vi.23). 

2  This  form  is  found  on  the  coins  of  the  Sa.ssauidae. 

3  The  old  Persian  records  distinguish  between  Ariana  in  the  wide  sense  and  the 
province  of  Aria  (the  country  of  the  "Spetot  of  Herod,  iii.  93).  The  latter  has  an  aspi- 
rate, which  is  preserved  by  the  modern  JTemt,  bein?  Haroiju  in  the  Vendidad,  and 
Hariva  in  the  Achsemenian  inscriptions.  Herodotus,  in  another  part  of  his  work, 
uses  "Apiui  botii  in  the  generic  and  specitic  sense  (vii.  G2,  GG). 


SKETCH  OF  MEDIA  AND  PERSIA.  44i 

northern  extremity,  in  the  great  central  knot  of  the  Armenian 
highlands,  where  they  join  the  chain  which  skirts  the  south 
and  south- w^estern  margiu  of  the  Caspian.  In  this  latter  chain, 
now  called  Mount  JElburz  (anciently  designated  by  the  gen- 
eral name  of  Caspii  Montes),  and  overlooking  the  modern  Per- 
sfan  capital  of  Teheran,  is  the  snowy  peak  oi  iJemavend  (Jaso- 
nius  ]M.),the  highest  mountain  of  Asia  west  of  the  Himalayas. 
Aline  drawn  somewhat  to  the  east  of  the  middle  of  the  Cas- 
pian Sea  and  of  this  peak,  nearly  along  the  meridian  of  52^° 
E.  long.,  may  be  allowed  to  mark  the  rather  indefinite  limit 
at  which  Media  merged  on  the  east  into  Parthia  and  the 
great  salt  desert  of  IChorassan.  The  former  country  in- 
cluded the  mountainous  regions  formed  by  the  western  part 
of  the  Caspian  chain  and  the  northern  part  of  the  Zagrus 
range,  with  the  portion  of  the  plateau  lying  in  the  angle  be- 
tween them,  and  the  strip  of  coast  on  the  8.  and  S.  W.  of  the 
Caspian :  the  S.E.  part  of  this  sli})  belonged  to  Hyrcania. 
Following  the  course  of  Mt.  Zagrus  to  the  south-east,  the 
Medians  bordered  upon  the  kindred  Persians,*  who  occupied 
the  highlands  along  the  eastern  side  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  and 
a  portion  of  the  adjoining  table-land,  merging  in  the  desert 
of  Carman ia. 

§  2.  The  last-named  region  —  Persia  Proper,  or  Persis, 
corresponding  to  the  modern  provinces  of  Farsistdn  (which 
preserves  the  ancient  name),^  LaristOn^  and  Kerman  —  had 
a  homogeneous  character,  adapted  to  preserve  the  pure  nu- 
cleus of  the  Iranian  race,  which  was  ultimately  to  wield  the 
empire  of  Asia.  The  mountain  ranges,  while  following  the 
bend  of  the  coast,  expand  into  a  highland  ten-itory  200  miles 
in  width,  defended  nearly  on  all  sides  by  the  sea  and  desert. 
The  great  plain  of  Khuzlstan  (Susiana),  whose  proximity 
had  so  momentous  an  influence  on  the  history  of  the  Elam- 
ites  and  Medes,  narrows  along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Per- 
sian Gulf  into  an  arid  strip  of  sand  and  gravel,  from  ten  to 
fifty  miles  in  Avidth,  almost  uninhabitable  from  its  extreme 
heat,  and  in  extent  only  about  one-seventh  of  the  highland 
region.     In  the  latter  "  lay  the  bulk  of  the  ancient  Persia, 

*  The  exact  boundary  is  naturally  doubtful,  being  described  by  the  ancieut  geogra- 
phers at  a  time  when  the  distinction  between  the  two  nations  was  indefinite.  The 
later  writers  place  it  at  the  chain  of  Parachoathras  {Elwend),  a  branch  of  Mt.  Zagrus. 
But  the  important  province  of  Paroetacene  (now  I/^fahan),  which  is  thus  given  to  Per- 
sia, is  assigned  by  Herodotus  to  Media  (i.  101)  ;  which  would  place  the  boundary  about 
the  parallel  of  32°,  corresponding  with  the  present  division  between  Irak-Ajemi  and 
Farsistdn. 

5  In  modern  Persian  /  represents  the  ])  of  the  ancieut  names.  Thus  Farsistdn  = 
"tbe^^tece  or  land  {stdn,  in  old  Per^^ian  ctana)  of  the  Parsa,"  for  such  was  the  old 
native  form,  which  is  ;>rcsorvecl  almost  unchanged  in  Pamee.  Some  interpret  th« 
name  as  "  tisrers." 


442  RISE  OF  THE  MEDIAN  KINGDOM. 

consisting;  of  alternate  mountain,  plain,  and  narrovv  valley, 
curiously' intermixed,  and  as  yet  very  incompletely  mapped. 
This  region  is  of  varied  character.  In  places  richly  fertile, 
picturesque,  and  romantic  almost  beyond  imagination,  with 
lovely  wooded  dells,  green  mouniain-sides,  and  broad  plains 
suited  for  the  production  of  almost  any  cro|)s,  it  has  yet,  on 
the  whole,  a  predominant  character  of  sterility  and  barren- 
ness, especiaHy  towards  its  more  northern  and  eastern  por- 
tions. The  supply  of  water  is  everywhere  scanty.  Scarce- 
ly any  of  the  streams  are  strong  enough  to  reach  the  sea. 
After  short  courses,  they  are  either  absorbed  by  the  sand  or 
end  in  small  salt  lakes,  from  which  tne  superfluous  water  is 
evaporated.'"  It  has  only  two  rivers  of  importance:  one, 
the  Arotis  or  Oroatis  (now  the  Tab),  falling  into  the  Persian 
Gulf  on  the  borders  of  Susiana  (m  80°  N.  lat.)  ;  the  other, 
the  Araxes  {Bendmnir),  whicn  liows  eastward  through  the 
beautiful  valley  of  3Ierdasht  into  the  desert,  and  is  lost  in 
the  salt  lake  oX  Ikiktegan  towards  the  borders  of  Carmania. 
At  the  spot  where  the  Araxes  receives  its  tributary,  the  Cy- 
rus (Kur''  or  Puhlvar),  stood  the  AchcTuienid  capital,  Per- 
sepolis,  and  about  30  miles  higher  up  on  the  Cyrus  was  the 
older  capital  of  Pasargada^,  with  the  tomb  of  Cyrus. 

So  effectually  did  these  secluded  highlands  separate  the 
Persians  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  that  their  name  is  not 
mentioned  in  the  etlmical  list  of  Genesis  x. :  perhaps,  how- 
ever, at  that  period  they  were  not  a  separate  nation.  If  the 
Bartsu  or  Fartsu  o?  i\\(^  A^^yriixw  monuments  were  the  Per- 
sians— which  is  not  certain — they  are  first  ibund  in  the  9th 
and  8th  centuries  b.c.  in  the  S.E.  of  Armenia,  in  close  contact 
with,  bnt  independent  of,  the  Medes;  and  again,  in  the  time 
of  Sennacherib,  in  the  mountains  N.  and  N.E.  of  Susiana, 
close  upon,  if  not  within,  the  limits  of  Persia  Proper.  From 
these  notices  it  has  been  inferred  that  the  Persians  at  lirst 
accompanied  the  migrations  of  the  Medes,  and  did  not  settle 
in  their  own  i)ro[)er  country  till  near  the  end  of  the  Assyrian 
empire,  which,  in  fact,  api)ears,  from  the  records  of  Darius, 
to  have  been  about  the  time  of  the  traditional  origin  of  the 
Ach^menid  dynasty.  But  this  late  separation  from  the 
Medes  seems  scarcely  consistent  with  the  preservation  of  tlie 
pure  Zoroastrian  faith  by  the  Persians:  nor  must  the  date 
of  a  dynasty  be  confounded  with  the  origin  of  a  nation  which 
seems  to  have  been  long  a  sort  of  patriarchal  republic. 

At  all  events,  it  is  not  till  the  time  of  Cyrus  that  the  Per- 
sians begin  to  play  their  part  in  history  ;  and  then  the  name 

«  Rawlinson,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iv.  p.  5. 

">  The  name  Kur  is  sometime?  applied  to  the  Bevdamir 


rHYSIOAL  CHARACTER  OF  MEDIA.  443 

of  their  country  is  merged  in  that  of  the  empire  which  Cyrus 
founded.  But,  while  the  empire  was  called  Fersia^  the  prop- 
er country  of  the  original  Persians  was  always  distin<»uished 
by  the  name  of  Fersis^  which  is  perpetuated  to  the  present 
day  in  that  of  Fcirslstan.  We  may  here  observe  that  the 
modern  kingdom  of  Persia  corresponds  very  nearly  to  the 
western  and  larger  half  of  the  Iranian  plateau,  including  the 
ancient  ^ledia,  Susiana,  Persis,  and  Carmania,  with  the'^cen- 
tral  desert  oi  Kho)'assan^Vi\\(k  the  mountainous  region  on  the 
north  (the  ancient  Parthia  and  Hyrcania).  The  eastern  part 
of  the  plateau  forms  the  countries  of  Afghanistan^  Seisi-.m^ 
an  d  Belooch  istan . 

^  §  3.  The  physical  character  of  Media  was  much  more  va- 
ried. The  ancient  winters  recognize  the  two  great  divisions 
of  Media  Atropatene"  and  Media  Magna,  corresponding  near- 
ly, the  one  to  Azerbfjan,  the  other  to  Frak-Ajend^  with  the 
mountains  oi  Kurdistan  and  Luristan^^oww  to  the  boundary 
of  Persia.  The  former  (Atropatene)  seems  to  have  been  the 
country  in  which  the  Medes  hrst  settled  on  their  migration 
from  the  east  (though  they  would  also  occupy  on  their  way 
the  part  of  Media  Magna  directly  south  of  the  Caspian).  It 
was  a  mass  of  mountains,  between  Armenia  on  the  north,  As- 
syria on  the  west,  and  the  Caspian  on  the  east.  It  was  di- 
vided from  Armenia  by  a  mountain  chain  and  by  the  lower 
course  of  the  Araxes. 

On  the  side  of  the  Caspian,  the  proper  boundary  seems  to 
have  reached  only  to  the  mountains  bordering  the' sea.  The 
slip  of  coast  extending  round  the  south-west  and  southern 
shores,  with  the  overhanging  slopes  of  Talishin,  Elhurz^  and 
Femavend  or  Karun  (now  forming  the  districts  of  Ghilan 
and  Mazanderan)^  though  claimed  as  a  part  of  Media,  seems 
really  to  have  been  held  by  independent  tribes,  the  Cadusii 
and  others.'  This  fertile  region  is  scarcely  equalled  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth  for  its  rich  woods  and  abundant  fruits ; 
but  the  intense  heats  of  summer  and  the  frequent  inunda- 
tions make  it  most  pestilential.  It  is  connected  with  Media 
Atropatene,  on  the  west,  by  the  valley  of  the  Kizil-  Uzen  or 
Sefid-Eud,  and  w^ith  Great  Media,  on  the  south,  by  a  pass 
?ome  80  or  90  miles  east  of  Teheraii^thQ  Caspia3  Pyfa?  of  the 
ancients. 

§  4.  Most  of  the  surface,  both  of  Atropatene  and  Media 
Magna,  is  covered  with  bare  rocky  ranges,  sterile  downs  and 

8  The  Greeks  derived  this  name  from  the  gatrap  Atropates,  who  ws.s,  allowed  by 
Alexander  to  retain  the  government  of  the  province,  where  he  made  himself  inde- 
pendent. But  it  seems  to  contain  the  old  Median  Atra  or  Adan  (the  Siiu)  —  the  Per- 
eiaii  Mithra  (Sir  II.  Rawlinson's  note  to  Herod,  i.  110). 

"  Ctesias  mentions  their  wars  with,  and  bitter  hostility  to,  the  Medians. 


444  RISE  OV  THE  MEDIAN  KINGDOM. 

sandy  valleys ;  having  a  climate  of  keen  severity  in  winter 
and  intense 'heat  in  summer;  as  is  natural  in  a  liighland  re- 
gion, the  valleys  of  which  are  from  4000  to  5000  feet  above 
the  sea-level,  lying  between  the  parallels  of  ^0"  and  40°  N. 
latitude,  and  scantily  supplied  with  water.  On  the  plateau 
bordering  upon  the  sandy  desert,  the  sterility  is  of  course 
greater;  the  summers  are  still  hotter,  and  the  winters  cold- 
er. But  the  two  spring  months  of  April  and  May  form  a 
delicious  exception  to  this  rigor  and  sterility.  "  In  the  worst 
parts  of  the  region,  there  is  a  time,  after  the  spring  rains, 
when  Nature  puts  on  a  holiday  dress,  and  the  country  be- 
comes gay  and  cheerful.  The  slopes  at  the  base  of  the 
rocky  ranges  are  tinged  with  an  emerald  green;  a  richer 
vegetation  springs  up  over  the  plains,  which  are  covered 
wdth  a  Hue  herbage,  or  vfith  ji  variety  of  crops.  The  or- 
chards are  a  mass  of  blossoms ;  the  rose  gardens  come  into 
bloom;  the  cultivated  lands  are  covered  with  springing 
crops;  the  desert  itself  wears  a  light  livery  of  green.  Every 
sense  is  gratified  :  the  nightingale  bursts  out  into  a  full  gush 
of  song;  the  air  plays  softly  upon  the  cheek,  and  comes 
loaded  with  fragrance.'"" 

Some  fovored  spots,  liowever,  enjoy  constant  fertility  and 
beauty;  especially  the  basin  of  the  great  lake  Ummiyeh 
(the  a'ncient  Bpauta  or  Martiana),  in  Azerbijan,  and  the  val- 
leys of  its  tributary  streams,  the  Ajl-Sn  (on  which  stands 
the  royal  summer  residence  of  Tabriz),  and  the  Jcujhetu,  on 
the  south  of  the  lake.  The  lake  itself  is  a  large,  shallow, 
sluiTgish  piece  of  water,  intensely  blue,  and  so  deeply  im- 
pregnated with  salt  that  no  iish  can  live  in  it;  in  short,  a 
Median  Dead  Sea.  The  other  fertile  regions  are  the  plain 
of  the  lower  Araxes,  wdiere  the  Persians  say  the  grass  is^tall 
enough  to  hide  an  army  in  its  camp  ;  the  valley  of  the  Klzll- 
Uzen  (the  ancient  Amardus),  which  flows  through  Azerbijan 
into  the  Caspian  Sea ;  and,  in  the  south  of  Media  Magna, 
the  Zendernd  waters  the  valley  oi^  Isfahan,  and  is  not  lost 
in  the  desert  till  it  has  redeemed  from  sterility  a  consider- 
able tract  of  country  by  means  of  the  curious  underground 
canals  called  Kanats:'  Under  this  system  of  irrigation, 
large  crops  of  grain  and  vegetables  are  grown ;  and  fruit 
anel  forest  trees  abound  on  the  slopes  and  in  the  valleys  of 
Zagrus,  and  in  the  more  sheltered  parts  of  Azerbijan.^  The 
upland  plains  amono-  the  western  'chains  of  Zagrus,  in  the 
southern   part   of  Media  Magna,   near  Bagistan,  furnished 

10  Savviinson,  vol.  iii.  pp.  T,  S,  4G,  from  the  descriptions  of  Ker  Porter,  Kiinieir,  Mo- 
rier,  Eraser,  etc. 
"  For  a  description  of  this  mode  of  irrigation,  see  Rawlinson,  vol.  iii.  p.  54, 


CITIES  OF  MEDIA.  44r> 

pasturage  to  the  thousands  of  horses  which,  so  careful  a 
writer  as  Polybius  says,  supplied  almost  all  Asia,'"  and  espe- 
cially to  the  celebrated  Nis?ean  breed,  which  the  Medes  seem 
to  have  brought  from  Parthia  on  their  westward  migration.'' 

§  5.  The  most  important  cities  of  Media  were  Ecbatana 
(or  the  two  Ecbatanas),  of  which  we  have  presently  to 
speak;  and  Khaga  or  Rhages,  on  the  south  side  of  Elbicrz, 
near  the  Caspian  Gates,  fhe  chief  city  of  Rhagiana,  the 
north-easternmost  district  of  Media.  This  was  probably  one 
of  the  most  ancient  foundations  of  the  Iranians  on  their  mi- 
gration westward  ;  for  in  the  First  Fargard  of  the  Vendi- 
dad,  Bhaga  is  their  twelfth  settlement,  in  which  the  faith- 
ful were  mingled  with  unbelievers.  Ti-aditions  of  its  impor- 
tance in  Assyrian  times  are  familiar  to  readers  of  the  Apoc- 
rypha.'* The  lirst  Darius  mentions  it  as  tlie  scene  of  the 
final  struggle  in  the  great  Median  revolt;'^  and  it  is  con- 
nected willi  the  fall  of  tlie  last  Darius.'"  It  was  rebuilt  by 
Seleucus  Nicator  under  the  name  of  Europus,  which  was 
changed  to  Arsacia  under  the  Parthians. 

Another  most  interesting  site  was  Bagistaii  (called  Ba- 
gistana  or  Bastanaby  the  Greeks),  which  Isidore  of  Charax 
describes  as  "a  city  situated  on  a  hill,  where  there  was  a 
pillar  and  statue  of  Seniiramis.""  The  hill  is  the  Mons  Ba- 
(fistanus  of  Diodorus,''  who  relates  how  Serairamis,  having 
finished  her  woiks  in  Babylon,  and  proceeding  to  make  war 
upon  Media,  encamped  near  it  on  her  march  to  Ecbatana. 
At   the  foot  of  the  precipitous  rock,  17  stades  in  height," 

12  Polyb.  X.  2T,  §  2.  Diodorns  says  that  the  number  of  horses  annually  fed  on  these 
pastures  was  at  one  time  160,000  (xvii.  110,  §  6).  The  annual  tribute  of  Media  to  the 
Persian  kings  included  3000  horses  (Strab.  xi.  13,  §  S). 

13  Herod,  vii.  40  ;  Strab.  xi.  13,  §  7 ;  Arrian,  "  Exp.  Alex."  rii.  13  ;  Amm.  Marc.  xxni. 
G;  Said.  s.  V.  S/<ra(or.  These  writers  observe  the  peculiar  shape,  size,  speed,  and 
stoutness  of  the  Nissan  horses,  and  their  resemblance  to  the  Parthian :  their  color 
was  generally,  if  not  always,  white.  They  were  probably  of  the  same  stock  as  the 
horses  of  the  Turcoman  breed,  now  derived  from  Khorassan,  the  old  Parthian  coun- 
try.   Arrian  transfers  the  name  of  the  Mscean  Plains  to  the  southern  pastures. 

14  Tobit  i.  14  ;  iv.  1  ;  ix.  2,  etc. ;  Judith  i.  5, 15 :  in  the  latter  passage  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, king  of  Nineveh  ('.),  makes  war  upon  Arphaxad,  king  of  Media,  "in  the  great 
plain,  which  is  the  plain  on  the  borders  of  Rhagan,"  and  takes  and  kills  him_"  i»  the 
mountains  of  Rhagan."    On  the  probable  meaning  of  this,  see  chap,  xxvii.  §  T. 

15  Behistun  Inscription,  col.  ii.  par.  13. 

i«  Arrian,  "  Exp.  Alex."  iii.  19.  The  district  of  Rhagiaua  is  the  strip  of  fertile  ter- 
ritory between  Mt.  Elburz  and  the  Desert,  and  the  city  was  near  its  eastern  extrem- 
ity;  but  its  exact  site  is  doubtful.  It  is  usually  identified  with  Rhci ;  but  Professor 
Rawlinson  shows  reasons  for  placing  it  ranch  nearer  the  Caspian  Gales,  probably  at 
Kaleh  Erij  {Erij  being  perhaps  corrupted  from  the  ancient  name).—"  Five  Monarch- 
ies," vol.  iii.,  pp.  29,  30. 

1^  Mans.  Parth.  p.  6.     The  text  has  Hainava,  2}srJiap.<^  a  corruption  of  Bao-Toi/a.    In 

Steph.  Byz.  it  is  Ba7<'<TTai.a.  ^^  Biod.  ii.  13  :    opoc  Hciylffravov. 

i«  That  is,  IT  X  600  Greek  feet;  more  than  six  times  too  much :  the  real  heightis 
only  about  1700  English  feet.  See  the  views  of  the  rock  and  inscription  at  the  begin- 
ning and  end  of  this  chapter. 


t40  KISE  OF  THE  MEDIAN  KINGDOM. 

M-hich  was  sacred  to  Jove,^°  she  made  a  paradise  (a  park  or 
pleasure-ground)  of  12  stadia  in  circumference,  which,  being 
in  the  plain,  had  a  great  spring  from  whicli  all  the  plants 
could  be  watered.  Having  cut  away  the  lower  part  of  the 
rock,  she  caused  her  own  jjortrait  to  be  sculptured  there,  tO' 
gether  with  those  of  100  attendant  guards.  She  engraved 
also  the  following  inscription  in  Syrian  (he  means,  of  course, 
Assyrian)  letters  :  "  Semirarais,  having  piled  up  one  upon 
another  the  pack-saddles  of  the  beasts  of  burden  which  ac- 
companied her,  ascended  by  this  means  from  the  plain  to  the 
top  of  the  rock."  Such  is  the  account  of  Diodorus,  who  else- 
Avhere  states  that  Alexander,  on  his  march  from  Susa  to  Ec- 
l)atana,  turned  a  little  out  of  his  course  to  see  the  fruitful 
and  delightful  district  of  Bagistana,^'  where  he  marched 
tlirough  the  great  horse-pastures  already  mentioned. 

All  these  indications  clearly  identify  the  place  with  the 
rock  of  BeJdstun^  which  lies  in  the  direct  route  fi-om  Baby- 
lon to  Ilamadun^  the  site  of  Ecbatana,  and  "  where  the  plain, 
the  fountain,  the  precipitous  rock,  and  the  scarped  surface 
are  still  to  be  seen."'^  The  spot  seems  marked  out  by  na- 
ture for  records  to  be  "  graven  with  an  iron  pen  and  lead  in 
the  rock  forever :""  and  the  traces  of  four  sets  of  carvings 
are  thus  perpetuated  on  the  foce  of  the  cliff,  (i.)  On  the  up- 
per part  of  the  principal  mass  of  rock,  the  whole  surface  of 
which  has  been  scarped  away,  are  the  remains  of  the  heads 
of  three  colossal  figures,  apparently  of  very  early  workman- 
ship, and  above  them  are  traces  of  characters.'"'  (ii.)  At  tlie 
north  extremity  of  the  mountain,  in  a  nook  or  retiring  angle 
of  the  hill,  high  upon  the  rock,  and  almost  inaccessible,  is  the 
famous  record  of  Darius,  the  son  of  Hystaspes,  known  as  The 

20  Professor  Rawliusoji  interprets  BagUtan  as  "  the  place  of  God"  (from  Baga, 
"j?od,"  aiul  itana  "place").  Others  explain  it  (from  the  analog}-  of  modern  Persian) 
as  "  the  place  of  gardens,"  derived  from  the  "paradise"  which  Diodorus  ascribes  to 
Semiramis.  Both  may  be  right,  according  to  the  well-known  principle  of  assimila- 
ting names  to  the  different  interpretations  which  forms  accidentally  alike  will  bear  in 
difTterent  languages.  Thus,  also,  the  modern  form  BehMnn  (according  to  Sir  Henry 
Rawlinson),  which  represents  the  ancient  name,  is  read  as  Behistan,  "the  place  of 
paradise,  or  delight,"  by  Mr.  Masson,  who  says  that  the  local  form  of  the  name  is 
Bisitun,  and  of  the  scnlptures  Bostdn  ("Journal  of  R.  As.  Soc."  vol.  xii.  pt.  1,  p.  lOS). 

21  Diod.  Sic.  xvii.  110. 

22  Rawlinsnn,  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  ii!.  pp.  iU,  .32;  Sir  H.  Rawlinson,  "Journal 
of  Geog.  Soc."  vol.  ix.  pp.  112,  113  ;  Ker  Porter,  "  Travels,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  150, 151. 

23  Job  xix.  24. 

24  From  the  acccmnt  of  Mr.  Masson,  the  only  traveller  who  has  described  these 
sculptures,  they  d(i  not  seem  perfect  enough  to  convey  any  information.  They  way 
be  the  remains  of  the  sculptures  and  inscription  which  Diodorus  and  Isidore  ascribe 
to  Semiramis;  but  the  silence  of  those  authors  about  the  great  inscription  of  Darius 
would  incline  ns  to  believe  that  it;  was  this  latter  which  tliey  ascribed  to  Semiramis, 
following  the  common  tradition  respecting  most  of  the  great  monuments  of  West- 
ern Asia.  Mr.  Rawlinson  suggests  that  the  sculptures  of  Semiramis  may  have  beeu 
destroyed  by  Chosroe  Parviz,  when  he  prepared  to  build  a  ]5alaoe  on  the  site. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  MEDES.  447 

Behistun  Inscription,  of  ^\•hich  \re  siiall  have  to  speak  agair-." 
(ill.)  Still  farther  to  the  north,  and  of  much  laier  workraan- 
ship,  is  a  group,  composed  originally  of  five  or  six  figures, 
but  now  much  mutilated,  representing  a  person  trampling 
on  a  prostrate  enemy,  while  Victory  presents  him  with  a 
wreath.  The  inscription  is  in  Greek  and  much  defaced; 
but,  from  the  occurrence  of  the  name  of  Gotarzes  twice,  it  is 
supposed  to  record  the  great  victory  gained  in  a  neighboring 
plain  by  Gotarzes  over^his  rival  Meherdates  in  the  time  of 
the  Emperor  Claudius.''  (iv.)  Besides  these  historic  rec- 
ords, there  is  a  comparatively  modern  inscription  in  Arabic, 
recording  a  grant  of  land  as  an  endowment  of  the  adjacent 
caravanserai. 

The  only  other  city  that  claims  notice  is  Aspadana,  so 
famous  as  the  modern  capital,  Isfahan.-'  But,  in  ancient 
creos^raphy,  it  is  only  mentioned  by  Ptolemy. 

§1}.  How  and  when  the  country  thus  described  first  ac- 
quired the  name  of  Media,  is  one  of  the  doubtful  problems 
of  ethnography.  That  at  least  the  dominant  race  in  historic 
times — the  3Iada  of  the  Achaemenid  inscriptions— were  an 
Aryan  people,  is  unquestionable ;  and  it  seems  equally  cer^ 
tain  that  they  conquered  and,  to  a  great  extent,  displaced 
an  older  Turanian  population.  As  the  Zendavesta  does  not 
mention  the  Medes  in  its  list  of  the  Aryan  migrations,  it  is 
natural  to  infer  that  the  name  was  adopted  from  the  coun- 
try in  which  they  settled ;  and  a  Turanian  etymology  has 
been  found  for  it'.  On  the  other  hand,  the  name  of  JSIadai 
occurs  among  the  Japhetic  races  in  Genesis  x. ;  and  argu- 
ments are  urged,  both  from  language  and  tradition,  to  show 
the  existence  of  the  Aryan  race  and  the  Median  name,  both 
in  Western  Asia  and  in  Eastern  Europe,  in  the  earliest  ages ; 
and  to  suggest  the  inference  that  the  Aryan  migration  froni 
the  east  was  the  second  settlement  of  the  Jajjhetic  race  in 
Media.'' 

§  7.  The  first  historical  notices  of  the  Medes  occur  in  the 
annals  of  Shalmaneser  II.,  the  "  Black  Obelisk  King  "  of  As- 
syria, about  the  middle  of  the  9th  century  b.c.     They  appear 

25  Respecting  the  relation  of  this  inscription  to  tlie  history  of  cuneiform  interpreta- 
tion, see  chap.  xvii.  §  5. 

-6  Josephns,  "Ant."  xx.  3,  §  4 ;  Tac.  "Ann."  xi.  S,  xii.  13;  Sir  H.  Eawlinson,  in 
"  Geosr.  Journal,"  vol.  ix.  pp.  114-116. 

2"  The  name  preserves  the  memory  of  the  famous  Median  horses,  and  probably  be- 
longed originally  to  the  province  which  contained  the  great  pastures.  Aspa  is  the 
old  Persian  a:im,  "  horse,"  and  appears  also  in  the  Median  towns  of  Phara-^M,  Phan- 
aspa,  Yemspci,  named  by  Ptolemy.  The  dana  may  be  either  from  rtana,  "place"  (as 
in  Havia-dan  from  Hafjma-rtcm),  or  from  danfm  or  dainhu,  "a  province."  (Rawlin- 
son,  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iii.  p.  147.) 

28  These  arguments  may  be  found  in  Rawlinson,  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iii.  c.  vL 
pp.  157,  foil.    The  question  is  too  speculative  to  be  pursued  here. 


448  RISE  OF  THE  MEDIAN  KINGDOM. 

to  be  a  tribe  of  no  great  strength,  occupying  the  district  of 
Media  Magna,  now  called  Ardelan.  Shalmaneser  and  his  son 
make  raids  into  their  country,  and  the  next  king  reduces 
them  to  tribute  ;  but  this  probably  applies  only  to  the  tribes 
in  and  near  Zagrus,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  these  cam- 
paigns extended  fiiv  into  the  country.  Tiglatli-pileser  II. 
(B.C.  745  and  onward)  made  campaigns  in  Media,  exacted 
tribute,  and  even  sent  an  officer  to  exercise  authority  in  the 
country.  A  more  considerable  conquest  was  made  about 
B.C.  710  by  Sargon,  who  not  only  annexed  several  Median 
cities  to  Assyria,  and  established  fortified  posts  in  the  coun- 
try, but  colonized  some  parts  of  it  with  his  captives  from 
Samaria."'-'  The  tribute  of  horses  which  he  exacted  shows 
his  power  over  the  country  in  which  the  great  pastures  lay. 
The  spread  of  the  Assyi-ian  arms  to  the  east  is  attested  by  the 
boast  of  Sennacherib  (about  B.C.  701)  that  he  had  received 
an  embassy  of  submission  from  remote  parts  of  Media,  "of 
which  the  kings  his  fathers  had  not  even  heard."  Esar-had- 
don,  in  his  tenth  year  (b.c.  670),  applies  the  same  formula  to 
his  invasion  of  JBikni  or  BikcDi  (apparently  Azerhijcm)^  which 
appears  to  have  been  a  real  conquest.  He  represents  the 
country  as  held  by  a  number  of  independent  chiefs,  whose 
Aryan  names  deserve  notice.  "  The  condition  of  Media  dur- 
ing this  period,  like  that  of  the  other  countries  upon  the  bor- 
ders of  the  great  Assyrian  kingdom,  seems  one  which  can 
not  properly  be  termed  either  subjection  or  independence. 
The  Assyrian  monarchs  claimed  a  species  of  sovereignty,  and 
regarded  a  tribute  as  due  to  them  ;  but  the  Medes,  whenever 
they  dared,  withheld  the  tribute,  and  it  was  probably  sel- 
dom paid  unless  enforced  by  the  presence  of  an  army.  Me- 
dia was  throughout  governed  by  her  own  princes,  no  single 
chief  exercising  any  paramount  rule,  but  each  tribe  or  dis- 
trict acknowledging  its  own  prince  or  chieftain."^"  These 
distinct  records  agree  with  the  traditional  history  in  so  far 
as  the  latter  makes  Media  at  one  time  subject  to  the  Assyrian 
Empire ;  but  the  divergence  in  other  respects  is  extraordinary. 
§  8.  The  classical  writers  give  us  two  different  schemes  of 
Median  history.  As  in  the  case  of  Assyria,  Ctesias  and  He- 
rodotus are  quite  at  variance ;  and  both  seem  to  have  been 
misled — but  the  former  in  the  far  greater  degree — by  the 
same  causes  which  have  been  explained  before. ^^  The  two 
accounts  only  converge  (at  first  sight)  at  the  accession  of 
Astyages,  whom  Ctesias  calls  Aspadas,  the  last  king^  of  Me- 
dia, in  B.C.  594.     Before  him  Ctesias  (followed  by  Diodorus, 

-9  2  Kings  xvii.  6  ;  xviii.  11. 

*"  Rawlinson's  •'Herodotus,"  vol.  i.  p.  405^  ^^  See  chap.  xi.  {  2. 


CLASSICAL  ACCOUNTS  OF  MEDIA. 


449 


the  cliroDOgnipliers,  and  other  writers)  phices  a  series  of 
eight  kings,  whose  united  reigns  make  up  'J82  yearri  ;  thus 
ea1-ryini?  back  the  foundation  of  the  jVfedian  Mouarcliy  to 
B.C.  876^'^  Herodotus  enumerates  only  four  kings,  inchiding 
Astyages,  whose  three  predecessors  till  up  115  years;  and 
thus  the  foundation  of  the  monarchy  is  placed  in  B.C.  709  or 
(in  round  numbers)  710.  On  compai'ing  these  statements 
with  the  Assyrian  records,  we  obtain  the  curious  results  that, 
of  the  two  epochs  at  wliich  the  Medes  are  represented  as 
consolidated  into  a  kingdom,  the  former — when  also,  accord- 
ing to  the  same  authority,  they  razed  Nineveh  to  the  ground 
— coincides  very  nearly  with  the  time  when  the  powerful 
"Black  Obelisk' King"  is  making  his  lirst  inroads  into  Me- 
dia; and  the  latter  coincides  exactly  witl;  the  date  of  Sar- 
gon's  conquests  in  that  country.^' 

The  chronology  of  Ctesias  betrays  its  artificial  cliai-acter 
by  the  prevalence  of  round  numbers,  and  still  more  by  the 
repetition  of  the  same  periods  for  the  lengths  of  the  kings' 
reigns  ;  and  a  very  ingenious  suggestion  has  \)een  Tuade,  that 
the  hunger  chronology  was  derived  from  the  shorter  by  a  re- 
duplication of  the  same  reigns  under  different  names.^*  It 
will  be  observid  that,  in  this  scheme,  the  Cy ax  ares  of  He- 
rodotus (with  whom  we  shall  ])rescntly  see  that  the  re:d  his- 
tory of  the  Median  kingdom  l>egins)  has  his  duplicate  ri  p- 
resentatives  in  tlie  Artieus  and  Astibaras  of  Ctesias;  and  the 
only  details  which  the  latter  gives  of  any  of  his  kings,  after 
Arl)aces,  consist  in  wars  of  Artanis  and  Artynes  with  the 
Cadusii  and  8aca%  which  may  very  well  coi'i'espond  to  the 
Scythian  war  of  Cyaxares.  In  short,  the  Median  history  of 
Ctesias  is  now  generally  regarded  as  founded  on  the  exag- 
gerated legends  of  national  pride  rejieated  to  him  at  the 
court  of  Ai-taxerxes,  in  whicli  dates  were  exaggerated,  and 
names  and  events  mis])laced  and  misunderstood. 


^-  Cresia-,  "  Pers."  Fr.  xxvii.  ed.  Lion. 

33  'J'lie  iiiDcleni  writers  who  accept  the  story  of  Ctesias  and  Diodorns— that  Arha- 
ces,  the  >;()veni()r  of  Media  imder  Assyria,  leagued  with  the  Babyhiiiiaii  priest  Be'esys 
It)  overthrow  the  eftemiiiate  tyrant  Sardanapahis  and  destroy  Nineveh — evade  tiie 
clironological  difficulty  hy  bringing  down  the  date  neariy  a  century,  to  i!.o.  TSS. 

3*  'rhe  following  table  shows  the  comparison  suggested  by  Professor  Rawliusou 
("  Herod."  vol.  i.  p.  409  ;  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iii.  p.  1T3) : 


Ctesias.                           Years. 

^ 

Heropotus,                           Years. 

[Iiiterreimum,  repeated — ] 

iDeioces.  repeated 63] 

Interregnum — 

Deioces 53 

IPhraortcs,  repeat e;! 22] 

iCi/axarc.%  repeated 4fi] 

Phraortes 22 

Cyax.-i!-es 40 

Maudaces 50 

Sosarmus      .                   ....     HO 

Artycas 50 

Arbianes "2f^ 

Artynes                                         .     '^''i 

Astibaras 4.) 

4r,0  KISE  OF  THE  MEDIAN  KINGDOM. 

§  9.  Nor  is  the  more  circumstantial  story  of  Herodotuy 
free  from  the  like  fabulous  ingredients  ;  but  it  is  worth  re- 
peating as  a  whole.  The  Assyrians,  he  tells  us/'  had  held 
the  empire  of  Upper  Asia  for  t!ie  space  of  520  years,'"  when 
the  ]Medes  set  the  example  of  revolt  from  their  autlioi-ity. 
They  took  arms  for  the  I'ecovery  of  their  freedom,  and  fought 
a  battle  with  the  Assyrians,  in  which  they  behaved  with 
such  gallantry  as  to  shake  oif  the  yoke  of  servitude,  and  to 
become  a  free  people.  For  a  time  they  enjoyed  self-govern- 
ment in  their  scattered  villages  ;  but  tlie  lawlessness  result- 
ing from  the  absence  of  any  central  authority  enabled  Deio- 
CES,  the  son  of  Phraortes,  to  bring  them  again  under  the 
kingly  yoke,  through  the  reputation  he  acquired  as  a  just 
judge.  The  historical  value  of  the  story  of  his  election  to 
the  crown  will  be  better  understood  from  the  comments  of 
Mr.  Grote  than  from  the  bare  narrative  of  Herodotus  :  "Of 
the  real  history  of  Deioces  we  can  not  be  said  to  know  any 
thing,  for  tlie  interesting  narrative  of  Herodotus  presents  to 
us  in  all  points  Grecian  society  and  ideas,  not  Oriental.  .  .  . 
The  story  of  Deioces  describes^  what  may  be  called  the  des- 
poVs  progress^  first  as  candidate,  and  afterwards  as  fully  es- 
tablished. .  .  .  Deioces  begins  like  a  cleve»  Greek  among 
other  Greeks,  equal,  free,  and  disorderly  ;  he  is  athirst  for 
despotism  from  the  beginning,  and  is  forward  in  manifest- 
ing his  rectitude  and  justice,  '  as  beseems  a  candidate  for 
command  ;'  he  passes  into  a  despot  by  the  public  vote,  and 
receives,  what  to  the  Greeks  was  the  great  symbol  and  in- 
strument of  such  transition,  a  personal  body-guard  ;  he  ends 
by  organizing  both  the  machinery  and  the  etiquette  of  a 
despotism  in\he  Oriental  fashion,  like  the  Cyrus  of  Xeno- 
phon  ;  only  that  both  these  authors  maintain  the  superiority 
of  their  Grecian  ideal  over  Oriental  reality  by  ascribing 
both  to  Deioces  and  Cyrus  a  just,  systematic,  and  laborious 
administration,  such  as  their  own  experience  did  not  present 
to  them  in  Asia.'"' 

The  very  name  of  Deioces  is  scarcely  more  substantial 
than  the  details  of  his  elevation  to  the  throne.  The  Median 
and  Persian  royal  names  were  as  significant  as  the  Assyrian, 
and  form,  like  them,  a  sort  of  i-ecurring  list,  in  which  none 
like  Deioces  appears.  But  the  name  does  resemble  a  title^ 
which  is  an,  element  of  one  Median  royal  name  I)ahal\  "  the 
biting,"  the  Zohak  of  the  old  Aryan  "traditions,  the  serpent 
worshipped  by  the  Turanians,  and  probably  adopted  as  an 

35  Herod,  i.  90  .s"^. 

36  CorrespoiKlinj;  to  the  520  j'ears  of  Bcrosiis.    Sec  above  chap.  s.  J  S. 
3'  Grote,  "  History  of  Greece","  vol.  iii.  pp.  30T,  308. 


ECBATANA.  4.-.1 

emblem  by  their  Median  conquerors.^®  Thus  Deioces  may 
be  regarded  as  the  hero-epowjmus  of  these  conquerors/^ 

§  10.  The  chief  traditions  of  early  Median  history,  wliich 
Herodotus  refers  to  the  reign  of  Deioces,  are  tlie  gathering 
of  the  tribes  into  one  political  body,  and  the  building  of  the 
capital  and  royal  palace.  Some  light  is  thrown  on  the  na- 
tional constitution  by  the  names  of  the  six  tribes.  These 
were  the  Bus»,  Paretaceni,  Struchates,  Arizanti,  Budii,  and 
Magi."  In  four  of  these  we  recognize  the  four  original  Ary- 
an classes:  the  Magi  taking  the  place  of  the  priests;  the 
Arizantes  being  the  Aryan  warriors  (Arij/azantif,  "  those  of 
the  i-ace  of  the  Aryans");  the  Busoe,  the  agriculturists  (the 
Sanscrit  ^o?{/«,  "  indigenous")  ;  the  Struchates,  the  nomad 
shepherds  (the  Persian  patrauvat^  "  living  under  tents").  As 
to  the  other  two,  the  Budii  may  possibly  be  another  form 
of  bouja,  applied  to  the  Turanian  natives;^'  and  the  Pare- 
taceni*'^ (a  name  applied  also  to  the  border  province,  which 
is  variously  assigned  to  Media  and  to  Persia)  ai-e  perhaps 
mountaineers  (from  the  Persian  pari/ta  and  the  Sanscrit  ^>(y;'- 
vata,  "  a  mountain  "). 

§  11.  Herodotus  says  further  that,  when  Deioces  was  set- 
tled upon  the  throne,  he  required  the  people,  neglecting 
their  petty  towns,  to  build  the  single  great  city  of  Agbatana, 
or  Ecbatana."  It  consisted  of  a  great  citadel  inclosing  the 
royal  palace,  the  dwellings  of  the  people  being  outside  of 
the  walls  :  a  plan  Avhich  appears  to  have  been  usual  with 
the  Median  and  Persian  cities."  He  describes  the  walls  as 
"  of  great  size  and  strength,  rising  in  circles  one  within  the 
other.     The  fortification  is  so  planned  that  each  of  the  cir- 

38  Astyages,  which  seems  rather  a  title  than  the  proper  name  of  the  last  king  of 
Media,  is  in  the  native  tongue  Aj-dahak,  "  the  biting  snake."  Moses  of  Chorene  con- 
tirms  this  interpretation  (i.  29) :  "  Qnippe  vox  Astijages  in  nostra  lingua  draconem 
signiticat." 

39  Herod,  i.  101. 

•»o  The  mentiou  of  the  Magi  last,  in  close  connection  with  the  Budii,  who  probably 
represent  the  Turanian  natives,  has  been  thought  to  indicate  the  addition  of  these 
two  tribes  after  the  nation  was  constituted  (Rawliuson,  vol.  iii.  j).  1-27,  note). 

4'  The  meaning. of  the  name  is,  however,  very  doubtful.  We  have  Budim  in  East- 
ern Eniope. 

42  This  name  is  spelt  with  e  and  ce  in  the  second  syllable  almost  indifferently. 

43  Herod,  i.  9S.  His  'K-fjSd-ava  is  nearer  than  the  'EK/iarai/a  of  later  writers  to  the 
Hagmatdna  or  Ha<jmatAn  of  the  cuneiform  inscriptions,  a  name  which  Sir  Henry 
Rawlinson  regards  as  purely  Aryan,  and  as  signifying  "  tlip  place  of  assemblage." 
(Fiom  ham,  "  with ;"  gam,  "  to  go ;"  and  rtan,  "  a  place,"  the  whole  =  Lat.  com-i-thim.) 
Dropping  the  final  n,  we  get  the  Chaldee  form  '■'■Achmetha,  the  palace  that  is  in  the 
province^of  the  Medes  "  (Ezra  vi.  2).  The  details  of  the  building  of  the  walls  of  Ecba- 
tana  by  "  Arphaxad,"  in  the  book  of  Judith  (i.  1-4),  seem  to  have  been  derived  merely 
from  the  writer's  imagination.  This  book,  which  is  one  of  the  earliest  examples  of 
historical  fiction,  was  probably  written  by  an  Alexandrian  Jew  in  the  2d  century  i5.c. 

44  Herod,  i.  09  (init.).  This  corrects  the  frequent  misapprehension  of  the  descrip- 
tion in  the  preceding  chapter,  as  referring  to  the  city  instead  of  the  fortifications 
{-eixea,  C.  9S)  arouud  the  palace  (.Trepi  t;'<  c  ••■--oy  u'lKia,  c.  99). 


452  RISE  OF  THE  T.TEDI/.N  KINGDOM. 

clc-s  sliould  oil '.top  the  one  beyond  it  by  the  battlements 
only  (the  nature  of  the  ground,  wliich  is  a  gentle  hill,  favors 
this  arrangement  in  some  degree,  but  it  was  mainly  effected 
by  art),"^  the  Avliole  number  of  the  circles  being  seven:  with- 
in' the  last  are  contained  the  royal  palace  and  the  treasuries. 
The  greatest  of  the  walls  is  very  nearly  the  same  in  size  as 
the  inclosure  of  Athens.  Of  the//vs^  circle,  the  battlements 
are  lohite;  of  the  second^  black;  of  the  third  circle,  scarlet; 
of  the  fourth^  blue;  of  the  ffth,  orange:  of  all  these  circles 
the  battlements  are  colored  with  pigments,  but  the  battle- 
ments of  the  two  last  are  coated,  the  one  with  silver^  and  the 
other  with  goW' 

Xow,  in  all  except  the  order  of  the  colors  (which  Herodo- 
tus may  easily  have  transposed,  from  not  knowing  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  arrangement),  this  descriptio.j  answers  to  the 
seven  stages  of  the  Chaldsean  ziggurats.^''  It  clearly  points 
to  a  simitar  system  of  sidereal  worship;  and  if  there  really 
was  such  a  building  at  the  capital  of  Media,  it  confirms  the 
corruption  of  Zoroastrianism  by  that  system.  Nay,  more, 
the  description  furnishes  some  evidence  of  the  old  Sab»an 
religion  of  the  country,  even  if  Herodotus  be  only  repeat- 
ing a  tradition,  with  Avhich  his  informants  amused  him,  like 
those  of  similar  edifices  found  in  the  Persian  writers."'* 

In  this  case,  it  would  be  the  less  necessary  to  seek  for  a 
site  for  the  Agbatana  of  Herodotus  distinct  from  the  well- 
known  capital  of  Media  Magna.  But  Moses  of  Chorene  pos- 
itively identifies  "  the  second  Ecbatana,  the  seven-walleu 
city,"  with  Garazac  Shabasdan,  in  Azerbljan;  and  Sir  Hen- 
ry Rawlinson  has  adduced  strong  arguments  in  favor  of  this 

45  This  remark  seems  to  exclude  the  necessity  of  seeking?  for  a  conical  hill  as  the 
site,  which  must,  however,  have  been  a  hill  of  some  sort.  The  bearing  of  this  obser- 
vation on  the  question  of  a  twofold  Ecbafnna  will  be  presently  apparent. 

•18  Ilerod.  i.  '.)8.  The  words  may  mean  either  silvered  and  gilt  or  covered  with  j^lat^s 
of  the  precious  rnetals,  as  was  the  case  with  the  temple  at  Borsippa.  "The  sober 
Polybius  relates  that  at  the  southern  A,Lr''at;ina,  the  capital  of  Media  Magna,  the  en- 
tire Avood-work  of  the  royal  palace,  including  beams,  ceilings,  and  pillars,  was  covered 
with  plates  either  of  gold  or  silver,  and  that  the  whole  building  was  roofed  with  silver 
:.iles.  The  temple  of  Anaitis  was  adorned  in  a  similar  way  (Polyb.  x.  27,  §§  10-1'2). 
Consequently,  though  Darius,  when  he  retreated  before  Alexander,  carried  ofi'  from 
Media  gold  "and  silver  to  the  amount  of  TOOO  talents  (more  than  £1,700,000),  and 
though  the  town  was  largely  plundered  by  the  soldiers  of  Alexander  and  Selencus 
Nicator,  there  still  remained  tiles  and  plating  enough  to  produce  to  Antiochus  the 
Great  on  his  occupation  of  the  plrce  a  sum  of  very  nearly  4(iOO  talents,  or  £975,000 
sterling  !  (See  Arriau.  ''Exp.  Alex.'  iii.  19  ;  Polyb.  i.'c.)."— Eawliuson,  note  to  "  Her- 
od." I.  c. 

47  See  chap.  xvi.  §  5. 

48  ""^hus  Nizami,  in  his  poem  of  the  '  Ileft  Peiher,'  describes  a  seven-bodied  palace, 
built  by  Bahram  Gur,  nearly  in  the  same  terms  as  Herodotus.  The  i)alace  dedicated 
to  Saturn,  he  oays,  was  black;  that  of  Jupiter,  oraHgre,  or,  more  strictly,  sandal-wood 
color  {Samlali) ;' of  Mars,  scarlet ;  of  the  Sun,  aohh-n;  of  Venus,  wldte;  of  Mercury, 
azui-e ;  and  of  the  moon,  green-w  hue  which  is  still  aijplied  by  the  Orientals  to  silver.' 
("Journal  of  Geog.  Soc."  vol.  x.  pt.  i.  p.  127.) 


DEIOCES.  453 

site  (now  called  Takhti-Sole'lmdn)  for  a  northern  Ecbatana, 
the  special  capital  of  Media  Atropatene." 

The  native  name  of  the  historical  capital,  the  Ecbatana  of 
all  writers  later  than  Herodotus,  is  still  preserved  in  the 
modern  Ilani.adan.  Its  situation  in  a  grassy  and  wooded 
plain,  watered  by  streams  flowing  from  3[t.  Elicend^  corre- 
sponds to  the  site  of  Ecbatana  as  described  by  the  ancients, 
at  the  foot  of  Mt.  Orontes,  a  little  to  the  east  of  the  Zagrus 
range,  in  the  southern  part  of  Media  Magna.  ^^  It  a]:)pears  to 
have  been  an  unwalled  city — for  it  yielded  without  resist- 
ance to  Cyrus,  to  Alexander,  and  to  Antiochus  the  Great — 
with  a  citadel,  and  a  magnificent  palace,  which  tradition  (as 
usual)  ascribed  to  Semiramis.^^  Polybius  states  the  circum- 
ference of  the  palace  at  seven  stadia,  or  rather  more  than 
four-fifths  of  an  English  mile."" 

§  12.  Herodotus  carries  out  his  ideal  picture  of  the  Median 
despot  in  a  mode  of  life  and  government  such  as  Diodorus 
ascribes  to  Xinyas  and  his  successors.  "Deioces  allowed 
no  one  to  have  direct  access  to  the  person  of  the  king,  but 
made  all  communication  pass  through  the  hands  of  messen- 
gers, and  forbade  the  king  to  be  seen  by  any  of  his  subjects. 
This  ceremonial,  of  which  he  Avas  the  first  inventor,  Deioces 
established  for  his  own  security,  fearing  that  his  compeers, 
Avho  were  brought  up  together  with  him,  and  were  of  as 
good  family  as  he,  and  no  Avhit  inferior  to  him  in  manly 
qualities,  would  be  pained  at  the  sight,  and  would  theiefore 
be  likely  to  conspire  against  him;  whereas,  if  they  did  not 
see  him,  they  would  think  him  quite  a  diiferent  sort  of  being 
from  themselves."^^  In  the  seclusion  of  his  palace,  howevei', 
he  continued  to  administer  justice  with  the  same  strictness 
that  had  Avon  his  crown ;  the  causes  being  stated,  and  his 
decisions  given,  in  writing  ;  and  a  constant  surveillance  be- 
ing kept  up  throughout  his  dominions  by  spies  and  eaves- 
droppers. °*  Not  only  is  this  great  organizer  of  a  new  king- 
dom unknown  to  the  Assyrian  annals,  but  in  the  very  midst 
of  his  alleged  reign  (b.c.  709-656)  we  find  Esar-haddou  (about 
B.C.  670)  reducing  the  "more  distant  Medes,"  who  are  under 
the  government  of  their  petty  chiefs. 

*9  "Journal  of  the  Geog.  Soc."  vol.  x.  pt.  i.  art.  1 ;  Rawlinsou's  "Herod."  ad  lo-. ; 
and  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iii.  pp.  25-2S  (where  the  site  and  the  niins  on  it  are  fully 
described).    For  a  plan  of  the  site,  see  "  Student's  Anc.  Geog."  p.  230. 

50  Polyb.  X.  27  ;  Diod.  Sic.  ii.  13,  §  16:  This  writer  gives  a  circuit  of  250  stades=25 
geographical  miles  (probably  a  considerable  exaggeration) ;  comp.  Eratoslh.  ap. 
Strab.  ii.  p.  79;  Arrian.  "Exp.  Alex."  iii.  19,  20;  PHu.  "H.  N."  vi.  14  and  26;  Isid. 
"  Mans.  Par!h."  p.  6,  in  Hudson's  "  Geog.  Min."  For  a  description  of  the  site  (which 
has  not  vet  been  explored),  and  what  little  is  known  of  the  citv,  see  Eawlinson,  rol. 
iii.  pp.  16-24.  51  Diod.  Sic.  ii.  13,  §  G.  "  Polyb.  x.  29,  §  19. 

^3  Herod,  i.  09.  &i  Herod,  i.  100. 


454  RISE  OF  THE  MEDIAN  KINGDOM. 

§  13.  After  a  reign  of  53  years — Herodotus  proceeds — De- 
ioces  was  succeeded  by  bis  son  Phraortes,  wbo  began  to 
extend  tbe  Median  dominion  by  conquering  tlie  Persians, 
and  then  overran  Asia,  province  after  province.  At  last  he 
attacked  the  Assyrians  of  Xineveh,  who  were  now  left  alone 
by  the  revolt  and  desertion  of  their  allies,  though  their  in- 
ternal condition  was  as  flourishing  as  ever.  Phraortes  per- 
ished in  this  expedition,  with  the  greatest  part  of  his  army, 
after  reigning  over  the  Medes  22  years." 

Phi-aortes  is  a  genuine  proper  name,  in  old  Persian  Fra- 
vartish^  signifying  a  guardian  or  iwotector f"  a  sense  which 
might  well  suit  the  traditional  founder  of  the  nation's  great- 
ness. But  we  shall  see  in  a  moment  that  that  honor  rather 
belongs  to  Cyaxares :  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  the 
alleged  conquest  of  the  Persians  by  Phraortes,  and  his  vio- 
lent death,  may  have  been  transposed  by  the  vanity  of  a  na- 
tional annalist  from  the  attempt  of  a  Mede  of  the  same 
name,  who  headed  a  rebellion  against  Darius  the  son  of 
Hystaspes,  which  that  king  thus  describes  :  "A  man  named 
Phraortes,  a  Mede,  rose  up.  To  the  state  of  Media  thus  he 
said — '  I  am  Xathrites,  of  the  race  of  Cyaxares!'  Then  the 
Median  troops  who  were  at  home  revolted  from  me.  They 
went  over  to  that  Phraortes.  He  became  kinff  of  Media!''^'' 
In  subsequent  paragi-aphs,  Darius  relates  the  victories  gain- 
ed first  by  his  general, "'*  and  then  by  himself,"^  over  the 
pretender  "  who  was  called  king  of  Media^^^^''  and  the  flight 
of  Phraortes  to  Phages,  where  he  was  taken  prisoner,  and, 
says  Darius,  "  bi'ought  before  me.  I  cut  off  his  nose  and  his 
ears  and  his  tongue,  and  I  led  him  away  captive.  He  was 
kept  chained  at  my  door;  all  the  kingdom  beheld  him.  Af- 
terwards I  crucified  him  at  Agbatana.  And  the  men  who 
were  his  chief  followers,  1  slew  within  the  citadel  of  Agbata- 
na."" Among  the  countries  wliich  declarcMl  in  lavor  of 
Phraortes  were  Parthia  and  Hyrcania,  which  are  included 
in  the  conquests  ascribed  to  tlie  Phraortes  of  Herodotus. 

Such  a  transposition  would  be  the  more  easily  made  if 
Phraortes  was  also  the  name  of  the  father  of  Cyaxares  ;  and 

^"•>  i!.c.  656-034,  according  to  the  chronology  of  Herodotus. 

^^  Professor  Rawlinson  (following  Hang)  states  that  the  name  "  seems  to  be  a  mere 
variant  of  the  word  which  appears  in  the  Zeudavesta  asfravashi,  and  designates  each 
man's  tutelary  genius.  (These  genii  are  called  fravardm  in  the  Pehlevi,  and  fruhars 
in  the  modern  Persian.)  The  derivation  is  certainly  from  fra  —  irpo-,  and  probably 
from  a  root  akin  to  the  German  wahren,  French  qnrdcr,  English,  watch,  tvard,  etc." 
—"Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iii.  p.  144.  The  whole  of  his  "Analysis  of  Median  Names" 
is  Avorthy  of  attentive  perusal. 

■'''  Behistun  Inscription,  col.  ii.  par.  5,  0.  The  circumstances,  that  this  Phraortes 
changed  his  name  to  Xathrites,  and  claimed  descent  from  Cyaxarefi,  are  strong  argu- 
ments that  the  royal  line  of  Media  began  from  Cyaxares,  and  that  there  had  not  been 
a  kimj  named  Phraortes.  ^«  Par.  0.  ^'■>  Par,  12.  ^"  Ibid.  *i  Par,  13. 


CYAXARES.  4o.7 

this  seems  highly  probable,  from  the  custom  of  announcing 
the  name  of  a  king's  father  in  public  documents.  In  this 
case,  though  Pliraortes  were  not  a  king  of  Media,  his  Asiatic 
conquests  and  collision  with  Assyria  might  represent  actual 
events.  The  historical  empire  of  Media  starts  into  such  sud- 
den existence  under  Cyaxares  as  to  give  great  countenance 
to  the  theory  of  a  fresh  migration  of  Aryans  into  the  Zagrus 
region,  displacing  the  Scythian  inhabitants,  and  conquerino-, 
as'^Herodotus  says,  "  nation  after  nation,"  till  they  came  in 
contact  with  Assyria. 

The  splendid  and  warlike  Asshur-bani-pal  had  been  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son,  the  last  king  of  Nineveh  (b.c.  647).'"  But 
tradition  inakes  even  this  feeble  prince  show  courage  when 
attacked,  and,  as  Herodotus  says,  the  resources  of  his  empire 
were  still  great.  His  disciplined  troops  and  war-chariots 
proved  too  powerful  for  the  mountaineers  wlien  they  came 
down  into  the  plains  :  the  Medes  were  repulsed,  with  the 
loss  of  one  of  their  leaders,  Phraort^s  :  and  his  son,  Cyaxares, 
withdrew  into  Media,  and  there  pursued  the  work,  ascribed 
to  him  by  Herodotus,  of  converting  his  warlike  hordes  into 
a  disciplined  army:  "Of  him  it  is  reported  that  he  was  still 
more  warlike  than  any  of  his  ancestors,  and  that  he  was  the 
lirst  who  gave  organization  to  an  Asiatic  army,  dividing  the 
troops  into  companies,  and  forming  distinct  bodies  of  tlie 
spearmen,  the  archers,  and  the  cavalry,  who  before  his  time 
liad  been  mingled  in  one  mass,  and  confused  together.''" 
Such  an  organization  of  his  army  would  naturally  involve 
the  full  establishment  of  his  royal  authority,  for  the  Median 
kingdom  was  essentially  military. 

§  U.  That  Cyaxares  {^  Wvak/is/uitaraY*  was  the  true 
founder  of  the  Median  kingdom,  may  be  inferred  from  his  be- 
ing claimed  as  the  ancestor  of  tlie  royal  race,  not  only  (as  we 
have  seen)  by  the  pretender  Phraortes,  but  also  by  Chltrata- 
k/inia,  who  led  a  rebellion  of  Sagartia  against  Darius,  saying, 
"  I  am  the  king  of  Sagartia,  of  the  race  of  Cyaxares.""'  And 
even  the  Greek  writers  confirm  this  view,  notwithstanding 
their  lists  of  earlier  kings.  The  oldest  and  most  remarkable 
testimony  is  that  of  ^schylus,  who  may  have  received  fi-om 
Persian  or  Median  prisoners,  during  the  invasion  of  Greece, 

«2  Corap.  c.  xiv.  §§  15,  IG.  «3  Herod,  i.  103. 

s-i  "  Qiaxares,  the  Persian  form  of  which  was  ' Uvakhshatara  (Behistuu  Inscr.  col.  ii. 
par.  5,  §  4),  seems  to  he  formed  from  the  two  elements,  '«  or  hti  (Grk.  el),  '  well,' 
'good,'  and  akhsha  (Zend  arsna),  'the  eye,' which  is  the  final  element  of  the  name 
Cijavarsna  in  the  Zendavesta— C//a™rsn«  is  'dark-eyed;'  'Uv-akhsha  '{=  Zend  Hiiv- 
arsna)  would  be  'beautiful-eyed.'  ' Umkhshalara  appears  to  he  the  comparative  of 
this  adjective,  and  v.^ould  mean  'more  heautiful-eyed '  (than  others)."— Rawlinson, 
"  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iii.  p.  141. 

«5  Behistun  Inscr.  col.  ii.  par.  14.  Rawlinson  considers  this  is  some  indication  that 
Engartia  (in  Khnra»sa7i)  was  the  original  country  of  Cyaxares. 


450 


RISE  OF  THE  MEDIAN  KINGDOM. 


the  statement  which  he  puts  into  the  moiitii  of  Darius,  that 
~"  The /r.s'Ucader  of  our  host  was  a  Mede  ;  but  another, 
his  son,  completed  this  work;  but  the  third  from  him  was 
Cyrus :"  tlie  other  two  being  manifestly  Astyages,  the  pred- 
ecessor of  Cyrus,  and  Cyaxares  the  father  of  Astyages.'' 
Perhaps  even"^  Diodorus  is  not  altogether  blundering  when 
he  says  that,  "  according  to  Herodotus,  Cyaxares  founded 
the  dynasty  of  Median  kings ;""  for  we  have  seen  that  He- 
rodotus does  ascribe  to  Cyaxares  the  organization  of  the  no- 
mad host  of  Media  into  the  military  array. 

§  15.  At  all  events,  Cyaxares,  whose  accession  is  placed 
by  Herodotus  in  b.c.  634,  was  ihe  first  Median  king  whose 
history  is  really  known,  and  the  real  founder  (as  is  implied 
in  the  statement  quoted  from  ^Eschylus)  of  the  Medo-Per- 
sian  KuKjdom.  We  say  "  Medo-Persian,"  rather  than 
"  Median,"'  because,  from  the  history  of  the  following  reign, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Persians  were  already  close- 
ly connected  with  the  Medes.  Whether  their  secondary  po- 
sition in  the  alliance  was  due  to  a  conquest,  such  as  Herodo- 
tus ascribes  to  Pliraortes,  or  simply  the  result  of  their  nu- 
merical inferiority,  is  a  question  liardly  to  be  decided.  All 
that  we  really  know  on  this  point  is  summed  up  in  the 
prophet  Daniel's  impersonation  of  the  Medo-Persian  king- 
dom as  a  powerful  "ram  which  had  tv:o  horns :  and  the  two 
horns  were  hio-h  ;  but  one  was  liigher  than  the  other,  and  the 
higher  came  vp  last.  I  saw  the  ram  pushing  westward,  and 
northward,  and  southward;  so  that  no  beasts  might  stand  be- 
fore him,  neither  was  there  any  that  could  deliver  out  of  his 
liand  ;  but  he  did  according  to  his  will,  and  became  great.""^ 

In  order  to  follow^  the  course  of  these  conquests,  we  must 
now  look  "westward"  and  "northward"  to  the  nations  witb 
which  the  Medes  lirst  came  into  contact  under  Cyaxares. 

«•  -^sch.  "  Per^re,"  w.  TGl-4.  ^'  Diod.  ii.  32.  "^  Dau.  viii.  D,  4 


Sculptures  on  the  Rock  of  Behistun. 


Mous  Argieus  in  Cappadocia, 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    NATIOXS   OF  ASIA    MINOR. THE    TABLE-LAND    AXD    NORTH 

COAST. 

§  1.  Importance  of  Asia  Minor  in  ancient  history.  §  2.  Its  geographical  stnici-ure. 
§  3.  Connection  of  its  mountain-system  with  Asia  and  Europe.  The  central  table- 
laud.  The  Taurus.  The  northern  range.  The  Anti-Taurus.  The  eastern  bound- 
ary. §  4.  Lakes  and  rivers.  §  5.  Climate  and  productions.  §  0.  Dimensions  of 
Asia  Minor.  Cyprus.  §  7.  Great  mixture  of  populations.  Turanians:  The  Moschi 
and  TibareDi.  §8.  The  CArPAnociANs.  AVhy  called  Syrians.  Probably  an  Aryan 
race.  §  9.  Extent  of  Cappadocia.  Other  nations  within  its  limits.  The  Chahbes. 
The  Matieni  Cilicians  in  Cappadocia  according  to  Herodotus.  §  10.  The  Phuvg- 
lANS.  Their  great  antiquity.  Likeness  of  their  language  to  Greek.  §  11.  They 
probably  belonged  to  an  early  Aryan  migration  from  the  east.  Connection  with 
the  old  inhabitants  of  Thrace,  etc.  §  12.  Greek  traditions  about  the  Phrygians. 
§  13.  The  Pelasgians  of  Asia  Minor:  their  connection  with  those  of  Europe. 
§  14.  Remains  of  Phrygian  architecture.  §  15.  The  Phrygian  religion.  §  16.  The 
Phrygians  pressed  back  into  Asia  Minor  by  the  Thraciaus.  §  17.  TuRAcrA^s  in 
Asia  Minor.  The  Thyui  and  Bithyni.  §  IS.  The  Paphlagoxians— probably  akin 
to  the  Cappadocians.  §  10.  Narrow  limits  of  Phrygia  in  historic  times.  Its  cities. 
§  20.  The  Mysians— pi-obably  connected  with  the  Phrygians. 


Mediterranean,  ns  if  to  form  a  bridge  between  Asia 


§  1.  Asia  Minor/  or  Lesser  Asia,  is  the  great  peninsula, 
which  runs  out  westward  between  the  Bhiek  Sea  and  the 

nd  En- 

'  Respecting  the  origin  and  application  of  the  name,  see  the  ''Stndent'u  Ancient 
Geography,"  p.  S4.  The  older  name  was  Loxver  Ami,  as  distinguished  from  Upprr 
^.s?«,  the  boundary  being  the  Halys.  German  writers  call  it  Fore-Asia  {I'orderasien), 
and  the  rest  of  the  continent //i^iifer-.-lsm  {Hinterasien). 

20 


458  'i^HE  NATIONS  01   ASIA  MINOR. 

rope,  along  which  tlie  teeming  races  of  the  one  continent 
might  find  a  passage  to  the  other,  and,  when  prepared  by 
the  civilization  brought  to  them  by  the  same  route,  might 
return  to  reconquer  their  primeval  seats.  It  w^as  by  this 
way  that  the  largest  portion  of  the  races  which  peopled  the 
south  of  Europe  made  enti'ance  to  their  new  abode.  From 
the  splendid  harbors  of  the  Western  coast,  and  by  the  step- 
ping-stones of  the  Archipelago,  they  received  the  commerce 
of  Asia,  with  its  wealth  and  civilizing  power.  When,  by  a 
reflex  movement,  large  bodies  of  the  Greeks  settled  on  those 
western  shores,  it  was  there  that  they  first  cultivated,  under 
Asiatic  influences,  commerce  and  art,  philosophy  and  litera- 
ture. The  Asiatic  Greeks  of  Miletus  and  Phoesea  traded 
and  founded  colonies  in  the  west  of  the  Mediterranean.  The 
model  of  all  epic  poetry  took  its  subject  from  a  city  in  the 
north-western  corner  of  the  peninsula,  and  was  sung  by  an 
Asiatic  Greek.'  The  heroic  and  tender  poetry  of  the  lyre 
and  flute  sprang  up  in  the  islands  of  zEolis  and  Ionia ;  and 
its  music  was  borrowed,  in  great  part,  from  Lydia  and 
Phrvo'ia.  The  earliest  Greek  annalists  were  natives  of  Asia 
Minor,  and  the  "  father  of  history  "  united  the  vigorous  blood 
of  her  Dorian  settlers  with  the  sweetness  of  the  Ionian 
tongue.  The  earliest  school  of  Greek  philosophy,  and  some 
of  the  earliest  triumphs  of  Greek  architecture,  had  their 
home  on  the  same  shores.  And,  while  the  westei-n  coast 
was  thus  linked  with  Greece,  the  southern  looks  across  the 
Avaters  of  the  Levant  to  Syria  and  Egypt ;  and  the  northern 
across  the  Euxine  to  the  plains  of  southern  Russia,  receiving 
various  influences  from  the  former,  and  conveying  commerce 
and  colonies  to  the  latter;  while  the  three  narrow^  straits, 
vvhich  on  this  side  divide  Europe  from  Asia,  Avere,  as  the 
name  of  two  of  them  imports,  but  fords  or  ferries^  easily 
crossed  by  migrating  or  warlike  hosts.^ 

§  2.  Thus  placed  between  the  two  continents,  Asia  Minor 
is,  in  some  respects,  a  miniatui-e  of  both.  Its  structure,  like 
that  of  Asia,  is  a  central  table-land,  sinking  down  to  the  sea 
on  the  north  and  south,  and  throwing  out  other  peninsulas 
to  the  west.  These  projections,  with  the  continuous  sea 
that  washes  its  northern,  w-estern,  and  southern  shores,  con- 
stitute its  likeness  to  Europe:   while  it  resembles  both  conti- 

2  Not  lo  trouble  ourselves  with  saving  clauses  about  the  origin  of  the  Homeric 
poems,  the  statement  is  certainly  true  of  their  chief  author,  whose  name  is  not  likely 
to  be  changed  till  the  study  of  classical  literature  is  abandoned.  Let  us  hope,  in  spite 
of  certain  tendencies  of  our  age,  that  the  latter  eveutmay  notbe  the  lirst  to  happen. 

*  The  Greek  Bosjxjms  (abominably  corrupted  into  the  ever-to-be-avoided  form  of 
Bos2)h.orns)  is  the  precise  etymological  equivalent  of  Ox-ford,  and  was  probably  de- 
rived from  the  custom  of  feri-ying  over  cattle  from  one  shore  to  the  other,  when  both 
were  possessed  by  the  same  tribes,  according  to  the  state  of  the  pastures. 


MOUNTAIN-SYSTEM.  4r,9 

nents  in  that  general  formation,  by  wliich  the  highest  mount- 
ain ranges  skirt  the  southern  shores,  and  the  surface  has  a 
general  slope  towards  the  north.  Hence  its  largest  rivers, 
as  the  Halys  and  Sangarius,  rising  in  the  central  table-land, 
traverse  a  large  portion  of  its  surface  to  reach  tlie  Euxine  ; 
Avliile  those  in  the  south,  except  tlie  few  that  iind  a  passage 
thi-ough  the  chain  of  Taurus,  run  in  a  brief  and  rapid  course 
from  its  southern  chain. 

§  3.  The  skeleton  of  the  whole  peninsula  is  formed  by  a 
westerly  prolongation  of  the  highlandvS  and  mountain  chains 
of  Armenia,  which  are  again  continued  eastward  in  the  ta- 
ble-land of  Iran.  This  fact  has  an  historical  imj)ortance,  as 
showing  tlie  continuity  of  the  liighland  belt  from  Media  by 
Armenia  to  Asia  Minor,  surrounding  the  plain  of  Mesopota- 
mia ;  so  that  tribes  might  migrate  and  armies  march  over 
the  former,  without  descending  into  the  latter.  The  great 
Greek  geographer,  Strabo,  goes  so  far  as  to  connect  the 
mountain-chains  which  skirt  the  northern  and  southern 
shores  of  the  peninsula  with  those  which  form  the  north 
and  south  edges  of  the  table-land  of  Iran.* 

This  connection  is  perfectly  clear  in  the  southern  range — 
the  famous  chain  of  Taurus^ — which  passes  westward  from 
its  junction  with  Mount  Zagrus,  in  Armenia,  through  the 
Syrian  district  of  Commagene,  to  the  south-western  promon- 
tories of  Caria.  It  reaches  a  general  elevation  of  10,000  feet. 
Its  course  is  pretty  well  represented  by  the  waving  line  of 
the  southern  coast,  the  mountains  retiring,  more  or  less,  to 
leave  the  rich  plain  of  Eastern  Cilicia  and  the  narrower  ri- 
viera  of  Pamphylia,  and  again  throwing  out  bold  terraces  to 
form  the  convex  shore  of  IVacheia  (the  "  rougli  land")  in 
Western  Cilicin,  and  the  great  projection  ofLycia.  Beyond 
its  termination  on  the  continent,  the  chain  may  be  traced  to 
the  south-west  by  the  islands  of  Rhodes,  Carpathus,  and 
Crete,  even  to  the  south-eastern  headland  of  Laconia,  and  to 
the  west  by  the  Sporades  and  Cyclades  to  Attica  and  Euboea. 
Just  above  (and  in  fact  forming)  the  angle  between  Cilicia 
and  Syria,  the  Taurus  throws  off  the  chain  of  Amanus  to  the 
south,  i-ound  the  Gulf  of  Issus,  which  runs  far  up  into  the 
fork.  The  passes  or  "Gates"  of  "Issus"  and  "Amanus" 
furnish  a  passage  from  Syria  to  Asia  Minor,  which  was  doubt- 
less as  important  in  primeval  migrations  as  it  was  famous 
for  the  march  of  later  armies.  Hence  it  is  that  the  prevail- 
ing population  of  the  southern  coast  was  Semitic. 

<  See  the  Skeleton  Map  of  the  Mouutaiu  Ranges,  Plateaux,  and  Plains  of  Asia,  as 
known  to  the  Ancients,  in  the  "Stiulent's  Ancient  Geography,"]).  73. 
^  The  name  is  probably  derived  from  the  Aramaic  Tur,  "height." 


Uii)  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MIX(3K. 

The  northern  range  proceeds  from  that  part  of  the  Arme- 
nian mountains  at  which  they  are  connected  with  the  central 
part  of  the  Caucasus;  and,  sweeping  round  the  south-eastern 
curve  of  the  Black  Sea  (the  ancient  Euxine,  or  simply  Pon- 
tus, "  sea"),  where  it  was  called  the  Moschici  Montes,  skirts 
its  southern  shore  in  a  series  of  parallel  ranges,  called  Pary- 
adres  in  the  east,  Olgassys  in  the  centre,  and  the  Mysian 
Olympus  in  the  west.  The  last  forks  into  two  chains,  in- 
closing the  Propontus  {ASea  of  Jlamora)  on  the  north  and 
south;  the  northern  severed  only  by  the  Bosporus  from  the 
chain  of  Hamus,  the  latter  ending  with  Ida  in  the  Troad, 
and  prolonged  across  the  Hellespont  and  the  ^gean  by  the 
Chersonese  and  the  islands  of  the  Thracian  Sea. 

The  central  table-land,  su})ported  by  these  two  chains, 
breaks  into  the  ranges  which  form  the  bold  promontories  and 
long  peninsulas  of  the  western  coasts,  with  the  neighboring 
large  islands  of  Lesbos,  Chios,  and  Samos;  and  between 
these  ranges  lie  the  rich  valleys  of  the  rivers  whicli  How 
westward  from  the  table-land,  the  Hermus  and  M.Tander. 
and  between  them  the  smaller  Cayster.  The  eastern  part 
of  the  table-land  is  intersected  diagonally  by  the  Anti-Tau- 
rus mountains,  which  first  strike  off  from  the  Taurus  between 
^o"  and  36^  E.  long,  nearly  northward  as  far  as  Mons  Ar- 
gieus  (the  "  white  mountain,"  now  Argish  TJagh).  This  vol- 
canic mountain,  which  stands  detached  to  the  west  of  the 
chain,  forms  the  culminating  point  of  the  whole  peninsula. 
From  its  snow-capped  summit,  which  is  13,000  feet  high, 
Strabo  states  that  both  the  Euxine  and  the  Bay  of  Issus 
could  be  seen  on  a  clear  day.  Hamilton"  -who  reached  the 
highest  attainable  point,  a  ridge,  "above  which  is  ainass  of 
rock,  with  steep  perpendicular  sides,  rising  to  the  height  of 
20  or  25  ii^et"— was  not  able,  from  the  state  ot  the  weather, 
to  put  Strabo's  statement  to  the  proof;  but  he  doubts  if  the 
two  seas  can  be  seen,  on  account  of  the  high  mountains 
which  intervene  to  the  north  and  south.  At  its  northern 
foot  stood  Mazaca,  the  capital  of  Cappadocia,  famous  in  his- 
torv  under  its  later  name  of  Cssarea.  From  about  this 
point  the  chain  branches  into  two  :  the  Anti-Taurus,  turning 
eastvv-ard  to  the  Euph. rates,  which  severs  it  from  the  Arme- 
nian mountains  of  Sophene  ;  while  the  northern  branch,  un- 
der the  name  of  Scydisses,  pursues  a  north-easterly  course  to 
join  the  mountain-diain  of  the  north  coast  in  north-western 
Armenia. 

The  country  inclosed  between  the  two  chains  of  the  Anti- 
Taurus  system,  though  sometimes  reckoned  to  Cappadocia, 

6  '•  Researches  in  Asia  Minor,"  vol-  ii.  p.  274. 


LAKES  AND  KIVEIIS.  4Gi 

was  properly  called  Armenia  Minor ;  and  niuler  that  name 
it  is  famous  in  the  wars  of  Rome  with  Mithridates  and  Ti- 
granes.  The  boundary  of  Asia  Minor  on  this  side  is,  in  fact, 
somewhat  indefinite :  that  usually  accepted  begins  where 
Amanus  comes  close  to  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Is- 
sus  (at  the  pass  of  the  "Syrian  Gates"),  and  follows  the 
crests  of  Amanus  and  Taurus  to  the  Euphrates,  which  forms 
the  boundary  on  the  side  of  Armenia,  from  about  30^  20'  to 
nearly  40°  N.  lat.,  whence  the  boundary  continued  along 
Anti-Taurus  and  the  Moschici  Mountains  to  the  river  Phasis 
(Ew)t),  which  divided  Asia  Minor  from  Colchis.  It  is  im- 
portant to  observe  that  at  this  north-eastern  extremity  (as 
at  the  south-eastern,  round  the  Gulf  of  Issus),  the  mountains 
leave  a  passage  round  the  coast  of  the  Euxine,  by  which 
the  tribes  bey'ond  its  northern  shores  could  make  their  way 
into  Asia  Minor. 

§  4.  Besides  the  three  great  ranges  which  thus  support  the 
table-land  on  the  north^  the  south,  and  the  east,  it  is  inter- 
sected by  many  others;  and  the  drainage  of  the  extensive 
plains  between' them  gathers  into  large  lakes,  for  the  most 
part  strongly  impregnated  with  salt.  The  Tatta  Palus  (Tifz 
Gdl),in  the 'centre  of  the  plateau,  on  the  borders  of  Phrygia 
and  Cappadocia,  is  75  miles  in  circumference,  and  2500  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  slope  of  the  table-land  from 
east  to  west,  as  well  as' from  north  to  south,  combines  with 
the  vai-ied  course  of  its  intersecting  ranges  to  make  its  riv- 
ers singularly  circuitous.  Thus  the  Halys  {Kixil  Tnnak)— 
which  demands  our  especial  notice  as  a  great  ethnic  and  his- 
toric boundary— rises  in  the  N.E.  of  the  peninsula,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  M.  Scydisses,  and  flows  W.8.W  parallel 
to  the  chain  of  Anti-Taurus  and  past  the  northern  foot  of 
M.  Arg?eus,  as  far  south  as  39°  lat.,  and  goes  on  as  if  to  fall 
into  the  Tatta  Palus ;  but  here  a  cross-chain  turns  it  to  the 
north,  as  for  as  the  southern  slopes  of  Olympus,  which  again 
guide  it  to  the  north-east,  till,  finding  a  circuitous  passage 
through  this  (the  Kush  iJagh),  and  the  parallel  chain  of  M. 
Orgassys  {Al  Goz  Dagh),  it  falls  into  the  Euxine  in  36°  E. 
long.,  liaving  risen  about  the  longitude  of  40°,  and  reached 
as  far  west  as  34^°.  The  part  of  the  table-land  which  it 
/irst  intersects  and  then  encircles, forms  the  modern  province 
of  Ruyaili.  The  western  part  of  the  peninsula,  Avith  tlie 
\vhole  northeni  sea-board,  is  now  called  Anadoll  (from  the 
later  Greek  Anatolia,  "the  East");  and  the  south-eastern 
part  forms  the  province  of  Karaman. 

§  5.  The  climate  and  productions  of  Asia  Minor  have  the 
varietv  to  be  expected  iVom  its  physical  character.     The  ah 


462  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

luvial  plains  of  the  rivers  are  very  fertile,  especially  those  of 
Cilicia,  and  of  the  western  valleys  which  open  to  the  ^gean. 
These  extensive  plains  are  remarkable  for  their  flatness,  and 
for  the  suddenness  with  which  the  mountains  rise  up  from 
their  surface,  "like  islands  out  of  the  ocean.'"  They  are 
sheltered  from  the  severe  cold  of  the  upper  regions,  and  are 
for  the  most  part  well  watered.  The  most  extensive  of 
these  alluvial  plains  is  in  the  eastern  part  of  Cilicia,  hence 
designated  Campestris,  wliich  is  formed  by  the  rivers  Cyd- 
nus,  Sarus,  and  Pyramus.  Of  a  similar  character  are  the 
lands  which  surround  many  of  the  lakes  in  the  interior. 
These  having  at  one  period  occupied  larger  basins  than  at 
present,  the  dry  margins  are  consequently  beds  of  rich  al- 
luvial soil.  Fertile  plains  of  a  different  class  are  found  oc^ 
casionally  on  tlie  sea-coast :  of  these,  that  of  Attalia,  on  the 
southern\'oast,  was  the  most  extensive.  The  hills  of  the 
western  district  are  clothed  with  shrubs  and  wood,  and  in 
some  cases  cultivated  to  their  very  summits.  The  climate 
of  the  maritime  region  is  fine,  but  the  heat  is  sometimes  ex- 
cessive. 

The  western  portion  of  the  central  plateau  consists  of  ex- 
tensive barren  plains,  traversed  by  deep  gullies,  which  the 
streams  have  worked  out  for  themselves.  The  southern 
part  is  subdivided  into  numerous  portions  by  ranges  of  con- 
siderable height;  in  the  northern  part  the  hills  are  of  less 
height,  and  consequently  the  plains  present  a  more  unbroken 
appearance.  The  same  peculiarity  which  we  have  already 
noted  in  regard  to  the  alluvial  plains  also  characterizes  the 
upper  plain's  ;  "  they  extend  without  any  previous  slope  to 
the  foot  of  the  mountains,  which  rise  from  them  like  lofty 
islands  out  of  the  surface  of  the  ocean.'"  The  climate  of  the 
central  district  is  severe,  the  loftier  hills  being  tipped  with 
snow  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  But  it  is  almost 
a  champaign  country  when  compared  witli  the  ruggedness 
of  Armenia.  Its  summer  climate  was  delightful;  and  its 
broad  and  w^ell-watered  plains  furnished  the  best  possible 
pasturage  for  sheep,  and  bore  excellent  crops  of  wheat. 

The  northern  district  along  the  shores  of  the  Euxine,  from 
the  Iris  to  the  Sangarius,  is  fertile,  the  hills  being  of  no  great 
elevation  ;  on  either  side  of  these  limits  the  country  is  too 
mountainous  to  admit  of  much  cultivation.  These  shores 
were  remarkable  for  their  fine  timber,  including  the  noble 
Oriental  plane  ;  among  their  numerous  fruits,  the  cherry  still 
preserves  the  name  of  Cerasus  in  Pontus  ;  and  the  ^^Ac^cY^rt^? 
bears  witness  to  its  native  home  upon  the  Phasis. 

'  Fellowes,  "  Asia  Minor,"  p  26.  «  Leake's  "Asia  Minor,"  p.  95. 


DIMENSIONS  OF  CYPRUS.  463 

§  6.  Th(3  average  length  of  the  peninsula  may  be  estimated 
at  600  miles;  the  southern  coast  being  just  500,  and  the 
northern  more  ihan  800  :  it  lies  between  the  meridian  of 
26°  E.  long,  and  those  of  36°,  on  the  south  coast,  and  4U° 
on  the  north  coast.  Its  greatest  breadtli,  from  the  promon- 
tory of  Septe  (west  of  Sinope)  to  that  of  Anemurium  (oppo- 
site to  Cyprus),  lies  almost  exactly  between  the  parallels  of 
36°  and  42°  N.  lat.,  and  is  therefore  360  geographical  miles:' 
the  average  breadth  may  be  estimated'at  300  miles.  Tlie 
whole  forms  an  irregular  rectangle,  except  that  the  eastern 
side  has  a  north-eastern  slope  from  the  Gulf  of  Issus  to  the 
south-east  corner  of  the  Euxine. 

Mention  sliould  here  be  made  of  CypPvUS,  which  lies  near- 
ly equidistant  from  the  coast  of  Cilicia  and  Syria  (45  m.  and 
65  m.  respectively  between  the  nearest  promontories),  being 
140  m.  in  length,  and  60  in  its  greatest  breadth.  It  wal 
rich  in  wood,  wine,  corn,  and  oil,  and  its  name  preserves  the 
memory  of  its  productive  mines  oi  copper. 

§  7.  Forming  a  sort  of  bridge  between  Europe  and  Asia, 
and  connected  by  the  central  highlands,  and  by  the  passages 
round  the  Gulf  of  Issus  and  the  Euxine,  with*  parts  of  Asia 
inhabited  by  all  the  races  of  mankind,  Asia  Minor  presents  a 
most  remarkable  mixture  of  populations.  In  the  ethnic  ta- 
ble of  Genesis  x.  a  general  distribution  of  the  peninsula  be- 
tween Japhetic  and  Semitic  races,  entering  from  the  east 
and  south  respectively,  seems  to  be  indicated  by  certain 
names  among  the  sons  of  Japheth  and  of  Shem.  Among  the 
former  are  Tubal  and  Meschech  (the  Tibareni  and  Moschi 
of  known  geography,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  northern 
coast) ;  Ashkenaz^  whom  the  best  ethnographers  place  along 
the  north  coast,  ^est  of  the  Halys ;  and  Bodanbn^  a  name 
representing  the  Pelasgian  race,  of  whose  presence  in  the 
peninsula  we  have  other  proofs  :  while  among  the  sons  of 
Shem,  Liid  (the  brother  of  Elam,  Asshur,  Arphaxad,  and 
Aram)  is  supposed  to  be  the  ethnic  progenitor  of  the  Lyd- 
ians.  According  to  the  test  of  Language,  it  would  seem 
that  the  table-land  and  the  northern^  coast  were  originally 
occupied  by  a  Turanian'"  or  mixed  Scytho-Aryan  race,%vhicii 
partly  held  its  ground  (like  primitive 'races  in  general)  in  the 
more  inaccessible  reoions,  and  was  partly  overpowei'ed  by 

8  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  geographers  and  historians  recognize  auy  other  stand- 
ard than  the  geographical  mile;  which,  besides  being  the  onln^ natural  vieasure  of  the 
earth's  surface  (as  being  the  viimite  of  a  degree  of  a  great  circle),  has  the  historical  ad- 
vantage of  commensurability  with  the  Greek  stadium,  which  was  also  derived  from 
the  degree  :  for  10  stadia  =  1  geog.  mile. 

'0  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  earliest  development  of  the  Japhetic  race  is 
supposed  to  have  been  Turanian. 


464  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

fresh  migrations  of  Aryans  from  the  east  and  Semites  from 
the  south. 

The  regions  in  wliicli  the  Turanians  cliiefly  held  their 
ground  were  the  eastern  part  of  the  great  phiteau,  and  tlie 
portion  of  the  north  coast  to  the  east  of  the  i-iver  Halys.  In 
the  latter  district  we  still  lind,  in  the  times  of  the  classical 
writers,  the  Moschi  {Meshee/i),  always  coupled  with  the  Ti- 
bareni  {Tubal),  just  as  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  couple  the 
Muskai  and  Tuplai  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  Cappadocian 
table-land,  where  their  memory  seems  preserved  by  tlie  name 
of  the  ancient  capital  Mcnxica?^  From  that  region,  where 
the  inscriptions  constantly  mention  them  from  the  12th  to 
as  late  as  the  7th  century  B.C.,  they  were  driven  by  the  Cap- 
padocians  northward  into  Georgia  and  round  the  Black  Sea 
coast  into  Southern  Russia,  where  the  names  of  Moscow 
{Muskaa)  and  JIuscovi/  attest  their  presence.  An  ancient 
scholiast  distinctly  call's  them  Scythians  (tliat  is,  Turanians), 
and  Professor  Max  MiiUer  regards  the  Georgian  and  other 
Caucasian  dialects  as  "one  of^he  outstanding  and  degener- 
ated colonies  of  the  Turanian  family  of  speech.'"^ 

§  8.  It  is  still  a  disputed  point  whether  tlie  Coppadocians, 
who  displaced  the  Turanian  Moschi,  were  Aryans  who  en- 
tered the  country  fi-o^u  the  east,  or  Semites  who  crossed  the 
Taurus  from  the  south.  The  chief  argument  adduced  for 
the  latter  view  is  the  statement  of  Herodotus,  confirmed  by 
several  writers,  that  ''  the  Cappadocians  are  known  to  the 
Greeks  as  Syrians.'"^  Elsewhere  he  tells  us  that  these 
Syrians  were  called  Cap[)adocians  by  the  Persians  ;  and  their 
name  appears  as  Kataputaka  in  the  Persian  Inscriptions.^* 
But  the  name  of  Syrians  may  merely  indicate  the  route  by 
which  they  Avere  believed  to  have  entered  the  country,  and 
that  of   White  Syrians  '"  implies  a  diiference  of  race  by  one 

11  "  Josephus  ('Ant.  Jiul.'  i.  G)  speaks  of  this  town  as  founclecl  by  MesJu-ch,  the  son 
of  Japheth,  whom  he  makes  the  progenitor  of  the  Mosocheni  or  ^foftcJii ;  and  he  ex- 
pressly asserts  that  this  people  came  afterwards  to  be  called  Ccqjpadocians."  (Raw- 
liuson,  "Essay  XI.  to  Herod.  Book  i."  vol.  i.  p.  G53.)  The  Moschian  kings  of  the  In- 
scriptions have  Turanian  names. 

12  "Languages  of  the  Seat  of  War,"  p.  113. 

13  Herod,  i.  72 ;  Strab.  xii.  p.  7SS ;  Dionys.  Perieg.  7T2,  and  Eustatb.  ctd  loc. ;  Scyla;?:, 
p.  SO  ;  Apoll.  Rhod.  ii.  946  ;  Ptol.  v.  6. 

'*  Herod,  vii.  72 ;  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  "7.Iemoir  on  the  Behistun  Inscription,"  vol. 
ii.  p.  95.  The  Greek  stem  KcmnadoK.  exactly  represents  the  Persian  Katax>atuk,  allow- 
ing for  the  well-known  principle  of  contracting  two  like  syllables  into  one. 

15  AeuKoo-upof.  This  name  is  often  used  by  Greek  writers  for  the  people,  even  while 
they  call  the  country  Cappadocia.  It  i.s  more  specifically  applied  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  coast,  between  the  rivers  Halys  and  Iris  ;  and  by  Ptolemy  only  to  those  about 
the  latter  river,  whose  country  he  regards  as  a  part  of  Cappadocia.  It  is  worth  while 
to  observe  that  the  coast  region  east  of  the  Halys  was  not  distinguished  in  histoiical 
geography  by  any  new  ethnic  name,  but  is  simply  called  Pnntns,  equivalent  to  "the 
province  of  the  Sea,"  like  ^'See-land."  This  name  appears  first  in  Xenojjhon  ("Anab.'" 
V.  (5,  5  15). 


THE  C^APrADOCIAXS.  4Gr> 

test,  that  of  color.  In  favor  of  their  Aryan  origin,  we  have 
their  late  entrance  into  the  country,  which,  moreover,  coin- 
cides precisely  with  the  time  of  that  new  migration  of 
Aryans  to  which  some  ascribe  the  foundation  of  the  Median 
kingdom  under  Cyaxares.  Strabo  states  that  the  Cappado- 
cians  worshipped  Persian  deities  ;  and  he  mentions  (besides 
Anaitis)  Onianus  and  Amandates,  who  are  evidently  the  Zo- 
roastrian  J^ihman  ( Vohumano)  and  Amerdad  (in  Pehlevi, 
Amertdat).  These  Aryan  immigrants  seem  to  have  mingled 
with  the  old  Turanian  inhabitants,  so  that  the  population  of 
Cappadocia  may  be  regarded  as  Scytho-Aryan  ;  distinct  from 
the  pure  Aryans  west  of  the  Halys,  and  the  Semites  south  of 
the  Taurus. 

§  9.  In  following  what  has  now  been  said  of  Cappadocia 
(and  the  same  remark  applies  to  other  parts  of  Asia  3Iinor), 
the  reader  must  not  be  misled  by  the  divisions  marked  on 
the  ordinary  maps,  which  belong  to  the  period  (in  some  cases 
to  a  very  late  period)  of  the  Roman  Empire.  In  the  Persian 
Inscriptions  no  countries  are  named  between  Armenia  and 
Ionia  but  Cappadocia  and  Saparda,  which  together  fill  up 
the  whole  of  Asia  Minor,  except  the  western  coast.  The 
Cappadocians  are  expressly  named  by  Herodotus  as  inliab- 
itants  of  the  later  Pontus.  The  historian  also  makes  some 
interesting  allusions  to  other  tribes  within  the  limits  of  Cap- 
padocia. Such  are  the  Chcdybes,^^  who  are  also  mentioned 
by  JEschylus,'^  Xenophon,  and  other  writers,  as  workers  of 
the  iron  mines  in  the  mountains,  and  whose  name  became 
the  Greek  appellation  of  steel. ^^  On  the  riuht  bank  of  the 
Halys,  in  the  later  province  of  Galatia,  Herodotus  places 
the  Matieni.^^  The  identity  of  this  name  with  the  3Iatieni 
in  the  north-west  of  Media,  and  the  probability  that  it  con- 
tains the  same  root  as  the  name  of  the  Medes  themselves,'*" 
confirm  the  argument  for  the  Aryan  population  of  Cappa- 
docia. 

On  the  other  hand,  Herodotus  at  least  appears  to  place 
the  Cilicians,  a  people  undoubtedly  Semitic,  so  far  within 
Cappadocia  as  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  table-land  ;  for 

i«  Herod,  i.  28.  Strictly  interpreted,  the  statement  of  Herodotus  includes  them 
among  the  nations  west  of  the  Halys  ;  hut,  as  all  other  writers  place  them  some  dis- 
tance to  the  east  of  that  river,  we  must  suppose  either  that  they  had  a  much  wider 
extension  in  the  time  of  Herodotus,  or  that  he  names  with  the  nations  west  of  the 
Halys  some  tribes  farther  along  the  coast  to  whom  the  conquests  of  Crcesus  may  have 
reached.  In  the  poem  of  ApoUonius  Rhodius  on  the  Argonauts,  the  Chalybes  are 
placed  beycmd  Themiscyra  and  the  River  Thermodcm  (the  Thcrma,  east  of  the  Iris), 
and  they  are  described  as  "digging  into  the  iron-bearing  hard  earth,"  and  "endur- 
ing grievous  labor  with  the  black  smut  and  smoke."' 

IT  ^^^ch.  "  Prom.  Vinct."  T14. 

la  Xen.  "  Anab.'"  v.  5,  §  1 ;  Catull.  Ixvi.  43  ;  Virg.  ".^u."  viii.  4S. 

J»  If'^rod.  i.  T9-  20  Mad-a  or  Mad-ai ;  MaUeni. 

20- 


406  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

he  describes  the  Halys  as  rising  in  the  moimiain  country  of 
Armenia,  and  running  first  through  Cilicia.  Unless,  there- 
fore, he  mistook  the  upper  course  of  the  river  (which  seems 
unlikely,  as  he  notices  its  great  bend  to  the  north),  we  must 
inter  that  the  Semitic  population  of  Cilicia  spread  beyond 
the  Taurus  over  the  eastern  pait  of  the  table-land  ;  which 
would  thus  be  peopled  with  representatives  of  the  three  great 
families  of  mankind. 

§  10.  The  other  great  nation,  who  inhabited  the  western 
part  of  the  table-land,  and  spread  beyond  it  to  the  west  and 
north-west,  were  the  Phrygians,  a  people  unquestionably  of 
Aryan  or  Japhetic  origin.  The  amusing  story  of  Herodotus, 
of  the  experiment  by  which  Psammetichus  proved  that  the 
Phrygians  were  the  oldest  people  of  the  world — even  before 
the  Egyptians,  who  despised  the  late  origin  of  the  Greeks^^ 
— may  have  an  ethnical  value  after  all,  for  jMkoq^  the  Phryg- 
ian for  hread^  contains  the  same  root  as  the  whole  class  of 
Indo-Germanic  words  signifying  to  hake.'^^  Nor  does  this 
case  stand  alone  :,  the  Greeks  noticed  the  likeness  of  the 
Phrygian  names  for  fire,  'water,  dog,  and  other  common  ob- 
jects, to  their  own,"  and  modern  philology  has  supplied  a 
long  list  of  similar  instances.^*  We  still  possess  examples 
of  the  Phrygian  language  in  inscriptions,  of  which  the  char- 
acters, the  words,  and  the  grammatical  forms,  closely  resem- 
ble the  Greek,  with  variations  a])proaching  to  the  Latin  and 
more  ancient  Italian  dialects  ;  all  proving  that  this  language 
represents  the  older  slock  from  which  both  Gi'eek  and  Latin 
sprang. 

§  11.  All  these  facts  point  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Phryg- 
ians formed  pai-t  of  a  very  early  migration  of  the  Japlietic 
race,  and  that  the  later  migration  of  the  Cappadocians  drove 
them  from  the  eastern  to  the  western  part  of  the  table-land. 
According  to  the  more  probable  hypothesis,  which  places 
the  original  cradle  of  the  human  i-ace  in  Armenia,  we  should 
look  to  that  region  for  the  source  of  the  Phrygian  migration; 
as  is  natural  from  the  contiguity  of  the  highlands.  When 
Herodotus  says  that  the  Armenians  are  Phiygian  colonists, 
he  confirms  the  connection,  though  he  has  doubtless  inverted 
the  order  of  derivation."     He  seems  to  have  been  misled  by 

^1  Herod,  ii.  2.  The  classical  writers  generally  regard  Phrygians  as  the  oldest  i)i- 
habitaiits  of  Asia  Minor  (Pans.  i.  14,  §  2-"  Claudian.  "in  Eiitrop."!!.  251,  full.  ;  Api-u! 
"  Metain."xi.  p.  762), 

22  Sanscrit  p«c,  Servian  pec-en,  German  back-en,  Aiiirlo- Saxon  bac-en,Er&e  hac- 
ail-hn.  -^  Plar.  "  Cratyl."  p.  410,  a. 

24  Rawlinson,  "Essay  XI.  to  Herod.,"  Book  i.  vol.  i.  pi).  ()(5G,  1. 

26  Hc'od.  vii.  13.  Stephanns  Byzautinns  makes  the  same  statement  (.v.  v.  '■VMei'.a'i, 
and  nor  ces  m  connection  beiween  the  languages,  saying  of  the  Armenians  rr;  ^wij; 
n-,;/\A  ':  (ppv;  (r,ovji.    In  the  army  of  Xerxes,  the  Phrygians  and  Ai-.iienians  were  armed 


THE  PHRYGIANS.  457 

V.  hat  he  ctiUs  the  MacedoDian  account,  that  the  Phry^nans 
ivdd  lormerly  dwelt  in  Macedonia  under  the  name  ofBri- 
gians,  but  on  their  removal  into  Asia  they  chanoed  their 
designation  at  the  same  time  with  their  dwellincv-place  "'  A 
migration  of  the  Phrygians  from  Thrace  into  Asia  is  mei> 
tioned  by  other  Greek  writers;  Xanthus,^«  the  old  historian 
oxLydia,  places  it  after  the  Trojan  war,  and  says  that  thev 
conquered  J  roy  and  settled  in  its  territory;  Conon  makes 
them  entei-  Asia  under  their  King  Midas,  ninety  years  before 
the  war.  If  there  be  any  literal  truth  in  these  statements 
they  must  reier  to  the  return  of  a  portion  of  the  Phryo-ians 
from  Europe  to  their  former  seats  in  Asia;  the  main  fact  to 
be  inferred  froni  them  is  that  the  migration  of  the  Phryo-ians 
extended  to  Europe,  after  they  had  coveied  nearly  the  whole 
ot  the  western  part  of  Asia  Minoi'. 

§  12.  This  conclusion  is  supported  bv  many  tacts  derived 
from  ancient  writers.  Independently  of  several  Greek  and 
irojan  legends  referring  to  the  southern  coasts  of  Asia  Mi- 
nor, the  name  of  the  Phrygian  mountain  Olympus  occurs 
also  m  the  south  of  the  plateau.  To  the  north  of  Phryo-ia 
a  part  of  I^ithynia  was  called  in  early  times  Bebrycia.  The 
Trojan  The  be  bore  the  name  of  Mygdonia,  which  is  synony- 
mous with  Phrygia.  The  Mysians  and  Phrygians  w4re  so 
intermingled  that  their  frontiers  could  scarctdy  be  distin- 
guished; and  tlie  Mysian  language  is  said  to  have  been  a 
mixture  of  the  Phrygian  and  Lydian.  As  to  the  western 
maritime  region  (afterwards  Ionia),  we  find  Mygdonians  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Miletus,  and  I^ebn/ces  assistino-  the  Pho- 


ca}ans  m  a  war 


I^rom  tJiese  and  other  like  indications  we  may  infer  that 
Irojans,  Mysians  Mygdonians,  and  other  Western  tribes, 
were  branches  of  the  great  Phrygian  race.  In  the  Iliad,  the 
Xrojans  and  Phrygians  appear  in  the  closest  relation.  Priam 
IS  the  ally  of  the  Phrygians  against  the  Amazons  ;  his  wife 
Hecuoa  is  a  Phrygian  princess:  Hector,  Paris,  and  Scaman- 
drius  are  said  to  be  Phrygian  names;  the  two  latter  beino- 
equivalent  to  the  Greek  forms,  Alexander  and  Astyana " 
Vn  t.ie  other  hand,  the  Trojans  appear,  throughout  the  Ho- 
meno  poems,  as  a  peo],le  related  to  the  Greeks;  and  this  re- 
lationship would  extend  to  the  Phrygians. 

beliPvww'^"'''"!'"''  '"'^-  "'«'■?, ""^ler  the  same  CMnmaiuler  (Herod.  I  c).  Both  were 
bel  e  cd  ,)  have  been  ong.nnlly  troglodytes  (duellers  in  caves) ;  and  their  na  es  n re 
even  used  as  synonymous  (Xen.  "Anab."  iv.  5,  §  25  •  Diod  xiv  9S  \lt rnv  i  1  rvo 
".'mnb'.tr'f  ^■•'^-':!\P-  ^^")-.  The  Phrygian  tr;u^t?ons  of  Th^  D  go  b  r^t  e' 
2    J;' the  Macedonian  dialect,  B  held  the  place  of  the  Greel<  .t>. 

Heiod.  I.  c.  2«  Ap.  Strab.  xii.  p.  572,  xiv.  p.  GSO ;  Fr.  5,  S,  ed.  Miiller 


4G8  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOK. 

It  may  be  said  that  Homer  assumed  this  leLatior.ship  as  a 
point  of  poetical  convenience  ;  but  we  have  abuiHiant  evi- 
dence that  lie  was  foUowing  a  uniform  tradition,  vvhicli  pre- 
served an  ethnic  tact.  The  wdiole  region  to  the  north  of  the 
Hellenic  peninsula,  from  the  Euxine  to  the  Adriatic,  is  full  of 
names  which  are  also  found  in  the  west  of  Asia  Minor,  among 
which  the  Brygians  occur  in  sevei'al  places ;  and  the  Dan- 
nbian  provinces  of  Jlresia  and  Pannonia  seem  only  other 
foi  nis  of  the  names  Mysia  and  P^eonia.  In  short,  the  Phryg- 
ians at  one  time  constituted  the  bulk  of  the  population  of 
the  greater  part  of  Thrace,  Macedonia,  and  Illyricum. 

§l3.  Of  their  relationship  to  the  early  population  of 
Greece  itself  we  have  traslitional  evidence,  in  addition  to  the 
affinities  of  language  already  mentioned ;  and  this  evidence 
is  lii^'hly  interesting.  Amidst  all  the  obscurity  that  hangs 
abou't  the  name  of  the  Pelasgians,  it  is  admitted  that  they 
were  the  earliest  known  inhabitants  both  of  Greece  and 
Southei-n  Italy  —  at  least  of  the  Indo-Germanic  stock;  for 
througiiout  Europe,  as  well  as  Asia,  there  appears  to  have 
been  a  still  earlier  Turanian  population.  Now  we  are  dis- 
tinctly told  that  the  Avhole  sea-board  of  Ionia  and  the  neigh- 
boring islands  were  formerly  peopled  by  Pelasgians.''  _  They 
are  enumernted  by  Homer  among  the  allies  of  the  Trojans  ;^" 
Herodotus  found  traces  of  them  on  the  Propontis,''  and  Aga- 
thias  in  Caria ;'''  and  the  name  of  3Iagntsia,  Avhich  occurs 
twice  in  Lydia,  as  well  as  in  Thessaly,  seems  to  be  certainly 
as  Pelasiric.  They  were  found  in  the  islands  of  the  iEgean, 
from  Samothrace,  Imbros,  and  Lemnos,  in  the  north,  to  Crete, 
in  the  south,  as  well  as  in  the  CycLades,  which  form  the  nat- 
ural stepping-stones  from  Asia  Minor  to  the  Peloponnesus. 
Hence  they  seem  to  have  passed  from  one  continent  to  the 
other,  both  round  the  head  of  the  ^gean  and  across  its  isl- 
ands ;  and  accordingly,  the  chief  remnants  of  the  race,^ after 
they  were  overpowered  by  the  Hellenes,  are  found  in  Thes- 
saly, in  Epirus,  in  Attica,  and  in  the  heart  of  Arcadia.  From 
Greece  they  crossed  over  to  Southern  Italy ;  where,  perhaps, 
the  "  golden  age  of  Saturn"  is  a  tradition  of  the  peaceful  ag- 
ricultural character  which  is  everywhere  attributed  to  the 
Pelasgians,  in  contrast  to  the  piratical  habits  of  the  Carians 
and  Leleges.  It  remains,  however,  a  question  whether  the 
Pela>sgi  were  a  branch  of  the  Phrygian  migration,  or  a  still 
earlier  movement  of  the  Indo-European  race  from  their  pri- 
meval seats.  The  latter  seems  highly  probable ;  but  at  all 
events  the  two  races  were  very  nearly  akin,  and  it  is  hardly 
practicable  to  distinguish  their  migrations. 

2»  Meuecratep,  (qj.  Strab.  xiii.  p.  021 ;  Fr.  1,  cd.  Mailer.  ^o  Horn.  "  II."  ii.  S40. 

31  Herod,  i.  57.  ^'-  A-athias,  ii.  v.  54, 


KEiMAINS  OF  PHRYGIAN  AKCHITECTUKE.  4(;'.i 

§  14.  The  whole  argument  is  iliudciated  by  the  remains  of 
l^lirygian  arcliitecture.  Vitruvins  remarks  that  the  Phryg- 
ians hollowed  out  the  natural  hills  of  their  country,  and 
formed  in  them  passages  and  rooms  for  habitation,  so  far  as 
the  nature  of  the  hills  permitted.  This  statement  is  fully 
confirmed  by  modern  travellers,  wlio  have  found  such  habita- 
tions cut  into  the  rocks  in  almost  all  parts  of  the  peninsula. 
M.  Texier  describes  an  immense  town  thus  cut  out  of  the 
natural  rock  near  Boghagkieni^  between  the  Halys  and  the 
Iris.^^  On  some  of  these  mountains  are  the  inscriptions  re- 
ferred to  above  ;  the  Phrygian  origin  of  which  is  attested 
by  such  proper  names  as  Midas,  Ates,  Aregastes,  and  others, 
though  some  have  unsuccessfully  attempted  to  make  out 
that  they  are  Greek.^*  The  impression  whicli  these  stupen- 
dous works,  and  above  all  the  rock-city,  make  upon  the  be- 
holder, is  that  he  has  before  him  works  executed  by  human 
hands  at  a  most  remote  j^eriod ;  not,  as  V-^itruvius  intimates, 
because  there  was  a  Avant  of  timber,  but  because  the  first 
robust  inhabitants  thought  it  safest  and  most  convenient  to 
construct  such  habitations  for  themselves.  They  display  a 
striking  resemblance  to  those  structures  which  in  Greece  we 
are  in  the  habit  of  calling  Pelasgian  or  Cyclopean,  whence 
Texier  designates  the  above-mentioned  rock-city  by  the  name 
of  a  Pelasgian  city.  Even  the  lion  gate  of  Mycenae  appears 
in  several  places. ^^  These  facts  throw  a  surprising  light 
upon  the  legend  about  the  migration  of  the  Phrygian  Pelops 
into  Argolis,  and  the  so-called  tombs  of  the  Phrygians  in 
Peloponnesus.'^*'  Much  remains  to  be  done  by  a  more  sys- 
tematic exploration  of  the  monuments  of  Asia  Minor. 

§  15.  The  religious  systems  of  the  two  countries  also  dis- 
play a  manifest  connection.  Many  a  mysterious  tradition 
and  legend  among  the  Greeks  is  to  be  traced  to  Phrygia,  and 
especially  the  worship  of  the  "  Great  Mother  of  the  Gods  " 
— Cybele,  Rhea,  or  Agdistis — and  of  Sabazius,  the  Phrygian 
name  of  Dionysus."  These  deities  were  worshipped  with 
orgiastic   rites,  accompanied  by  Avild  music   and  dances,  in 

33  Harailtou,  "Researches,"  a'oI.  ii.  pp.  250,  288;  Texier,  "Descriptiou  de  I'Asie  mi- 
uenre,"  vol.  i.  p.  210. 

s*  Texier  and  Stenart's  "Description  of  some  Ancient  Monuments,  Avith  Inscrip- 
tions, still  existing  in  Lydia  and  Phrygia,"  Lond.  1842. 

35  Hamilton,  "Researches,"  vol.  i.  pp.  48,  400;  vol.  ii.  pp.  22G  seq.;  Leake,  "Asia 
Minor,"  p.  28;  Ainsworth,  "Travels  and  Researches,"  vol.  ii.  p.  58.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  word  Pelasgian,  as  applied  to  these  remains,  is  as  truly  arbitra- 
ry as  the  Ci/dojjs  themselves  are  fabulous.  We  knorc  pretty  well  that  the  one-eyed 
monsters  did  not  build  them  ;  we  do  not  know  that  the  Pelasgi  did  build  them.  As 
is  now  generally  believed  in  the  parallel  case  of  the  remains  called  Druich'cal  and  Celt- 
ic, so  those  called  Pela-'^iian  may  have  been  the  Avorks  of  some  still  earlier  builders. 
But  even  if  so,  they  indicate  the  direction  in  which  the  successive  waves  of  popula- 
tion rolled.  "      36  Athentens,  xiv.  p.  625.  ^7  Strabo,  x.  pp.  470,  foil. 


470  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

\\  liich  the  early  religion  of  the  Phrygians  seems  to  have 
been,  corrupted  by  tlie  practices  either  of  the  Turanians  or 
of  the  Syro-Ph(Enician  tribes.  From  Phrygia  these  rites 
were  introduced  into  Greece,  especially  by  the  way  of 
Thrace. 

§  10.  We  have  already  hinted  that  the  tradition,  which 
ascribes  the  origin  of  the  Phrygians  to  Macedonia  and  Thrace, 
may  preserve  the  memory  of  a  reflux  migration  from  Europe 
into  Asia.  Such  a  movement  seems,  in  fact,  to  have  been 
caused  by  the  pressure  of  the  Theacians,  descending  from 
the  north  of  the  Danube  into  the  country  which  afterwards 
bore  their  name.  Of  these  Thracians  we  shall  liave  to  speak 
again  :  for  the  present,  it  is  enough  to  say  that  they  appear 
to  have  been  a  rude  and  warlike  branch  of  that  part  of  the 
great  Aryan  migration  which  had  entered  Europe  by  the 
northern  side  of  the  Euxine,  and  that  they  were  akin  to  the 
Teutonic  family. 

Their  displacement  of  the  more  ciyilized  inhabitants  of  the 
country — Phrygians,  or  Pelasgians,  or  both — afibrds  an  ex- 
planation of  tile  paradoxical  fact  that  the  Greeks  traced  the 
origin  of  a  large  part  of  their  poetic  culture  to  a  land  whose 
people,  through  the  whole  course  of  classical  liistory,  wei-e 
regarded  as  rude  warriors  and  bi'awling  revellers.  Thrace 
was  the  mythic  home  of  Orpheus;  and  Pieria — the  sacred 
land  of  Apollo  and  the  Muses — was  within  its  limits.  By 
these  legends,  again,  Thrace  is  connected  with  Phrygia,  one 
of  the  earliest  homes  of  music  ;  and  Phrygia  is  the  scene  of 
that  mythical  conflict  of  Apollo  with  Marsyas,  which  sym- 
bolizes the  preference  of  the  Greeks  for  the  dignified  music 
of  the  lyre  above  the  wilder  orgiastic  strains  of  the  flute. 

§  17.  The  Thracians  not  only  drove  back  the  Phrygians  out 
of  Europe  (leaving  only  some  detached  remnants),  but  pi-essed 
across  the  Hellespont  and  Bosporus,  and  occupied  the  north- 
ern coast  of  Asia  Minor  as  far  as  the  ])romontory  on  which 
Heraclea  Pontica  afterwards  stood.  Thracians  form  a  part 
of  the  mixed  population  of  Mysia.  The  Phrygians,  how- 
ever, held  their  ground  on  the  IIelles})ont  and  in  the  Troad  ; 
and  the  whole  north-western  part  of  Mysia  retained,  in  his- 
toric times,  the  proper  name  of"  Lesser  Phrygia,"  or  "J^hryg- 
ia  on  the  Hellespont."  The  country  afterwards  calh^d  Bi- 
thynia  is  assigned  by  Herodotus  to  the  Thracians  in  their 
two  tribes  of  the  Thyni  and  Bithyni,  w^ith  the  kindred  ti'ibe 
of  the  Mariandyni.^''  Scattered  remnants  only  of  the  Phryg- 
ians wei'e  left  upon  this  coast — such  as  the  Caucones,  in  the 
east  of  J^ithynia.     The  contests  between  the  ancient  Phryg- 

38  Herod,  i.  28 ;  vii.  75-  comp.  Strab.  vii.  p.  427. 


THRACIANS  AND  PAPHLAGONIANS.  471 

iaiis  and  the  Tliraciaiis  are  alluded  to  in  several  legends. 
Thus,  King  Midas  killed  himself  when  the  Treres  ravaged 
Asia  Minor  as  far  as  Paphlagonia  and  Cilicia ;"  and  the  Ma- 
riandyni  are  described  as  engaged  in  a  war  against  the  Mys- 
ians  and  Bebryces,  in  which  Mygdon,  the  king  of  the  latter 
people,  and  a  Phrygian  hero,  was  slain."  The  brief  period 
during  which  the  Plirygians  are  said  to  have  exercised  the 
supremacy  at  sea — for  twenty-five,  or,  according  to  others, 
for  only  five  years — and  which  is  assigned  to  the  beginning 
of  the  9th  century  B.C.,  is  probably  connected  with  tliat  age 
in  which  the  Phrygians  were  engaged  in  perpetual  wars;*' 
and  it  may  have  been  about  the  same  time  that  the  Phrygi- 
ans from  the  Scamander  and  from  Troy  migrated  to  Sicily.*^ 

§  18.  The  remaining  part  of  the  north  coast,  for  230  miles 
from  the  Parthenius  ( Chati  Su)  to  the  Iris,  was  occupied  in 
historic  times  by  "  the  brave  shield  -  bearing  Papiilagoxi- 
Axs"  of  Homer."  Situated  to  the  west  of  the  Halys,  and 
Avearing  a  dress  closely  resembling  the  Phrygian,**  they  may 
have  been  connected  politically  with  that  people ;  but  the 
likeness  of  their  equipments  to  those  of  the  Matieni  and  Cap- 
padocians,*^  and  the  general  characteristics  assigned  to  them 
by  the  ancient  writers,  seem  to  imply  an  ethnic  afiinity  with 
the  Cappadocians.**'  If  so,  that  race,  which  had  already  sev- 
ered the  Phrygians  from  the  kindred  Armenians,  cut  them 
oft' from  the  remaining  portion  of  the  northern  coast. 

§  1 9.  Driven  into  narrower  limits  also  on  the  soutli  by  the 
pressure  of  the  Semitic  tribes  across  the  Taurus,  and  on  the 
west  by  the  Lydians  and  the  Greek  colonists,  the  Phrygians 
were  restricted  to  an  inland  position  in  the  west  of  the  pla- 
teau. Their  severance  from  the  sea  deprived  them  of  the 
commerce  which  they  seem  to  have  possessed  in  early  times  ; 
and  it  is  remarkable  that  all  "  the  well-built  towns"  for  which 
they  are  celebrated  in  Homer — Pessinus,  Gordium,  Celfenae, 
and  Apamea — date  their  origin  from  the  mythic  ages.  Their 
peaceful  disposition  and  entire  devotion  to  agriculture  made 
them  an  easy  prey  to  conquerors;  till  at  length  these  Franks^'' 

39  Strabo,  i.  p.  61,    See  chap,  xxiii.  §  6. 

40  ApoUod.  i.  9,  §  23 ;  ii.  5,  §  9  ;  Apollon.  Rhod.  ii.  T52,  7S0,  TS6. 

41  Diod.  vii.  13  ;  Syuceil.  p.  ISl.  42  Paus.  v.  25,  §  6. 
43  "  II."  V.  577.                          44  Herod,  vii.  73.  45  Herod,  vii.  72. 

"48  When  Herodotns  (ii.  104)  spealvs  of  "the  Syrians  {i.  e.,  Cappadocians)  who  dwell 
about  the  rivers  Thermodon  and  Parthenius,"'  he  seems  to  exteud  the  Cappadocians 
to  the  western  limits  of  Paphlagonia.  But  more  probably  (from  the  contest)  the 
Parthenius  means  some  other  river,  near  the  Thermodon.  Elsewhere  he  always 
places  the  Cappadocians  east  of  the  Halys,  and  which  he  expressly  makes  the  bound- 
ary between  them  and  the  Paphlagonians  (i.  72). 

47  The  name  Bnjgi  or  Briges,  which  we  have  seen  to  be  equivalent  to  Phryges,  is  said 
by  Hesychius  to  signify  freemen.  This  is  etymologically  probable ;  for,  taking  the 
stems,  ftpv^  —  fpv,  =frey  or  frci  (German)  ;  and  the  resemblance  is  the  closei'  when 


472  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

of  the  ancient  world  became  a  servile  by-word,  and  the 
names  of  their  mytliic  kings  and  heroes — Midas  and  Manes 
— were  among  the  commonest  appellations  of  slaves/® 

§  20.  The  Mysiaxs,  in  the  north-western  corner  of  the  pe- 
ninsula, were  undoubtedly,  as  we  have  already  implied,  con- 
nected with  the  Phrygians.  They  are  mentioned  in  the 
Iliad,'"  and  they  seem  to  be  conceived  by  the  poet  as  dwell- 
ing on  the  Hellespont.  Thence  they  appear  to  have  extend- 
ed themselves,  in  the  period  subsequent  to  the  Trojan  war, 
both  westward  and  southward  as  far  as  Pergamum,  and  to  the 
south-east  as  far  as  the  region  of  Catacecaumene^  on  the  bor- 
ders'of  Lydia  and  Phrygia.  About  the  time  of  the  migra- 
tion of  the  ^Eolians  to  their  shores,  the  Mysian  Teuthras  is 
said  to  have  founded  the  kingdom  which,  though  soon  de- 
stroyed by  the  Greeks,  gave  the  name  of  Teuthrania  to  the 
country  about  Pei'gamum.  Sti'abo  regards  the  Mysians  as 
immigrants  from  Europe  into  Asia  ;^''  and  it  seems  most 
probable  that  they  were  a  part  of  the  reflux  migration  from 
Thrace  and  from  the  region  on  the  Lower  Danube,  which  re- 
tained their  name  under  the  form  ofMoesia.^'  The  opinion 
of  Herodotus,  that  the  Mysians  were  colonists  of  the  Lydi- 
ans,  with  whom  they  served  in  the  army  of  Xerxes, ^'^  seems 
to  have  no  other  foundation  than  the  close  alliance  of  the 
Mysians,  Lydians,  and  Carians,  which  those  nations  proba- 
bly  formed  to  strengthen  themselves  against  the  Greek  colo- 
nists. 

we  remember  the  thin  sound  of  the  Greek  v.—cppv-,,  with  the  guttural  softened,  would 
be  pronounced,  in  the  greater  part  of  German}-,  exactly  like//e?. 

"  Cic.  "j^ro  Flacc."  27  ;  Curt.  vi.  11 ;  Strab.  vii.  p.  304. 

4f  Horn.  "II."  ii.  S5S,  x.  430,  xiii.  5. 

60  Strabo,  vii.  pp.  295,  303  ;  xii.  pp.  542,  564,  etc. 

51  It  is  still  doubtful  whether  the  name  originated  in  Europe  or  in  Asia.  If  the  ety- 
mology be  correct  which  derives  J/o?s7«  from  a  Celtic  word  signifying  marsh,  the  Mys- 
ians would  seem  to  have  brought  the  name  back  with  them  from  Europe.  Races 
frequently  receive  new  names  from  geographical  circumstances. 

62  Herod,  vii.  74.  On  the  supposed  connection  of  the  Mysiaus,  Lydiaus,  and  Cari- 
ans, see  farther  in  chap.  xxi.  §§  14, 15. 


Rock  cut  Ljcian  tomb 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


THE   NATIOXS   OF  ASIA  MIXOR. THE   SOUTH  AND  WEST  COASTS. 

t  A.  Semitic  nations  ou  tlie  sonth  coast.  §  2.  The  Cilic[a>;s.  Si^ns  of  an  earlier 
Aryan  population.  Assyrian  conquests  in  Cilicia.  Persian  rule.  Greek  settle- 
r-:ents  in  Cilicia.  Cilicia  under  the  Romans.  Remains  of  the  old  population. 
§  3.  The  Soi.YMi  iu  Lycia.  Conflict  with  new  settlers.  Legend  of  Bellerophon. 
Signification  of  the  Chimfera.  The  Solymi  a  Semitic  people.  ?  4.  The  Pibipians 
akin  to  the  Solymi.  §  5.  The  Is.vvrians.  Their  union  with  the  Cilicians.  Their 
long  independence.  §  (3.  The  PAMriiYLiA>s.  A  mixed  race.  Predominance  of 
the  Greek  element.  Its  origin:  fables  about  it.  Habits  of  the  Pamphvlians. 
Extent  of  Pamphylia  at  diftereiit  times.  §  T.  The  Lycians.  Recent  discoveries. 
§  S.  Greek  legends  of  their  origin.  §  0.  Probably  a  very  early  Indo-Germanie 
race.  The  Lycian  inscriptions  and  language.  The  Leka  of  Egyptian  records. 
The  Termiloe.  §  10.  Greek  influence  on  the  Lycians.  Lycian  sculpture  and  ar- 
chitecture. The  monuments  in  the  British  Museum.  Tomb  of  Paiafa.  Hai-py 
Tomb.  '-Xanthian  trophy."  "Inscribed  monument."  Remains  of  Lycian  cities. 
Religion  of  Lycia.  §  11.  The  Lycian  confederacy.  Character  of  tlie  Lycians. 
§  12.  The  Caitmans— probably  a  Lycian  people.  Account  of  them  bv  Herodotus. 
A  story  of  Caunian  figs.  §  13.  The  Cakians.  Notice  of  them  in  "the  "Iliad." 
Extent  of  their  country-.  §  14.  Two  accounts  of  their  origin.  Their  customs  and 
inventions.  ?  1.5.  Not  originally  immigrants  from  the^^islands.  Probably  the 
oldest  people  of  Asia  Minor.  Their  connection  with  the  Lef^egeb.  ?  16.  Charac- 
ter of  the  Carians.  Their  maritime  power.  Carian  mercenaries.  Their  federa- 
tion. Kingdom  of  Halicarnassus.  §  IT.  LvmA.  Plain  of  Sardis.  TheM.«ONi.\NS. 
-  §  IS.  Expelled. by  the  Lydians.  Mythical  genealogies.  Lydians  and  Torrhehians. 
Poetical  use  of  the  name  M«?onin.  §  10.  The  Myeo'nians  an  Aryan  race.  Their  al- 
leged colonization  of  Etruria.  §  20.  Origin  and  ethnic  affinities  of  the  Lydians: 
generally  regarded  as  a  Semitic  race.    Their  manners  and  character. 

^.^.  The   nations  mentioned  by  Herodotus   on  the  sonth 
eoiist,  and  in  the  overhangino;  chain  of  Taurus,  are  the  Cili' 


^74  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

mans,  Pamphylians,  Lycians,  and  Caunians;^  besides  the  So- 
hpni  and  Milyans,  who  were  ancient  inhabitants  of  Lycia. 
to  these  must  be  added  the  Flsidians  and  Isaurians,  who 
were  famous  in  later  times.  The  Carians  belong  both  to  the 
southern  and  the  western  coast,  but  are  usually  reckoned  to 
the  latter.  Of  these,  the  Cilicians  and  Solymi,  as  well  as  the 
kindred  Pisidians  and  Isaurians,  were  peoples  of  the  Semitie 
race  ;  who,  entering  Asia  Minor  by  the  pass  round  the  Gulf 
of  Issus,  overspread  the  sea-board  beneath  the  chain  of  Tau- 
rus, and  occupied  its  slopes  and  heights. 

§2.  This  coast  also  lay  open  to  invasion- by  sea  from 
the  shores  of  Syria;  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  mari- 
time predominance  of  the  Phoenicians  was  the  cause  of  the 
decidedly  Phoenician  character  which  i§  ascribed  to  the  pop- 
ulation of  CiLiciA.  The  fact  is  attested  by  their  own  tradi- 
tions; which,  however  varied  in  details,  were  on  this  point 
unanimous.'  In  the  navy  of  Xerxes,  they  appeared  with 
nearly  the  same  equipment  as  the  Phoenicians  :  "  The  crews 
wore  upon  their  heads  the  helmet  of  their  country,  and  carried 
instead  of  shields  light  targes  made  of  rawhide ;  they  were 
clad  in  woollen  tunics,  and  were  armed  each  with  two  jave- 
lins, and  a  sword  closely  resembling  the  cutlass  of  the  Egyp- 
tians.'" The  connection  is  confirmed  by  a  long  list  of  com- 
mon names  and  customs,'  and  by  the  Phoenician  legends  on 
the  coins  of  Cilicia.  Herodotus  expresses  the  Phoenician 
origin  of  the  Cilicians  by  the  legend,  that  "  the  people  bore 
anciently  the  name  of  Hypaclmans;  but  took  their  present 
title  from  Cilix,  the  son  of  Agenor,  a  Phoenician."* 

The  idea  suggested  by  the  ancient  name  pf  the  people 
(which  no  other  author  mentions),  of  a  relationship  to  the 
Achseans,  mio;ht  be  dismissed  as  a  Greek  fancy,  were  it  not 
for  another  set  of  traditions  placing  Cilicians  in  the  north- 
west of  Asia  Minor.  Thus,  in  the  "Iliad,"  Eetion,  the  fother 
of  Andromache,  whose  chief  city  was  Thebe  Hypoplacie,  in 
the  Troad,  was  king  of  the  Cilices,  whom,  as  Strabo  observes, 
Homer  places  on  the  borders  of  the  Pelasgi.'  Strabo  makes 
the  country  of  these  Cilicians  comprehend  the  territories 
of  Adramyttium  and  neighboring  cities,  and  extend  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Ca'icus.  Pespecting  their  connection  with  the 
historical  Cilicians,  Strabo  observes  :  "  They  say  that  in  the 
tract  between  Phaselus  in  Lycia  and  Attalia"— that  is,  not 
in  Cilicia,  but  in  the  extreme  west  of  Pamphylia,  on  the  bor- 

-  Apollofl.  iii.  1,  §  1 ;  14,  §  3. 

2  Kerod.  vii.  01 :  comp.  c.  SO  for  the  Phoenician  equipment. 

s  Bochart,  "  Phaleg,"  part  ii.  book  i.  c.  5.  •*  Herod,  vii.  91. 

6  "  II."  vi.  305,  415 ;  ii.  S40 ;  Strabo,  p.  221. 


THE  CILICIANS.  475 

ders  of  Lycia — "  there  are  pointed  out  a  Thebe  and  Lyrnes- 
sus,  a  part  of  the  Troic  Cilices,  who  were  ejected  from  the 
plain  of  Thebe,  having  gone  to  Pamphylia,  as  Callisthenes 
has  said."^  There  was  a  tradition  that  tliese  Troic  Cilicians 
drove  the  Syrians  from  the  country  afterwards  called  Cili- 
cia;  but  it  was  a  disputed  question  wliich  of  the  two  Cilices 
were  the  parent  stock.  If  any  weight  is  to  be  attached  to 
these  traditions,  they  would  seem  to  imply  an  early  occupa- 
tion of  the  southern  coast  by  an  Aryan  (or  Scytho-Aryan) 
race,  akin  to  those  of  the  table-land,  who  were  driven  out  by 
the  Semitic  invaders,  but  left  their  name  to  the  country.  No 
Semitic  etymology  lias  been  found  for  the  name  of  Cilicia. 
We  have  seen  that  Herodotus  extends  the  Cilicians  over  the 
eastern  part  of  the  table-land,  as  far  north  as  the  upper 
course  of  the  Halys ;  and  he  makes  the  Euphrates  the 
boundary  between  Cilicia  and  Armenia.' 

The  great  Assyrian  kings  of  the  later  empire  extended 
their  conquests  to  Cilicia ;'  and  the  foundation  of  Tarsus — 
the  capital  of  the  country,  and  the  birthplace  of  St.  Paul— 
which  Greek  tradition  uniformly  ascribed  to  "Sardanapalus," 
is  more  specifically  assigned  to  Sennacherib  by  Polyhistor 
and  Abydenus.*  In  the  great  war  of  the  Median  Cyaxares 
against  the  Lydian  Alyattes,  the  Cilician  king  Syennesis  ap- 
pears as  an  ally  of  the  former,  but  independent  and  power- 
ful enough  to  join  with  Labynetus,  king  of  Babylon,  in  medi- 
ating a  peace.  His  line  continued  to  reign  under  the  Per- 
sian Empire,  down  to  the  time  of  the  younger  Cyrus  (b.c. 
401),  and  probably  to  the  end  of  the  empire."  The  country, 
however,  formed  one  of  the  satrapies  of  Darius,  and  it  paid 
the  king  a  yearly  tribute  of  360  white  horses  and  500  talents 
of  silver;  of  Avhich  sum  140  talents  were  expended  on  the 
cavalry  duty  in  Cilicia,  and  the  rest  came  into  the  king's 
treasury.'"  The  Cilicians  maintained  the  maritime  habits  of 
their  Phoenician  kinsmen  and  neighbors,  and  furnished  100 
ships  to  the  fleet  of  Xerxes  for  the  invasion  of  Greece.'' 

There  were  various  traditions  of  ancient  Greek  colonies  in 
Cilicia;  such  as  the  settlement  of  Amphilochus,  the  son  of 
Amphiaraus,  at  Posidium,  on  the  borders  of  the  Cilicians  and 
the  Syrians'^ — a  tradition  which  again  points  to  a  gradual 
displacement  of  aboriginal  Cilicians  by  Semites  advancing 
from  the  east ;  for  Posidium  was  on  the  promontory  just  east 
of  Anemurium,the  southernmost  headland  both  of  Cilicia  and 
of  Asia  Minor.     The  same  Amphilochus  is  said  to  have  gone 

pars  i.  cc.  5,  9. 


«  Strabo,  p.  667. 

'  Herod,  v.  52. 

**  Euseb.  "Chrou, 

3  Herod.  V.  lis ;  Xeu. 

"Aiiab."i.2,  §  26. 

i«  Herod.  V.  52. 

'1  Herod,  vii.  73. 

12  Herod,  iii.  91. 

4  70 


THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 


fi-om   Troy  Avith  Mopsiis,  the  son   of  Apollo,  aii^l  to    have 
founded  Malliis,  on  the  more  easterly  promontory  of  Megar- 
6US,  near  the  River  Pyramns  ;   and  here  tlie  heroes'  tombs 
were  shown  in  the  tirae  of  Strabo.     But,  if  we  look  to  histor- 
ical evidence,  the  Greeks  do  not  appear  to  have  settled  in 
Cilicia  before  the  time  of  Alexander,  except  in  a  few  places 
on  the  coast.     Soli  (afterwards  Pompeiopolis)  is  said  to  have 
been    colonized    by    Acha^ans    and   Rhodians  from  Lindus. 
Under  the  successors  of  Alexander,  the  Greek  kings  of  Syr- 
ia, in   whose   dominions   Cilicia   was  included,  the  country 
was   gradually  Hellenized,  and   Tarsus  became   one   of  the 
greatest  schools  of  Greek  literature  and  science.     The  native 
Cilicians    probably  disappeared  from  the  plain-country,  or 
were  mingled  first  with  Greeks  and  other  foreigners;  but 
they  held  the  mountains,  even  to  Cicero's  time,  under  the 
name  of  Ekuthero-cUices  (Free  Cilicians).     Cicero,  who  was 
proconsul  of  Cilicia,  describes  them  as  a  fierce  and  warlike 
race  ;  and  he  took  their  strong  town,  Pindenissus.''     Strabo 
says  that  the  Amanus,  which  lies  above  Cilicia  on  the  east, 
was  always  governed  by  several  kings,  or  chiefs,  who  had 
strong  places ;  and  in  his  time  a  man  of  mark  was  set  over 
all  of  them,  and  styled  king  by  the  Romans  for  his  merits : 
his  name  was  Tarcondimotus,  doubtless  a  free  Cilician.     In 
the  western  division  of  the  country— "the  rugged  Cilicia" 
{Cilicia  Tracheia,  or  Aspera),  the  proximity  of  the  mount- 
ains to  the  sea  afforded  opportunities  for  an  organized  sys- 
tem of  slave-dealing.     The    Cilicians    were   encouraged   to 
man-stealing  by  the  great  demand  for  slaves  among  the  Ro- 
mans after  the  destruction   of  Carthage   and  Corinth,  and 
they  found  a  ready  sale  at  Delos  for  all  the  slaves  they  took 
to  that  central  market.     Pirates  soon  started  up  pretending 
to  be  slave-dealers;  and  Cilicia  became  the  nest  of  all  the 
pirates   of  the    Levant,  till  Pompey   rooted   them  out,  and 
brought  Cilicia  T)-acheia  under  the  dominion  of  Rome  (b.c. 
6V). 

§  3.  That  the  Semitic  population  extended  westward  along 
the  coast,  as  far  as  the  peninsula  of  Lycia,  may  be  inferred 
from  the  ancient  habitation  of  that  country  by  the  Solymi, 
who  left  their  name  in  Mount  Solyma.  '' Milyas,''  says 
Herodotus,  "was  the  ancient  name  of- the  country  now  in- 
habited by  the  Lvcians :  the  Mlhjm  of  the  present  day  were, 
in  those  times,  called  SolymV''  The  name  of  Milyas  sur- 
vived to  late  times  as  that  of  the  northern  highlands  on  the 
borders  of  Lycia,  Pamphylia,  and  Pisidia,  to  an  indefinite  ex- 
tent.    Strabo  regards  both  the  Milyans  and  Cabal ia ns— an- 

i3  Cic.  "  ad  Att."  v.  20.  '■*  Herod,  i,  173- 


THE  80LYMI  IN  LYCIA.  477 

Other  mountain-tribe  of  Northern  Lycia — as  Solymi,-  and  he 
considers  that  a  people  of  this  name  had  once  held  the 
heights  of  Taurus  from  Lycia  to  PisidiaJ'  The  Pisidians 
are  also  represented  by  other  writei's  as  being  Solymi. '"  It 
is  clear  that  the  Solymi  Avere  driven  back  into'  the  mountains 
by  the  entrance  of  a  new  race,  whose  long  and  arduous 
struggles  with  the  old  inhabitants  are  indicated  by  the  con- 
flicts of  Bellerophon  and  other  mythical  heroes^vith  the 
Solymi/^ 

The  iire-breathing  monster  Chimera  in  these  legends  is 
said  by  some  to  represent  the  valor  and  agility  of  the 
mountaineers,  while  others  view  it  as  a  personification  of  the 
volcano  of  the  same  name  near  Phaselis,  in  Lycia  ;'"  but  both 
the  matter  of  fact  and  the  physical  explanations  of  such  crea^ 
tions  are  always  to  be  distrusted,  and  they  are  to  be  ex- 
plained more  probably  as  religious  symbols.  According  to 
Homer,  the  Chimaera  was  of  divine  origin :  the  fore  part  of 
her  body  was  that  of  a  lion,  the  hinder  part  that  of  a  drag- 
on, the  middle  that  of  a  goat''— a  description  reminding  us 
of  the  monsters  or  demons  whom  the  Assyrian  kings  are 
represented  on  their  bas-reliefs  as  slaying  ;  while  her  birth 
from  Typhon  and  Echidna'"  seems  to  connect  her  with  the 
wide-spread  symbolization  of  the  evil  principle  in  the  form 
of  a  serpent.  That  she  Avas  no  mere  creature  of  the  imagi- 
nation of  the  Greek  poets,  but  a  symbolic  form  accepted  by 
the  nation — like  the  sphinx  and  gryphon  of  Egypt,  and  the 
Assyrian  bulls,  lions,  and  other  such  tigures-^is  proved  by 
the  frequent  occurrence  of  the  type  on  the  Lycian  monu- 
ments. 

All  this  agrees  with  the  theory  that  the  Solymi  were  a 
Semitic  people,  perhaps  of  that  ancient  type  which  is  blended 
with  Plamitic  characters.  The  chief  direct  testimony  to  this 
effect  is  that  of  Choerilus  of  Samos,  the  contemporary  of  He- 
rodotus, who  wrote  a  poem  on  the  Persian  War,  in  which  he 
mentions  the  Solymi  as  serving  in  the  army  of  Xerxes,  and 
says  that  their  language  was  Phoenician.""  *  This  statement 
is  confirmed  by  then-  liabit  of  shaving  the  head,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  tuft" — a  custom  ascribe'd  by  Herodotus  to  the 
Arabians,"  and  mentioned  in  Scripture  as  practised  by  the 
Edomites,  Moabites,  and  Ammonites,''  Avho  were  all  Semitic 

15  Strabo,  i.  p.  32 ;  xiii.  p.  904;  xiv.  p.  952.     i«  Pliu.  v.  27 :  Steph.  Bvz.  s.  v.  n«T<a,a. 
»^  Horn.  "  II."  vi.  184,204;  "Od."v.  283.        i^  Plin.  "H.  N."ii.  106;'v.  27;  Mela  i.  15. 
i»  Horn.  "  U."  vi.  180  ;  xvi.  328:  comp.  Ov.  "Metam."  ix.  C4G. 

20  Hesiod.  "Theoo:."319. 

21  Enseb.  "Praep.  EvaH£r."ix.  9  ;  Joseph,   "c.  Apioii."  j. 

22Tzetzes  (Chil.  vii.  Hi.'^t.  149)  calls  them  TpoxoKo.-pdocs-.  "shorn  all   louiul  their 
heads."  23  Herod,  iii.  8.  2»  Jercm.  ix.  26. 


478  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR.  '    ^ 

peoples — by  their  special  worship  of  Saturn,"  and  by  the  oc- 
currence of  a  number  of  Phoenician  names  in  their  country." 
Sir  H.  Kawlinson  derives  their  name  from  a  Semitic  word, 
signifying  the  'West?'' 

§  4.  The  highlands  of  Pisidia — forming  the  part  of  the 
upper  chain  oi  Taurus  between  Mount  Cadmus,  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Lycia  and  Phrygia,  and  the  mountains  of  Cilicia  Tra- 
cheia — were  a  principal  stronghold  of  the  Solymi,  whose  de- 
scendants may,  perhaps,  be  recognized  to  the  present  day  in 
the  wild  and  rapacious  Karamanians.  But  the  Solymi  of 
these  mountains  were  mingled  Avith  Phrygian  tribes;  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  country  belonged  to  Phrygia  (the  rest 
being  included  in  Pamphylia),  till  Pisidia  was  first  made  a 
province  under  Constantine  the  Great.  Their  rugged  mount- 
ains and  deep  ravines  preserved  the  Pisidians  trom  subjec- 
tion either  by  the  Persians  or  the  Greek  kings  of  Syria,  and 
enabled  them  to  harass  the  neighboring  countries  with  preda- 
tory inroads.  The  Romans  curbed  and  nominally  conquered 
them;  but  they  never  established  a  garrison  nor  planted  a 
colony  in  the  interior  :  and  even  the  submission  of  the  towns 
seems  to  have  consisted  mainly  in  paying  tribute  to  their 
rulers.  Among  those  towns  we  must  refer,  in  passing,  to 
the  fame  of  Antioch  (distinguished  from  the  capital  of  Syria 
by  the  title  of  Antiodda  Pisidicp)  as  the  scene  of  St.  Paul's 
first  preaching  in  Asia  Minor.^'  Pisidia  is  remarkable  for 
its  chain  of  large  lakes,  between  the  nortliern  slopes  of  Tau- 
rus and  the  mountains  of  Plirygia. 

§  5.  In  the  eastern  part  of  Pisidia — more  properly  regard- 
ed as  a  distinct  region,  under  the  name  of  Isauria — dwelt 
the  kindred  race  of  the  Isauri,  or  Isaurica  gens,  Avho  ob- 
tained a  famous  name  in  history.  More  formidable  as  ban- 
ditti than  even  the  Pisidians,  they  also  leagued  themselves 
with  the  Cilician  pirates  ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  blows  inflicted 
on  them  by  Publius  Servilius  Isauricus  (b.c.  78  seq.),  they 
continued  to  defy  the  power  of  Rome.  Even  when  the  Ro- 
mans attempted  to  hem  them  in  with  a  ring  of  fortresses, 
the  Isaurians  constantly  broke  through  the  cordon.     In  the 

25  Pint.  "  De  Def.  Orac."  ii.  p.  421,  D. 

20  Professor  RawUnson,  who  points  out  these  Semitic  characters,  gives  as  exam- 
ples of  PhcEiiician  names  in  Lycia,  "  the  mountaius  Solyma,  Phoenix,  and  Massici/ttts 
(Heb.  Metzuka)\  the  district  Cabalia  (L  e.,  motmtafnous :  Heb.  Gebal,  as  in  Psalm 
Ixxxiii.  7,  Arabic  Gc&er').— "Essay  XI.  to  Herod."  book  i.  (vol.  i.  p.  658) :  "Ou  the 
Ethnic  Affinities  of  the  Nations  of  Western  Asia." 

27  The  term  Shalamu  was  used  by  the  Assyrians  for  the  West,  in  allusion^  to  the 
Sun's  retiring  to  rest— and  this  may  be  the  origin  of  the  name  of  the  Solymi."— Sir 
H.  Rawliuson,  in  Rawlinson's  "Herod."  i.  p.  C5S.  If  this  view  be  correct  the  resem- 
blance of  the  name  to  that  of  Salem  or  Jerusr.lem  (Solijma,  Hierosohjma)  is  accounted 
for;  and  at  all  events  the  resemblance  tends  to  show  that  the  very  name  of  the  So- 
lymi is  Semitic.  ^^  Acts  xiii.  14  seq. 


THE  PAMPHYLIAXS.  479 

third  century  of  oiii-  era,  they  had  become  so  powerful  as  to 
unite  the  kindred  highbinders  of  Cilicia  with  themselves  to 
form  the  famous  Isaui-ian  nation,  which  not  only  furnished  a 
pretender  to  the  purple,  Trebellianus,''  but  a  famous  emper- 
or of  tlie  East,  Zeno,  the  Isaurian  (a.d.  474-491).  The  Isau- 
rians  of  Cilicia  were  especially  formidable  to  the  Greek  em- 
perors, cutting  to  pieces  whole  armies  that  were  sent  against 
them  ;  but  they  w^ere  at  length  greatly  reduced  by  Anas- 
tasius,  the  successor  of  Zeno"  (a.d.  491-518),  so  that,  under 
Justinian  (a.d.  527-565),  they  had  ceased  to  be  formidable. 
In  the  accounts  of  these  wars  the  Isaurians  are  described  as 
an  ugly  race,  of  low  stature — characteristics  which  suo:gest 
a  considerable  mixture  of  Turanian  blood.  They  were^^im- 
perfectly  armed,  and  formed  bad  soldiers  in  the  open  field, 
but  were  irresistible  in  irregular  warfare.  Traditions  origi- 
nating in  the  favorite  pursuits  of  the  ancient  Isaurians  iire 
still  current  among  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  country, 
and  an  interesting  specimen  is  related  by  Hamilton.'" 

§  6.  We  have  thus  followed  the  settlements  of  the  Semitic 
races  of  Asia  Minor  (including  probably  a  strong  infusion 
of  the  older  Ilamitic  and  Turanian  inhabitants)  along  the 
chain  of  Taurus,  and  the  southern  sea-board,  with  tlie  ex- 
ception of  the  coast  round  the  deep  bay  between  Lycia  and 
Cilicia,  which  formed  the  country  of  Pamphylia. 

This  purely  Greek  name,''  which  the  country  already  bore 
as  early  as  the  time  of  Herodotus,  indicates  the  mixture  of 
races  which  formed  its  population,  and  which  naturally  re- 
sulted from  the  formation  of  the  region.  The  parallel  i-anges 
running  down  from  the  chain  of  Taurus  to  the  coast  leave 
valleys  open  to  invasion  from  the  sea,  but  adapted  to  pre- 
serve their  inhabitants  from  intermixture  with  each  other. 
It  can  not  be  doubted  that  the  Semites,  whom  we  have  found 
both  in  Cilicia  and  Lycia,  and  in  the  connecting  mountains, 
spread  also  over  this  coast,  where  they  were  mingled  with 
the  aboriginal  inhabitants. 

In  historic  times,  the  chief  element  of  the  population  was 
considered  to  be  Hellenic.  Herodotus  says  that  the  Pam- 
phyhans  in  the  navy  of  Xerxes  Avere  armed  exactly  like  the 
Greeks.''  Their  language  is  described  as  a  mixture  of  Greek 
and  some  barbarous  tongues,  so  that  it  could  scarcely  be 
recognized  as  a  Greek  dialect."  Their  coins  bear  witness 
to  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  Greek  gymnastic  con- 

29  Que  of  the  "  Thirty  Tyrants  "  iu  the  third  century.     He  was  defeated  and  killed 
by  a  general  of  Gallienns.  30  u  Researches,"  vol.  ii.  p.  331. 

Uati<pv\oi,  "a  collection  of  all  races,"  a  name  equivalent  to  the  "Allemanni  "  of 
Germany.  32  Herod,  vii.  91.  33  Arrian.  "  Anab."  i.  2C 


480  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR 

tests,  and  with  the  Greek  deities,  among  whom  Zens,  Arte- 
mis, and  Dionysus  are  often  represented. 

The  origin  of  this  Hellenic  element  may  be  traced,  in  part 
at  least,  to  the  natural  exj^osure  of  the  country  to  invasion 
from  the  sea  ;  and  in  this  way  kindred  elements  probably 
entered  the  country  still  earlier  from  the  north-west  of  Asia 
Minor,  pei'haps  during  the  time  of  the  maritime  ascendency 
of  the  Phrygians.  Theopompus  says,  in  general  terms,  that 
Pamphylia  was  colonized  by  the  Greeks,^*  but  the  more 
specific  traditions  refer  their  first  settlements  to  that  great 
movement  of  maritime  enterprise,  which  is  mythically  con- 
nected with  the  adventures  of  the  Greek  chiefs  on  their  rc' 
turn  from  Troy-  -a  mode  of  confessing  tlieir  unknown  an- 
tiquity. Thus  Herodotus  says  that  the  nation  is  descended 
from  those  who,  on  the  return  from  Troy,  were  dispersed 
with  Archilochus  and  Calchas  ;  and  Pliny  repeats  a  tradi- 
tion that  the  country  was  originally  called  Mo^jsopsia^  from 
a  leader  of  one  of  those  bands  of  Greeks  who  settled,  after 
the  Trojan  war,  along  the  coasts  of  Pamphylia,  Cilicia,  and 
Syria.^^  The  known  Greek  colonies  on  the  Pamphylian  bay 
were  numerous  and  important,  and  some  of  them  (as  Side 
and  Aspendus)  retained  their  independence  under  the  Per- 
sians. 

In  their  manners  and  social  habits  the  Pamphyiians  strong- 
ly resembled  the  Cilicians,^"  and  they  took  part  with  them 
in  their  piratical  proceedings  :  their  maritime  towns  were, 
in  fact,  the  great  marts  v/here  the  spoils  of  the  Cilician  pi- 
rates w^ere  disposed  of.  Navigation  seems  to  have  been 
their  principal  occupation,  as  is  evident  from  the  coins  of 
several  of  their  towns.  They  furnished  thirty  ships  to  the 
armament  of  Xerxes  for  the  invasion  of  Greece.^' 

On  the  inland  side,  the  limits  of  the  country  varied  at  dif- 
ferent times.  The  Romans  reckoned  to  it  all  Pisidia,  on  both 
sides  of  Taurus  ;  so  that  Polybius  even  doubts  whether  to 
include  Pamphylia  among  the  countries  within  or  without 
Taurus.^^  Ultimately  the  formation  of  the  new  province  of 
Pisidia  under  Constantine  confined  Pamphylia  to  a  narrow 
strip  along  the  coast.  Its  length,  from  Olbia  to  Ptolemais, 
is  i-eckoned  by  Strabo  at  640  stadia,  or  64  o-eoo-rapliical 
miles. '^ 

§  v.  Lycia  had  already  acquired  its  historic  name,  and  the 
Lycians  had  overpowered  the  okler  Solymi  ^ud  Alilyans,  in 

'4  Fras-  111 

35  Herod,  vii.  91 ;  Pliii.  "  H.  N."  v.  2G:  comp.  Paus.  vii.  3,  §  4;  Strab.  xiv.  pp.  06^ 
021,963— besides  other  passages  in  the  historians  and  geographers. 

3«  Strabo,  xii.  p.  5T0  ;  xiv.  pp.  064, 670.  3^  Herod,  vii.  91. 

3«  Polyb.  xxii.  27.  ^^  Strabc  xiv.  j).  868. 


THE  LYCIANS— THEIR  ORIGIN.  481 

the  time  of  Homer,  Avho  seems  well  acquainted  with  the 
country.  He  knows  the  River  Xanthus  and  Cape  Chimaera; 
and  his  chief  heroes,  on  the  Trojan  side,  after  Hector  and 
^Eneas,  are  tlie  Lycians,  Sarpedon  and  Glaucus,  and  the 
archer  Pandarus.*°  Tlie  ethnic  relations  of  this  people  pre- 
sent a  curious  problem,  which  has  been  rendei'ed  doubly  iiv- 
teresting  through  the  recent  discoveries  of  Sir  Charles  Fel- 
lows (in  1838  and  1840),  and  by  the  remains  of  Lycian  art 
with  which  our  national  collection  has  been  enriched  by  ex- 
peditions sent  out  under  his  conduct  (in  1842  and  1846).  It 
must  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  earliest  of  these 
sculptures  (Avhich  are  nearly  all  from  the  city  of  Xanthus) 
belong  to  a  period  when  Lycia  had  come  very  decidedly  un- 
der Hellenic  influence.  Their  dates  range  from  (probably) 
the  sixth  century  b.c. — that  is,  about  the  time  of  the  Persian 
conquest  —  down  to  the  period  of  the  Byzantine  Empire. 
Among  them  are  several  inscriptions  in  the  Lycian  language, 
and  some  bilingual  inscriptions  in  Lycian  and  Greek. 

§  8.  "The  Lycians,"  says  Herodotus,*'  "are  in  good  truth 
anciently  from  Crete ;  which  island,  in  former  days,  was 
wholly  occupied  by  barbarians.  A  quarrel  arising  there  be- 
tween the  two  sons  of  Europa,  Sarpedon"  and  JMinos,  as  to 
which  of  them  should  be  king,  Minos,  whose  party  prevailed, 
drove  Sarpedon  and  his  folloAvers  into  banishment.  The 
exiles  sailed  to  Asia,  and  landed  on  the  Milyan  territory. 
Milyas  was  the  ancient  name  of  the  country  now  inhabited 
by  the  Lycians  :  the  Milyne  of  the  present  day  were  in  those 
times  called  Solymi.  So  long  as  Sarpedon  reigned,  his  fol- 
lowers kept  the  name  Avhich  they  brought  with  them  from 
Crete,  and  were  called  Termilcp^  as  the  Lycians  still  are  by 
those  who  live  in  their  neighborhood.  But  after  Lycus, 
the  son  of  Pandion,  banished  from  Athens  by  his  brother 
^geus,  had  found  a  refuge  with  Sarpedon  in  the  country 
of  these  Termil^e,  they  came,  in  course  of  time,  to  be  called, 
from  him,  Lycicms.*^  Their  customs  are  partly  Cretan,  part- 
ly Carian.  They  have,  however,  one  singular  custom,  in 
which  they  differ  from  every  other  nation  in  the  world  :  they 
take  the  mother's  and  not  the  father's  name.  Ask  a  Lycian 
who  he  is,  and  he  answers  by  giving  his  own  name  and  that 
of  his  mother,  and  so  on  in  the  female  line.  Moreover,  if  a 
free  woman  marry  a  man  who  is  a  slave,  their  children  are 
full  citizens  ;  but  if  a  free  man  marry  a  foreign  woman,  or 

<"  Horn.  "  II."  V.  16C  ,^eq. ;  vi.  171 ;  x.  430  ;  xii.  312,  foil.  ;  "  Od."  v.  '282,  foil.  Ptuida- 
rns  belongs  to  the  Lycians  of  the  Troad  ;  bnt  their  affinity  with  the  Southern  Lycians 
cnn  hardly  be  donbted,  ^'  Herod,  i.  173. 

-2  The  maternal  grandfather,  according  to  the  mylhic  genealogies,  of  Homer's  Sar 
pcdon,  who  was  also  a  son  of  Jove.  *3  Comp.  Herod,  vii.  92, 

21 


482  THE  nation;  S  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

live  with  a  concubine,  even  though  he  be  the  first  person  in 
the  state,  the  children  forfeit  all  the  rights  of  citizenship." 

Another  form  of  the  legend  connects  Sarpedon  with  Ci- 
licia  as  well  as  Lycia.  Having  quarrelled  with  his  brother 
^Nlinos  about  their  connnon  love  for  Lycus,  he  takes  refuge 
with  Cilix,  assists  liini  against  tlie  Lycians,  and  ultimately 
becomes  king  of  Lycia/^  If  the  myth  seems  to  trace  the 
common  origin  of  the  Cretans  and  the  Lycians  to  Europe, 
by  making  Minos  and  Sarpedon  sons  of  P-^uropa,  it  must  be 
remembered,  on  the  other  hand,  that  Euro})a  herself  was  car- 
ried over  from  Asia,  and  was  tlie  daughter  of  the  Phamician 
king,  Agenor.  Here,  also,  the  legend  seems  again  to  connect 
the  Lycians  with  the  Asiatic  settlers  m  Calicin,  for  Cilix,  the 
hero-eponymus  of  that  country,  is  a  son  of  Agenor. 

On  the  whole,  the  legends  are  far  from  i^ivoring  the  tiieory 
of  any  close  original  connection  (we  are  not  now  speaking  of 
later  influence)  between  the  Lycians  and  the  Greeks.  Nor 
do  the  remains  of  Lycian  art  and  language,  when  properly 
examined,  favor  that  tlieory.  To  a  cursory  observer  of  the 
Lycian  remains,  indeed,  the  points  of  likeness  to  Grecian  art 
are  so  striking  that  he  ought  to  pause  and  inquire  whether 
his  first  impressions  are  correct."  Li  proportion  as  we  as- 
cend in  antiquity,  the  likeness  becomes  less  and  less;  and 
the  earliest  sculptures  are  considered  by  good  judges  to  be 
more  like  the  Persepolitan  than  the  Athenian."""'  Of  course 
the  resemblance  in  the  alphabets  merely  proves  their  com-, 
mon  derivation  from  die  Phoenician  letters;  but  the  pecul- 
iarity of  some  of  the  Lycian  characters  sufliciently  distin- 
guishes their  alphabet  from  the  Greek.  The  Lycian  inscrip- 
tions have  now  been  so  far  deciphered  as  to  enable  us  to  re- 
fer their  language  to  the  Aryan  family,  but  of  a  type  nearer 
to  the  Zend  than  to  the  Thraco-Pelasgian  or  Hellenic — and, 
moreover,  so  ancient  as  to  stand  to  Zciid  rather  in  the  rela- 
tion of  a  sister  than  a  daughter/.' 

§  9.  All  this  points  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Lycians  be- 

**  Apollod.  \\\.  1,  ^  2 :  comp.  Pans.  vii.  3,  §  4  :  Strabo,  xii.  p.  573. 

**  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  whether  the  characters  which  make  this  reserr.' 
!)lance  were  derived  by  the  one  nation  directly  from  the  other  (and  by  which  from 
which),  or  by  both  from  a  common  source.  The  same  remark  applies  to  those  sub- 
jects of  the  sculptures  which  appear  also  in  the  Greek  mythology,  such  as  Pandarns 
and  his  daughters,  and  the  Harpies.  •^^  See  FelloAvs's  "Lycia,"  p.  173. 

47  "Professor  Lassen,  of  Bonn,  has  recently  published  accounts  of  these  inscrip 
tions  ('Ueber  die  Lykischen  Inschriften,'  and  -Die  aitcn  Sprachen  Kleinasiens,'  iu 
tlie  'Zeitschrift  v.  Morgenland'),  in  which  he  has  proved  more  scientifically  than 
former  writers  the  Indo-Euroi)ean  character  of  the  laniruaire.  This,  however,  had 
lontr  been  sufficiently  apparent  from  the  labors  of  Sir  C.  Fellows  and  Mr.  Daniel 
Sharpe.  Bilingual  inscriptions,  in  Greek  and  Lycian,  upon  tombs  reudcred  the 
work  of  decipherment  comparatively  easy."  (Rawlinson,  "  iissay  XL  to  Herodotus," 
Book  i.  .  to  which  are  appended  several  specimens  of  the  inscriptions.) 


LYCIAN  IXSCRIPTIOXS  AND  L..\^^GUAGE.  483 

longed  to  one  of  the  earliest  western  migrations  of  the  Ira- 
nian branch  of  the  Japlietic  race — a  migration  which  ex- 
tended far  and  wide  over  Asia  Minor,  the  Archipelago,  and 
Greece ;  and  the  remains  of  which,  when  overpowered  by 
other  waves,  set  in  motion  from  the  east,  would  naturally 
find  refuge  in  such  remote  and  rugged  regions  as  the  penin- 
Bula  of  Lycia  and  the  island  of  Crete.  Egyptologers  sup- 
pose that  they  find  memorials  of  the  wide  extension  and 
maritime  power  of  this  people  in  the  mention  of  the  Leka^ 
wlio  ap])ear,  in  the  reigns  of  INIenephtha  and  Rameses  III., 
among  tlie  ?nost  formidable  enemies  of  Egypt  "  coming  from 
the  isles  and  the  coasts  of  the  Northern  sea."  But  the  very 
likeness  of  the  name  raises  a  difiiculty  ;  for  tlie  statement  of 
Herodotus  al>ont  the  hero-epon}  mus  Lycus  (however  worth- 
less as  an  historic  fact)  seems  to  imply  that  the  name  Ly- 
cians  was  of  late  origin,  and  rather  the  Greek  than  the  na- 
tive appellation.  Of  course,  Herodotus  might  easily  be  mis- 
taken about  the  antiquity  of  the  name ;  but  the  name  of 
Termilw^  by  which  he  says  that  the  Lycians  '>vere  known  to 
their  neighbors,  apjjears  in  the  inscriptions  as  their  only 
name.""  Lycia  and  Lycians  appear  in  the  Greek  portion  of 
the  inscriptions,*' but  there  is  no  similar  name  in  the  Lycian. 
One  explanation  is  that  Lycian  was  a  widely-extended  (je- 
neric  terra,  which  ultimately  got  fixed  on  the  people  whose 
own  more  pi'oper  name,  or  that  of  their  princii)al  tribe,  was 
Tremilfj^.'' 

§  10.  The  great  influence  exerted  upon  the  Lycians  by  the 
Greeks  from  a  very  early  time  is  proved  by  their  inscrii> 
tions,  their  woi-ks  of  art,  and  their  religion  ;  and  Herodotus 
tells  us  that  the  Lycians  gave  kings  to  the  neighboring 
Greek  colonies  (i.  147).  The  mere  fact  that  many" of  their 
inscriptions  are  engraved  in  Greek  as  well  as  Lycian,  shows 

<^  The  form  on  the  Lycian  inscriptions  is  tpxJvIEAa,  Tmmele,  lilic  tl-c  TpcM'^ai  of 
Hecatanif,  Fr.  SGI,  i-Uid  the  SpafxiXth  of  Stephanus  Byzantinus.  "  TrainciG  is  a  name 
of  frequent  occuneuce,  and  even  lingers  in  the  country  at  the  present  day.  There  is 
a  village  called  Trcmili  in  the  mountains  at  the  extreme  north  of  ancient  Lycia,  not 
Ur  from  the  lake  of  GJiievl  Ht-ssar.  (See  '  Geograph.  Journal,'  vol.  xii.  p.  156 ;  Spratt 
and  Forbes's  'Lycia,'  vol.  i.  p.  2'JG.)  Sir  Charles  Fellows  thinks  that  the  Lycians, 
whose  real  ethnic  title  is  unknown  to  us,  were  divided  into  three  tribes— tlie  Tra- 
mehv,  the  Trots,  and  the  TekJcefa;  whom  he  identifies  with  the  Cannians  of  Herodotus. 
The  Trnrmlce.  were  the  most  important  tribe,  occupying  all  southern  Lycia  from  the 
gulf  of  Adalia  to  the  valley  of  the  Xanthus.  Above  them,  on  the  east,\vere  the  dis- 
tricts called  Miljjas  and  Cibj/ratis,  inhabited  by  tribes  not  Lycian;  while  the  upi^er 
part  of  the  valley  rf  the  Xanthus,  and  the  mountain  tract  to  the  westward,  as  far  as 
the  range  which  bounds  on  the  east  the  valley  of  the  Calbis,  was  inhabited  by  the 
Tro'es;  and  the  region  west  of  that,  to  the  borders  of  Caria,  by  the  Tekkefre  (see  the 
'Essay  on  the  Coins  of  Lycia,'  London,  1855)."— Rawliuson,  "Note  to  Ilerod.  L  173," 
vol.i.  p.  309. 

*'J  The  Greek  spelling  of  the  inscriptions  Is  mkia,  ackioi, 

^0  Some  writers,  who  adopt  this  view,  lind  in  the  Leka  of  the  Egyptian  inscriptions 
not  only  the  Lycians,  but  also  the  Leleges,  and  even  the  Laconiaus. 


484  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

that  the  former  language  had  become  so  familiar  to  the  peo- 
ple, as  to  make  it  desirable,  or  even  necessary,  to  employ  it 
along  with  the  vernacular  in  public  decrees  and  laws  about 
and  after  the  time  of  the  Persian  wars.  The  influence  of 
Greek  literature  is  also  attested  by  the  theatres  which  ex- 
isted in  almost  every  town,  and  in  which  Greek  plays  must 
have  been  performed,  and  have  been  understood  and  admired 
by  the  people. 

In  the  arts  of  sculpture  and  architecture  the  Lycians  at- 
tained a  degree  of  perfection  but  little  inferior  to  the  Greeks. 
Theii-  temples  and  tombs  abound  in  the  finest  sculptures, 
representing  mythological  subjects  and  tlie  events  of  their 
military  history.  Among  the  former  class,  we  find  the  local 
legends  of  the  rape  of  the  daughters  of  Par.<]arus  by  the 
Harpies,  and  the  light  of  Bellerophon  with  the  Chima^ra,  side 
by  side  with  subjects  from  the  Greek  mythology;  among 
the  latter  class,  the  capture  of  Xanthus  by  Harpagus,  the 
general  of  Cyrus,  and  other  monuments  in  his  honor  and  that 
of  succeeding  satraps,  show  the  use  made  of  the  native  art- 
ists by  their  Persian  conquerors.^' 

Their  architectui'e,  especially  that  of  their  tombs  and  sar- 
cophagi, has  quite  a  peculiar  character,  enabling  travellers  to 
distinguish  whether  any  particular  monument  is  Lycian  or 
Greek.  The  sarcophagi  are  surmounted  by  a  roof  in  the 
form  of  a  pointed  arch,  surmounted  with  a  ridge,  and  richly 
decorated  with  sculptures — as  may  be  seen  in  the  complete 
specimen  set  up  in  the  Bi-itish  Museum.  It  is  the  tomb  of  a 
satrap  of  Lydia  named  Fcdafa,  whom  the  bas-reliefs  on  the 
lower  part  represent  as  sitting  amidst  other  figures  of  men 
and  gods,  and  warriors  engaged  in  combat,  with  inscrip- 
tions. The  roof  bears  the  name  of  its  {wtht,  It imse :  on  each 
of  its  sides  is  an  armed  figure,  perha])s  Glaucus  or  Sarpedon, 
in  a  four-horsed  chariot;  and  along  the  i-idge  a  combat  of 
warriors  on  horseback,  with  a  Lycian  inscription.  The 
pointed  arch.,  which  gives  tlie  roof  of  this  structure  its  char- 
acteristic form,  appears  also  over  the  entrances  of  numerous 
tombs  cut  in  the  faces  of  lofty  rocks  throughout  the  country. 

Another  interesting  monument  is  the  "Harpy  Tomb," 
which  stood  on  the  Acropolis  of  Xanthus,  and  the  style  of 
which  indicates  a  date  probably  not  later  than  b.c.  500.  It 
is  a  rectangular  solid  sliaft,  about  1 7  feet  high,  surmounted 
by  a  small  chamber,  the  door  of  which  is  visible  on  the  west 
side  of  the  monument. ^^ 

5»  Concerning  the  desperate  defense  and  capture  of  Xanthus,  see  the  "Student's 
Greece,"  chap.  xv.  §  10.  There  seems  reason  to  infer  from  the  monuments  that  the 
satrapy  of  Lycia  was  for  some  time  hereditary  in  the  family  of  Harpagus. 

^2  The  sculptures  from  this  and  the  edifice  next  noticed,  in  the  British  Museum, 
are  accompanied  by  models,  showing  their  original  position  upon  the  structure. 


"INSCRIBED  MONUMENT."  485 

The  finest  of  (ill — but  bearing  very  decided  marks  of  Greek 
influence — is  an  Ionic  ))eristyle  building,  with  fourteen  col- 
umns running  round  a  solid  cella^  and  statues  in  the  interco- 
lumniations,  the  whole  elevated  on  a  base,  which  stands  upon 
tv.'o  steps.  The  sculptures  ni  our  Museum — representing 
scenes  of  battle,  siege,  hunting,  sacrifice,  and  feasting — belong 
to  various  friezes,  which  encircled  the  building  and  its  base  ; 
among  them  we  see  Greek  warriors  in  conflict  with  Asiatics. 
The  building  is  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  a  trophy 
in  memory  of  the  conquest  of  Lycia  by  the  Persians  under 
Harpagus  (b.c.  545),  though  it  was  probably  not  erected  till 
some  time  in  the  following  century.  Another  conjecture  is 
that  the  bas-reliefs  represent  the  suppression  by  the  Persian 
satrap  of  Lycia  of  the  revolt  of  the  Cilicians  in  b.c.  387. 

Still  more  important,  for  its  bearing  on  the  Lycian  lan- 
guage, is  the  "Inscribed  ^[onument"  —  a  square  5^eZr^,  cov- 
ered with  an  inscription  in  the  Lycian  language,  in  which 
there  is  mention  of  the  son  of  Plarpagus,  and  of  several  Ly- 
cian towns  and  states.  On  the  north  side  is  a  Greek  inscrip- 
tion, commencing  with  a  line  of  the  poet  Simonides,  who 
flourished  in  b.c.  556,  and  recording  the  exploits  of  the  son 
of  Harpagus,  in  whose  honor  the  monument  was  erected  in 
the  Market-place  of  the  Twelve  Gods." 

These  monuments  are  all  from  Xanthus,  the  chief  city  oi 
Lycia  J  an  inspection  of  the  remains  of  other  towns,  as  fig- 
ured in  the  works  of  Sir  Charles  Fellows,  Foi-bes  and  Spi-att, 
and  Texier,  shows  that  in  all  the  arts  of  civUized  life  the  Ly- 
cians,  though  always  accounted  barbarians  in  the  Hellenic 
sense,  were  little  inferior  to  the  Greeks  themselves.  The 
Greek  influence  on  their  religion  has  been  traced  in  their 
worship  of  Apollo,  especially  at  Patara;  but  though  the  le- 
gend of  Patarus  raises  a  presumption  that  this  was  the  Greek 
deity,  the  point  is  not  certain. 

§  11.  The  "Iliad"  exhibits  the  Lycians  as  a  leading  mem- 
ber of  that  great  confederacy  of  the  Aryan  states  of  Asia 
Minor  which  contended  with  the  GiH?eks  in  the  war  of  Troy ; 
and  the  branch  of  the  nation  of  which  Pandarus  was  prince 
is  represented  as  settled  on  the  KiverJEsepus,  in  the  Troad." 
They  do  not  appear  again  in  history  till  Herodotus  mentions 
them  as  exempt,  with  the  Cilicians,  from  subjugation  by  Crne- 
sus.  The  exterminating  character  of  their  conquest  by  Cy- 
rus must  have  left  the  more  room  for  that  Greek  influence 
which  begins  thenceforth  to  be  conspicuous.  But  they  still 
retained  their  own  j^eculiar  constitution,  which  is  often  held 

^'  Oai-  Museum  contains  a  cast  of  this  iiicnument. 
64  Horn.,  "  II."  ii.  824  acq. ;  iv.  91 ;  v.  105. 


48G  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOE. 

up  as  one  of  the  wisest  in  all  antiquity.  Lycia  was  a  confed- 
eracy of  free  cities;  and  the  political  unity  among  its  towns 
seems  to  have  been  the  source  of  that  strength  which  ena- 
bled it  to  resist  Crcesus,  and  which  earned  a  large  amount 
of  freedom  under  its  subsequent  masters. 

In  consequence  mainly  of  theii*  strong  federal  government, 
the  Lycians  were  a  peaceable  and  well-conducted  people,  who 
took  no  part  in  the  piracy  of  their  maritime  neighbors,  but 
remained  faithful  to  their  ancient  institutions ;  and  on  this 
account  they  were  allowed  by  the  Romans  the  enjoyment  of 
their  free  constitution.  Strabo,  who  saw  its  working  under 
the  supremacy  of  Rome,  describes  the  confederacy  as  consist- 
ing of  23  towns,  whose  deputies  met  at  a  place  fixed  upon 
each  time  by  common  consent.  The  six  largest  towns — 
Xanthus,  Patara,  Pinara,  Olympus,  Myra,  and  Tlos  —  had 
each  three  votes  in  the  Diet ,  the  towns  of  more  moderate 
size  had  two,  and  the  remaining  small  places  one  vote  each. 
The  executive  of  the  confederacy  was  m  the  hands  of  a  mag- 
istrate called.  Xys^V«Y'A,  whose  election  was  the  first  business 
of  the  congress,  and  after  whom  the  other  officers  of  the  con- 
federacy were  chosen.  The  judges  also,  as  well  as  the  magis- 
trates, were  elected  from  each  city,  accordmg  to  the  number 
of  its  votes .  taxation  and  other  public  duties  were  regulated 
on  the  same  principle.  In  former  times,  the  deputies  consti- 
tuting the  congress  had  also  decided  upon  peace,  war,  and 
alliances;  but  this,  of  course,  ceafeed  wlien  Lycia  acknowl- 
edged the  supremacy  of  Rome.  Tliis  happy  constitution 
lasted  till  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Claudius,  when  Lycia  be- 
came a  Roman  province. 

The  maritime  habits  of  the  Lycians  are  attested  by  their 
serving  Avith  50  shii)S  in  the  navy  of  Xerxes,  when  (Herodo- 
tus tells  us)  "  their  ci-cavs  wore  greaves  and  breastplates, 
while  for  arms  they  had  bows  of  cornel-wood,  reed-arrows 
without  feathers,  and  javelins.  Their  outer  garment  was  the 
skin  of  a  goat,  which  hung  from  their  shoulders — their  head' 
dress  a  hat  encircled  with  plumes ;  and,  besides  their  other 
weapons,  they  carried  daggers  and  falchions."^" 

§  12.  The  Caunians,  whom  Herodotus  alone  mentions  as 
a  distinct  people,^**  are  now  regarded  as  Lycians,  on  the  evi- 
dence of  their  coins  and  architecture.  They  resisted  Harpa- 
gus  precisely  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Lycians,  and  C'aunus 
iiad  precisely  the  fate  of  Xanthus.  They  inhabited  a  small 
territory  to  the  west  of  Lycia,  between  tlie  Gulf  of  Glaucus 

*o  Herod,  vii,  92.    lu  c.  77  he  sper.ks  of  "  Lycian  bows  "  as  carried  by  the  Milyaiis. 
68  Thncydides,  however,  speaks  of  the  expedition  of  Pericles  "towards  Caria  aud 
Cauuus."  as  if  he  did  not  consider  Canuus  to  be  included  iu  Caria  Proper  (i.  llC). 


THE  CAUNIAN8.-THE  CAIUANS.  487 

and  Port  Panonnus,  on  the  coast  of  Caria  ;''  their  city,  Can- 
nus,  lias  been  identitied  by  an  inscription,  with  some  exten- 
sive ruins,  including  walls  of  Cyclopean  masonry,  on  th( 
right  bank  of  a  small  stream  (now  called  Koi-gcz)^  whicli 
carries  off  the  water  of  a  large  lake  about  10  miles  inland.'^ 

Herodotus  gives  the  following  account  of  the  people: 
"The  Caunians,  in  my  judgment,  are  aboriginals,  but  by 
their  own  account  they  came  from  Crete.  In  their  language 
either  they  have  approximated  to  the  Carians,  or  the  Carians 
to  them  ;  on  this  point  I  can  not  speak  with  certainty.  In 
their  customs,  however,  they  differ  greatly  from  the  Carians, 
and  not  only  so,  but  from  all  other  men.  They  think  it  a 
most  honorable  practice  for  friends,  or  persons  of  the  same 
age,  whether  they  be  men,  women,  or  children,  to  meet  to- 
gether in  large  companies,  for  the  purpose  of  drinking  Avine. 
Again,  on  one  occasion  they  determined  that  they  would  no 
longer  make  use  of  the  foreign  temples,  which  had  long  been 
established  among  them,  but  would  worship  their  own  old 
ancestral  gods  alone.  Then  their  whole  youth  took  arms, 
and,  striking  the  air  with  their  spears,  marched  to  the  Ca- 
lyndic  frontier,'"  declaring  that  they  were  driving  out  the 
foreign  gods."""  Caunus  possessed  an  excellent  defensible 
harbor  and  dock-yards."'  Under  the  Romans  it  was  a  place 
of  considerable  trade,  and  was  famous  for  its  dried  tigs,^'" 
which  have  acquired  lasting  celebrity  through  an  incident 
related  by  Cicero.*^''  When  Crassus  was  embarking  his  army 
at  Brundisium,  to  assume  that  proconsulate  of  Syria  which 
ended  in  his  Parthiaji  disaster,  a  sellei-  of  dried  figs  imported 
from  Caunus  kept  crying  on  the  quay  "  Caimeas  /"  {sc.  ficus),^^ 
which  was  interpreted,  after  the  event,  as  Cave  rte  eas.  "  Be- 
ware of  going !" 

§13.  The  south-western  corner  of  Asia  Minor  was  occu- 
pied by  the  Carians,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  important 
nations  of  the  peninsula.  In  the  time  of  Homer,  who  gives 
them  the   epithet   of  "  strange-speaking,"'"   they   dwelt   be- 

6^  Scylax,  "  Peripliis,"  p.  92  ;  Strabo,  xiv.  p.  932. 
5**  "Geoc:.  Journal,"  vol.  xii.  p.  15S. 

59  That  i?,  to  the  city  of  Calynda,  on  the  borders  of  L"cia  and  Caria. 

60  Herod,  i.  172.  "'  Thucyd.  viii.  39  ;  Strabo,  p.  G51. 
62  Strabo  mentions  the  abundance  of  fruit  about  Caunus  as  one  reason  forthephAca 

being  unhealthy  in  summer  and  autumn— a  very  likely  result  if  the  people  ate  too 
mucii  of  the  fruit.     The  truer  cause  was  marsh-malaria.  ^i  "  x)e  Div."  ii.  40,  S4. 

«*  Just  as  our  orau<:e-sellers  cry  St.  Michael's,  or  as  (thanks  to  the  excellent  street 
government  of  London),  one  of  the  various  distracting  noises,  amidst  which  these 
lines  are  written,  is  ''Yarmouth !  fine  Yarmouth  .'"  The  interest  of  the  story  lies  in 
the  evidence  it  affords  of  the  contraction  of  short  syllables  in  pronunciation,  Cave  — 
Cau—a  principle  which  helped  Dr.  Bentley  aiul  Mr.  Key  to  make  out  the  metres  of 
Plautus  and  Terence. 

65  "  II,"  ii.  867-9.  The  epithet  /3ap/3upo0a.iMr  is  understood  by  Slrabo  as  implyin-^ 
that  the  Carians  were  so  nearly  related  to  the  Greeks  as  to  attempt  to  use  the  Greek 


488  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

tween  the  Lyciaiis  and  Maeonians  (the  old  inhabitants  of 
Lydia),and  extended  along  the  western  coast  as  far  north  as 
"Miletus  and  Mount  Ptheira  (a  spur  of  Latmus),  and  the 
streams  of  Mseander,  and  the  lofty  summits  of  Mycale." 
Thus  it  appears  that  they  possessed  the  valley  of  the 
Mseander/"  On  the  north-east,  the  range  of  Cadmus  formed 
a  natural  division  of  Caria  fro.m  the  table-land  of  Phrygia. 
The  eastern  boundary  is  chiefly  the  range  westward  of  the 
River  Indus  ;  but  on  the  coast  Strabo  carries  it  to  the  east- 
ern side  of  the  Gulf  of  Glaucus.  The  country  is  formed  by 
mountain-ranges  running  far  into  the  sea,  which  penetrates 
fav  into  the  intervening  valleys,  as  in  the  Jirths  of  Scotland  ; 
the  deepest  being  the  Ceramic  Gulf,  with  the  long  and  nar- 
row peninsula  of  Cnidus  on  the  south.  Hence  the  country, 
which  might  be  included  in  a  rectangle  about  110  miles  long 
by  90  wide,  has  on  its  two  maritime  sides  a  coast-line  esti- 
mated by  Strabo  at  4900  stadia,  or  490  geographical  miles. 

§  14.  Herodotus  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  Ca- 
rians,  which  has  the  higher  value  from  the  fact  that  he  was 
a  native  of  the  country :  "The  Carians  are  a  race  who 
came  into  the  main-land  from  the  islands.  In  ancient  times 
they  were  the  subjects  of  King  Minos,  and  went  by  the  name 
of  Zelegeb,  dwelling  among  the  isles,  and,  so  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  push  my  inquiries,  never  liable  to  give  tribute 
to  any  man.  They  served  on  board  the  ships  of  King  Minos 
whenever  he  required  ;  and  thus,  as  he  was  a  great  conquer- 
or, and  prospered  in  his  w^ars,  the  Carians  were  in  his  day 
the  most  famous  hy  far  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  They 
likewise  were  the  inventors  of  three  things,  the  use  of  M'hich 
was  borrowed  from  them  by  the  Greeks:  they  were  the  first 
to  fasten  crests  on  helmets  and  to  put  devices  on  shields,  and 

they  also  invented  handles  for  shields Long   after 

the  time  of  Minos,  the  Carians  were  driven  from  the  islands 
by  the  lonians  and  Dorians,^  and  so  settled  upon  the  main- 
land. 

"  The  above  is  the  account  wdiich  the  Cretans  give  of  the 

lauguage,  their  imperfect  command  of  wliich  was  more  offensive  to  a  Greek  ear  tliau 
an  absolutely  foreign  tongue.  Though  this  interpretation  is  admitted  by  Lassen 
("Ueber  die  Sprache  Kleinasiens,"  p.  3S1)— who,  however,  maintains  the  Semitic 
character  of  the  Carians — it  is  a  forced  construction  of  the  epithet,  which  properly 
applies  to  those  who  spoke  a  lauguage  unintelligible  to  Greeks ;  and  it  was  prob- 
ably suggested  by  that  later  adoption  of  the  Greek  language,  which  was  the  natural 
result  of  the  Dorian  colonization  of  Caria.  In  historic  times,  we  are  expressly  told, 
by  a  Carian  historian,  that  the  language  of  the  Carians  was  mixed  with  a  very  great 
number  of  Greek  words.— Philip  of  Theangela  Fr.  2,  in  Miiller's  "Frag.  Hist.  Grjec." 
vol.  iv.  p.  475. 

«6  111  historic  times,  also,  the  proper  boundary  of  Caria  was  Mount  Messogis,  the 
northern  margin  of  the  valley  of  the  Mteander,  though  some  maps  place  the  bound- 
ary at  the  river  itself. 


THE  CARIANS.  489 

Carians :  the  Carians  themselves  say  very  differently.  They 
maintain  that  they  are  tlie  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  part 
of  the  main-land  in  whicli  they  now  dwell,  and  never  had  any 
other  name  than  that  which  they  still  bear.  And  in  proof 
of  this  they  show  an  ancient  temple  of  Carian  Jove  in  the 
country  of  the  MyLasians,"  in  which  the  Mysians  and  Lyd- 
ians  have  the  right  of  worshipping,  as  brother  races  to  the 
Carians  •  for  Lydus  and  Mysus,  they  say,  were  brothers  of 
Car.  These  nations,  therefore,  have  tlie  aforesaid  riglit ;  but 
such  as  are  of  a  different  race,  even  thougli  they  have  come 
to  use  the  Carian  tongue,  are  excluded  from  the  temple.""® 
This  would  seem  especially  to  apply  to  the  Caunians,  for  he 
adds,  as  we  have  seen,  that  the  Carians  and  the  Caunians 
spoke  the  same  language.'"'" 

Strabo  follows  what  Herodotus  calls  the  Cretan  account, 
that  the  Carians  were  diiven  from  the  islands  to  the  main- 
land by  the  lonians  and  Dorians  ;  and  he  specifies  the  peo- 
ple whom  they  displaced  as  Leleges  and  Pelasgi ;'"  in  fact, 
every  writer  but  Herodotus  distinguishes  tlie  Leleges  from 
the  Carians.  The  account  of  Thucydides  differs  in  the  de- 
tails. He  says  that  the  early  inhabitants  of  the  /Egean 
were  pirates,  and  that  they  were  Phoenicians  and  Carians ; 
and  that  Minos  expelled  the  Carians  from  the  Cyclades.'" 
In  proof  of  their  habitation  of  that  group,  he  mentions  that 
Avhen  the  Athenians  purified  Delos  (during  the  Peloponne- 
sian  war),  above  one-half  of  the  dead  bodies  that  were  re- 
moved appeared  to  be  Carians,  who  were  recognized  by  their 
arms,  wliich  were  buried  Avith  them,  and  by  the  manner  of 
their  interment,  which  was  the  same  that  they  used  in  his 
time.'' 

§  15.  Of  the  two  accounts  of  the  origin  of  the  Carians, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  their  own  should  be  preferred. 
That  they  had  an  affinity  with  the  people  of  the  islands  Avhich 
continue  their  mountain-system — the  Cyclades  to  the  west, 
and  Rhodes,  Carpatlius,  and  Crete  to  the  soutli-west — can 
hardly  be  questioned.  The  Cretans  would  naturally  regard 
themselves  as  the  parent-stock  ;  and,  as  in  the  parallel  case 
of  the  Phrygians,  there  may  have  been  a  backward  vxive  of 
Carian  migration  from  the  islands  to  the  continent,  caused 
by  the  great  colonizing  movement  of  the  Greeks.  But  their 
presence  on  the  main-land  dates  from  a  period  before  that 

"■^  Mylasa  (MelasNu)  was  an  inland  town  of  Cavia,  abont  20  miles  from  the  sea,  and 
the  capital  of  the  later  Carian  kingdom  (it.c.  3S5-.Sn4).  "n  Herod,  i.  ITl. 

"'•*  Ibid.  c.  172.  In  Book  v.  v.  8S,  Ilerodotns  observes,  incidentally,  tliat  the  so-called 
Ionian  female  dress,  consistini,'  oft!  linen  tiiuic  which  did  not  require  fastening  by 
brooches,  was  originally  Carian. 

70  Strabo,  p.  OGl.  "i  Thuc.  i.  4.  ^^  Thuc.  v.  3. 

21* 


490  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

which  the  Greek  traditioiis  assign  to  the  Ionian  and  Dorian 
colonies. 

The  Homeric  "catalogue  of  the  ships"  is  too  much  adapt- 
ed to  later  geographical  ideas  to  furnish  any  decisive  argu- 
ment ;  but  in  another  passage,  Homer  mentions  the  Carians 
in  close  connection  with  the  P^eonians,  Leleges,  Caucones,  ar.d 
Pehisgi — races  wdiich  have  this  in  common,  that  they  were  all 
among  the  earliest  reputed  inhabitants  both  of  Asia  Minor 
and  the  Grecian  peninsula.'^  Besides,  to  derive  the  Carians 
originally  from  Europe  is  to  invert  the  general  course  of  early 
migration,  to  which  w^e  have  no  ground  for  supposing  that 
they  formed  an  exception.  On  the  contrary,  their  position, 
in  one  of  those  corners  of  countries  into  which  primitive 
races  are  so  often  driven,'*  argues  them  the  remnant  of  a 
very  ancient  population  of  the  southern  coast,  forced  into 
this  position  by  the  Semitic  Cilicians  advancing  along  the 
shore,  and  by  the  Aryan  Lycians  descending  from  the  table- 
land, or  entering  by  the  sea.  When  thus  pent  up  in  the  ex- 
treme corner  of  the  peninsula,  the  Carians  would  naturally 
pass  over  into  the  islands  ;  and,  being  a  numerous  peo2)le, 
they  would  overspread  them  far  and  v/ide.  Some  regard 
them  as  the  last  remnant  of  the  old  Hamitic  population  of 
the  whole  peninsula ;  but  there  is  not  sufficient  evidence  to 
decide  this  point.  The  mythic  genealogy,  which  made  Car, 
Lydus,  and  Mysus  brothers,  is  doubtless  a  Greek  invention; 
and  the  close'  connection  w^ith  the  Lydians  and  ]N[ysians, 
which  Herodotus  regards  as  a  proof  of  affinity,  was  probably 
an  alliance  against  the  common  danger  from  the  Greek  set- 
tlers. It  is  important  to  observe  that,  besides  tlie  common 
temple  of  the  three  nations  at  Mylasa,  the  Carians  had  a 
special  temple  for  the  assembly  of  their  own  people. 

As  to  their  connection  with  the  Leleges,  Herodotus 
seems  to  be  clearly  mistaken  in  making  this  an  older  name 
of  the  Carians.  The  two  nations  are  distinguished  by  all 
other  writers,  and  the  Leleges  are  closely  connected  with 
the  Pelasgians:  the  two  seem  to  have  been  sister  races, 
which,  at  a  very  early  period,  overspread  the  western  coast 
of  Asia  Minor,  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago,  and  Greece. 
But,  thouoh  the  Leleges  are  thus  connected  by  affinity  with 
the  Pelasgians,  their  abodes  in  Asia  Minor  are   constantly 

■^3  Horn.  "II."  X.  42S,  0.  The  passage  is  the  /ess  /ikely  to  be  corrupt,  as  the  settle- 
ments of  these  peoples  in  historic  times  were  widely  apart.  An  iiiterpolater  would 
aave  had  more  regard  for  geographical  symmetry.  It  hardly  needs  proof  that  the 
Carians  meant  are  those  of  the  continent.  The  Greeks  are  represented  as  masters 
of  the  ^geau,  and  the  Cretans  in  particular  are  their  allies. 

''*  Like  the  Celts  in  Wales,  Cornwall,  Brittany,  and  the  Algarvo,  the  Cimmerians  ia 
the  Crin!?!>,  etc. 


THE  CARIANS  AND  LELEGES.  401 

near  those  of  the  Carians.  Strabo  says  that  the  Leleges 
and  Carians  once  occnpied  the  whole  of  Ionia,  and  tliat  in 
the  Milesian  territory,  and  in  all  Caria,  tombs  of  the  Leleges, 
and  forts  and  vestiges  of  bnildings,  were  shown.  He  adds 
that  the  two  were  so  intermingled  as  to  be  frequently  re- 
garded as  one  people.'^  He  even  makes  the  original  inhab- 
itants of  Ephesus  to  have  been  Carians  and  Leleges;  and 
the  Leleges  were  believed  to  have  been  the  earliest-known 
inhabitants  of  Samos.'*  In  Greece  the  two  peoples  were 
connected  by  the  tradition  that,  in  the  twelfth  generation 
after  Car,  Lelex,  came  over  from  Egypt  to  Megara,  and  gave 
his  name  to  the  people." 

The  Lacedaemonian  traditions  made  Lelex  the  first  native 
king  of  Laconia,  the  aborigines  of  which  were  called,  after 
him,  Leleges,  and  the  land  Lelegia.^**  Other  traditions  made 
the  Leleges  the  aborigines  of  Messenia  and  Elis.  In  Noith- 
ern  Greece,  Lelex  is  represented  as  the  first  autochthon  of 
Acarnania  and  the  Ionian  Islands  ;  and  the  Locrians,  Pho- 
cians,  Bccotians,  and  other  tribes,  are  sometimes  described  as 
Leleges — because  the  Leleges  were  the  people  who  sprang 
from  the  stones  wdth  which  Deucalion  repeopled  the  earth 
after  the  deluge.'"'  In  short,  the  Leleges  are  found  from  the 
western  shores  of  Greece  to  Lycia;  but  Caria  seems  to  have 
been  the  last  region  in  which  they  held  their  gi'ound  as  a 
distinct  people.  Here  they  were  represented  by  one  writer 
as  serfs  to  the  Carians — ^just  as  the  Helots  were  to  the  Lac- 
edaemonians, and  the  Penestae  to  the  Thessalians.**"  Among 
the  theories  framed  to  explain  these  statements,  special  at- 
tention seems  due  to  that  which  holds  that  the  Leleges 
were  a  part  of  that  very  early  Japhetic  migration  before 
which  the  Hamite  Carians  had  to  yield,  while  both  peoples 
again  were  driven  forward  by  the  advance  of  the  Phryg- 
ians in  the  upper,  and  the  Cilicians  in  the  lower,  part  of 
the  peninsula:  that  the  Leleges,  like  the  kindred  Pelasgians, 
adopting  peaceful  agricultural  habits,  were  overcome  by 
more  powerful  tribes  (such  as  the  Phrygians,  Mysians,  and 
Lydians),  except  in  the  remote  south-western  corner  of  the 
peninsula;  till  the  Carians,  driven  back  from  the  islands  by 
the  pressure  of  the  Greeks,  fixed  their  final  abode  in  the  part 
of  the  country  which  thenceforth  bore  their  name,  and  re- 
duced to  subjection  the  Leleges  who  remained  in  it.^' 

§  16.  The  Carians  are  always  represented  as  a  warlike 

's  Strabo,  vii.  p.  321 ;  xiii.  p.  Oil.  76  Athenajus,  x\^  p.  672. 

''''  Piius.  i.  39,  §  6.    This  tradiiion,  whatever  may  be  its  value,  makes  the  Carians  a 
innch  more  ancient  peo!)le  than  the  Leleges.  ''«  Paus.  iii.  i,  §  1 ;  iv.  1,  §§  1, 6. 

''■'  Strabo,  vii.  pp.  321,  322 :  comp.  Diou.  Hal.  i.  IT.  '^  At  hen.  vi.  p.  271. 

^1  Strabo,  I.  c. ;  Philip  of  Theangela,  Fr.  1. 


492  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

race.  The  legend  of  their  service  in  the  fleet  of  Minos 
seems  to  point  to  their  maritime  suj)remacy  during  the  time 
when  they  formed  the  chief  population  of  the  islands. 
When  afterwards  they  were  driven  back  upon  Caria,  and 
even  that  narrow  region  was  invaded  by  tlie  Dorian  set- 
tlers, they  took  to  the  trade  of  mercenary  soldiers.  A  scho- 
liast on  Plato  says  that  they  were  the  first  to  adopt  this 
profession,  for  which  their  name  is  used  as  a  by-word  by  the 
poet  Archilochus."''  In  this  capacity  they  served  in  Egypt 
under  Psammetichus,  and  they  fought  desperately  for  Psam- 
menitus  in  the  decisive  battle  with  Cambyses."  Another 
practice,  to  which  the  Carians  a])pear  to  have  resorted  in 
consequence  of  their  confined  territory,  was  the  sale  of  their 
children  to  slave-merchants,  whence  the  name  of  Car  tan  is 
tometimes  used  synonymously  with  slave. 

When  the  whole  western  coast  of  Caria  was  taken  posses- 
sion of  by  the  lonians  to  the  north  of  the  Maeander,  and  by 
the  Doi'ians  to  the  south  of  that  river,  the  Carians  became 
subject,  as  we  have  seen,  in  a  large  degree  to  Greek  influ- 
ence ;  but  they  preserved  their  own  language — though  with 
a  large  admixture  of  Greek  words — and  their  own  political 
institutions.  They  lived  in  small  towns  and  villages,  and 
were  united  in  a  kind  of  federation.  Their  place  of  meeting 
was  a  spot  in  the  inteiior,  Avhere  the  Macedonians,  after  the 
time  of  Alexander,  founded  the  colony  of  Stratonicea.  They 
met,  for  sacrifice  and  deliberation  on  their  common  interests, 
at  tlie  temple  of  Zeus  Chrysaoreus  ("Jove  with  the  golden 
sword"),  whence  the  federation  was  called  Chrysaoreum. 
This  confederation,  which  may  probably  have  been  formed 
after  the  Carians  were  driven  into  the  interior  by  the  loni- 
ans and  Dorians,  still  existed  after  the  Macedonian  conquest. 
The  extent  to  which  their  power  survived  the  Greek  coloni- 
zation, as  well  as  the  continuance  of  their  maritime  habits, 
is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  Carians  furnished  seventy 
ships  to  the  navy  of  Xerxes,  while  all  the  Dorians  of  Asia 
furnished  but  thirty.®*  It  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  the 
Hellenizing  of  the  Carians  added  vigor  to.  the  nationality 
which  they  preserved. 

Meanwhile,  however,  one  of  the  Greek  cities  of  Caria  liad 
become  the  seat  of  a  famous  monarchy,  Avhich  afterwards  ex- 
tended its  power  over  the  country.  The  Argive  colony  of 
Halicarnassus  (Budrwn),  having  been  excluded  from  the  con- 

82  Some  flud  an  allusion  to  the  practice  as  early  as  Homer's  time,  in  the  phrase 
Iv  Kapbr  ai'tri;  ("Il."is.  3TS) ;  -while  others  even  see  Can'an  mercenaries  in  the  Clier- 
ethites  and  I^elethites  who  formed  David's  body-2;nard  at  Jcrnsalcm. 

«3  llerod.  ii.  152,  l^-i  ■,  Vii.  11 :  see  chap.  xsvi.  §  L-.  '"^  Herod,  vii.  93. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  CARIA.  4\)S 

federacy  of  the  six  Dorian  cities,  stood  alone  when  both  the 
Carians  and  Greeks  submitted  to  Harpagus,  the  general  of 
Cyrus.  A  certain  Lygdamis  seized  the  opportunity  to  ob- 
tain kingly  power  in  Halicarnassus,  and  xVrtemisia,  his  daugh- 
ter by  a  Cretan  mother,  gave  the  kingdom  strength  and  lus- 
tre by  qualities  which  put  to  shame  the  men  who  followed 
Xerxes  to  Greece.  Her  wisdom  in  council  and  bravery  in 
battle  are  dwelt  upon  by  Herodotus  with  a  manifest  fervor 
of  patriotism,  which  does  him  the  more  honor  when  we  re- 
member that  he  joined  in  e\pelling  from  his  native  city  her 
grandson,  the  tyrant  LygG;:inis.  Tiie  successive  kings  con- 
tinued to  be  most  faithful  vassals  to  Persia,  which  thus  pos- 
sessed in  Halicarnassus  its  best  stronghold  on  the  coast  of 
Asia  Minor.  The  kino;dom  reached  its  heisiht  under  Mauso 
lus  and  his  sister-wife  Artemisia,  who  built  for  her  husband's 
remains  the  celebrated  3Iausoleum  (b.c.  377-350).  The  de- 
tails of  this  kingdom  belong  to  the  history  of  Greece. 

§  17.  We  have  now  gone  through  the  list  of*  the  chief  na- 
tions of  Asia  Minor  (exclusive  of  the  Greek  colonies),  with 
the  exception  of  the  Lydians.  This  people  are  historically 
the  most  important,  and  ethnically  one  of  the  most  difficult, 
of  the  whole.  They  were  not  the  first-known  inhabitants  of 
the  country  Avhich  bore  their  name. 

The  great  plain  at  the  northern  foot  of  Moimt  Tmolus,  in 
the  very  centre  of  the  western  maritime  region — watered  by 
the  Hermus  and  its  southern  tributary,  Pactolus  with  the 
golden  sands,  on  the  i-ight  bank  of  which  stood  the  famous 
capital  of  Sardis^"^ — was  formerly  possessed  by  the  M^oni- 
ANS,  whose  name  w^as  preserved  to  after-times  by  the  city  of 
Mffionia,  now  Megne^  among  the  hills  east  of  the  valley.®'^ 
They  are   mentioned    by  Homer   with   local   circumstances 

85  The  student  should  remember  that  the  last  syllable  of  this  word  is  long,  and 
should  form  the  habit  of  pronouncing  it  so.  The  name  2ap5if  is  an  Ionic  plural  con- 
tracted from  2«p5(er  (in  common  Greek  ScJpbeir,  in  Latin  SardeM).  The  little  village 
of  Sart  still  preserves  the  old  name  among  its  extensive  ruins,  which  consist  of  the 
remains  of  a  stadium,  a  theatre,  and  the  triple  walls  of  the  acropolis,  with  lofty  tow- 
ers. It  was  destroyed  by  Tamerlane  in  the  13th  century.  As  to  the  origin  of  the 
city,  Strabo  remarks  that  it  was  very  ancieut,  but  later  than  the  Trojan  war  (Strabo, 
xiii.  p.  625) :  l)Ut  its  acropolis  was  supposed  to  be  mentioned  by  Homer  under  the 
name  of  Hyde,  "beneath  the  snowy  Tmolus"  (Hom.  "  Iliad,'' xx.  385;  Strabo,  Z.c.  p. 
G2G;  Piiu.  V,  30;  Eustath.  ad  Dion.  Perieg,  S30).  Sardis  is  first  named  by  ^schylus 
("Pers."45). 

**8  Pliu.  V.  29,  s.  30;  Hierocl.  p.  670;  Notit.  Episc. ;  and  coins:  Hamilton's  "Ee- 
searches,"  vol.  ii.  p.  139.  The  original  Mseonia  and  Lydia  must  be  carefully  distin- 
guished from  the  district  called  Lydia  under  the  Romans  (and  so  marked  on  our 
maps),  which  extended  westward  to  the  sea,  so  as  to  embrace  all  Ionia,  and  eastward 
to  the  River  Lyons,  including  part  of  the  Phrygian  tal>le-land.  On  the  north  it  was 
separated  from  Mysin  by  Mmut  Temnus,  on  the  south  from  Caria  by  Mount  Messo- 
gis,  thus  embracing  the  valley  of  the  Cayster.  Strabo  carries  the  southern  boundary 
as  low  as  the  course  of  the  Meander  (xii.  p.  5VT),  and  ciher  writers  make  the  Cariaii 
cities  »)f  Tralles,  Nysia,  and  Magnesia  on  the  Ma>ander,  Lydian. 


4J)4  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

which  are  unmistakable.  The  Ma3onians,  whose  native  hand 
is  at  the  foot  of  Tmolas^  are  led  to  the  war  by  two  brothers 
born  of  the  Gygcean  laker  This  name  points  to  Gyges,  the 
founder  of  the  later  Lydi;i!i  dynasty  ;  and  the  lake — which 
Homer  elsewhere  mentions  in  connection  with  the  Hermus 
and  its  tributary  the  Hylhis^® — is  always  identified  with 
that  afterwards  called  Coloe  (now  Mermere,  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  Hermiio^,  near  which  was  the  Necropolis  of  Sar- 
dis,  and  the  tomb  of  Alyattes/^  In  the  Trojan  camp  the 
Mseonians  are  placed  near  the  Lycians  and  Mysians  and 
Phrygians  ;  and  the  epithets  describing  the  common  mode 
of  warfare,  of 

"The  Phrygians  fighting ou  horseback  aud  Mijeous  with  hor.'^es  equipp'd," 

seem  to  give  a  mark  of  affinity/*'  While  thus  sj)eaking  of 
the  Ma?onians  Homer  nowhere  mentions  the  Lydians. 

§  18.  Herodotus  observes  that  "this  whole  people,  former- 
ly called  Mwonian^  was  called  Lydlan  from  Lydus,  the  son 
of  Atys ;'"'  as  if  the  Lydians  were  the  same  people  as  the 
M?eonians.  But  such  a  change  of  name  is  the  sure  sign  of 
the  coming  in  of  another  race ;  and  Strabo  is  more  correct 
in  supposing  the  Mfieonians  to  have  been  subdued  or  expelled 
by  the  Lydians.'"^  When  once  the  name  oiLydian  had  been 
established,  it  was  applied  indiscriminately  to  the  whole  na- 
tion, before  as  well  as  after  the  conquest;  and  hence  it  hap- 
pens that  later  writers  use  the  name  Lydian  even  wlien 
speaking  of  a  time  when  there  wxre  no  Lydians  in  the  coun- 
try, but  only  Ma^onians. 

The  co-existence  of  the  two  races  in  the  country,  after  the 
conquest,  seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  mythical  genealogy 
preserved  by  the  native  historian,  Xanthus  of  Sardis,  one  of 
the  most  important  Greek  writers  of  history  before  Herodo- 
tus." Pie  says  that  Atys  had  tw^o  sons,  Lydus  and  Torriie- 
Bus,  who,  having  divided  their  father's  kingdom,  remained 
both  in  Asia.     Tlieir  names,  Xanthus  says,  were  given  to  the 

87  Horn.  •'  11."  ii.  S64-G ;  comp.  v.  43.  88  Horn.  "  II."  xx.  .391-1.'. 

•^9  Herod,  i.  93 ;  Strab.  xiii.  p.  G26;  Pliii.'v.  30. 

'■*"  Iloni.  '"11."  x.  431 :  Kat  <t>pi'i7er  \ixTTofxaxoL'.Ka.\  Mryoi-es  iTTTroKopDo-Tai.  It  would  be  un- 
necessary to  ren)ark  that  the  »;  used  by  Homer  and  Herodotus  is  merely  the  Ionic 
f)rm  of  the  diphthong  ui,  were' it  not' that  the  name  is  sometimes  barbarously  spelt 

"1  Herod,  i.  T.— Elsewhere,  as  we  have  seen,  he  makes  Lydus,  Mysus,  and  Car 
brothers.  The  genealogical  position  of  AUjs  will  be  seen  more  clearly  when  we 
come  to  the  Lydian  History.     See  chap.  xxii.  §  6. 

82  Strabo,  xii.  p.  572  ;  xiv.  p.  0T9. 

93  Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus,  in  introducing  the  very  quotation  now  referred  to, 
describes  Xanthus  as  "  skilled  in  ancient  history,  if  any  other  ever  was  so."  (Dion, 
i.  28.)  Unfortunately,  we  possess  only  a  few  fragments  of  his  "Lydian  History" 
{Lydiaca).  The  fables  in  which  Xanthus  indulges  detract  somewhat  from  the  high 
authority  assigned  to  him.     On  this  genealogy  see  further  in  chap.  xxii.  §  G. 


LYDIA— M^OMIANS.  495 

nations  they  ruled :  "  From  Lydus  are  descended  the  Lydi- 
cms,  but  from  Torrhebus  the  Torrhebians :  their  language 
difters  but  little  from  one  another,  and  to  the  present  day 
they  still  take  from  one  another  not  a  fev/  words,  just  like 
the  lonians  and  Dorians."'"* 

Now,  when  we  find  Lydia  divided,  from  a  very  ancient 
time,  into  Lydia  Proper,  in  the  western  plain,  and  Torrhebia, 
in  the  eastern  hills;  and  when  Ave  also  find  the  Ma^onians 
maintaining  their  ground  in  the  latter  quarter,  on  the  upper 
Hermus,  and  giving  their  name  to  the  district  and  (tity  of 
Ma^onia;'"  it  is  natural  to  connect  the  Torrhebians  of  Xan- 
thus  with  the  Ma^onians  of  other  writers.  The  Latin  poets 
were  glad  to  preserve  the  euphonious  name  o\'  Mceonia^'AvA 
the  epithet  of  Mceo?iius,  which  they  apply  not  only  to  Lydia 
but  to  Ionia ;  and  hence  that  well-known  name  of  Homer, 
which  has  been  consecrated  in  Milton's  pathetic  recollection 
of— 

"Those  other  two  equalled  with  me  in  fate, 
So  T  were  equalled  with  them  in  renown, 
Blind  Thamyris,  and  blind  Mceonides.'"'-'^ 

§  19.  The  McTonians  unquestionably  belonged  to  the  Indo- 
European  family  of  nations.  Either  they  were  of  that  Pelas- 
gian  stock  which  is  said  to  have  once  inhabited  the  whole 
coast  of  Ionia  and  of  xEolis,"  or  they  were  the  first  Aryan 
conquerors  of  the  Pelasgians.  The  latter  view  seems  prob- 
able, from  Homer's  description  of  them  as  warriors  fighting 
on  horseback,  as  well  as  from  their  being  strong  enough  to 
maintain  themselves  in  the  upper  country  after  their  con- 
quest by  the  Lydians.  Naturally,  however,  a  portion  of  the 
conquered  race  would  be  pushed  out  of  the  country ;  and 
there  was  a  well-known  tradition,  that  Tyrrhenia  (that  is, 
Etruria)  was  colonized  from  Lydia."** 

As  Herodotus  tells  the  tale,  there  was  a  great  famine  in 
all  Lydia  in  the  days  of  Atys,  the  son  of  Manes,  who  had 
two  sons,  Lydus,  and  Tyrrhenus  (or,  in  other  dialects,  Tyr- 
senus).     For  eigliteen  years  the  people  bore  it  patiently,  by 

84  Xanth.  Fr.  1,  ed.  Midler,  from  Dionys.  Hal.  (?.  c),  auIio  quotes  the  passage  marked 
above  as  the  express  words  of  Xanthus.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  Dionysius  cites 
the  passage  for  its  bearing  on  the  question  of  the  colonization  of  Etruria  by  the  Lyd- 
ians or  M^^onians.  He  savs  that  Xanthus  "nowhere  names  Tijrrhenns  as  a  ruler  of 
the  Lydians,  nor  does  he  know  of  any  Maeouian  colony  having  reached  Italy,  nor  has 
he  anywhere  mentioned  Tyrrhenia  as  a  colony  of  the  Lydians ;"  and  then  he  adds 
the  above  genealogy,  in  which  Torrhebus  appears  in  the  place  (or  its  equivalent)  as- 
signed by  other  writers  to  Tijrrhenus. 

95  piin.  (v.  30)  mentions  the  Mceonii;  and  Ptolemy  (v.  2,  §  21)  reckons  Mieonia  as  a 
part  of  Lydia. 

96  The  title  is  applied  to  Homer  by  the  Latin  poets,  with  reference  to  omyrua  as  hr.a 
alleged  birthplace.     (Ov.  "  Trist."  iv.  10,  22,  etc.) 

97^  See  above,  chap.  xx.  5 13.  ^'  Hcrcd.  i.  94. 


49G  THE  NATIONS  OF  ASIA  MINOR. 

help  of  various  games  (as  dice,  huckle-bones,  and  ball),  the 
invention  of  which  was  claimed  by  the  Lydians.'^"  At  length 
the  king  determined  to  divide  the  nation  in  half,  and  to  de- 
cide by  lot  for  one  part  to  stay,  and  for  the  other  to  leave 
the  land  under  his  son  Tyrrhenus.  Those  on  whom  the  lot 
fell  to  depart  built  ships  in  Smyrna,  and  sailed  to  Umbria.""' 
Here  they  fixed  their  residence,  and,  laying  aside  the  name 
ofLydians,  called  themselves  Ti/rrhenians^^fiev  their  leader. 

That,  at  least  in  one  form  of  the  tradition,  the  emigration 
was  represented  as  that  of  the  Mceonians,  rather  tlian  the 
Lydians  proper,  appears  from  the  statement  of  Xanthus, 
quoted  above;  but  that  historian  rejected  it  even  in  that 
form.  The  scholars  ^ho  accept  it  regai-d  the  Tyrrhenian  set- 
tlers, not  as  the  body  of  the  Etrurian  nation,  but  as  a  con- 
quering race,  who  imposed  their  rule  on  the  former  Pelasgian 
inhabitants,  and  became  the  aristocracy  of  Etruria.  Sucli 
appears  to  have  been  the  view  of  Horace,  when  lie  addressed 
MiEcenas,  the  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  P^truscan  kings, 
as  among  the  noblest  of  all  the  Lydians  that  inhabited  the 
country.  Few  modern  scholars  accept  the  tradition  in  any 
other  sense  than  as  a  vague  testimony  to  tlie  unity  of  the 
race  that  once  d^velt  from  tlie  western  shores  of  Italy  to  the 
foot  of  the  table-land  of  Asia  Minor.  The  discussion  of  the 
question,  however,  belongs  rather  to  the  history  of  Italy  tlian 
to  that  of  the  East. 

§  20.  As  to  the  origin  and  affinities  of  the  Lydian  race, 
which  supplanted  the  primitive  Ma3onians,  opinions  are  wide- 
ly divided.  The  majority  of  the  best^  authorities  maintain 
their  Semitic  origin,  chiefly  from  the  few  remains  of  their 
language  that  have  come  down  to  us,  and  from  the  genealog- 
ical legends  which  we  have  to  mention  in  the  next  chapter. 
The  chief  argumeiits  for  their  Aryan  origin  are  the  testimony 
of  Herodotus  to  the  close  resemblance  of  their  customs  to  the 
Greek — which,  however,  may  be  explained  by  Ionian  influence 
— and  the  mythical  genealogy  of  the  brothers  Lydus,  Mysus, 
and  Car,^"'  of  which  we  have  suggested  the  true  explanation. 

Herodotus  describes  the  Lydians  as  a  warlike  equestrian 

^8  However  little  historical  value  we  may  attach  to  this  statement,  it  seems  to  in- 
dicate that  the  Greeks  received  these  j^anies  through  the  loniaus  from  the  Lydians; 
and,  as  similar  games  are  found  in  Egypt  at  very  remote  times,  we  may  have  here  a 
sign  of  that  connection  between  Egypt  and  Asia  Minor  to  which  the  monuments 
bear  testimony.  See  Sir  G.  Wilkinson's  Note  on  the  passage,  in  Rawlinson's  "  Herod- 
otus." 

100  The  UTiibfia  of  Herodotus,  as  Niebuhr  observes,  "is  of  large  and  indefinite 
extent,"  including  apparently  almost  the  whole  of  Northern  Italy.  ("History  of 
Eome,"  vol.  i.  ]>.  1  i'2,  English  translation.) 

loi  This  would  prove  too  much,  for  the  original  Cari.aus  were  certainly  of  a  verj 
different  race. 


RACE  OF  THE  LYDIANS. 


497 


race.  "In  all  Asia,"  he  says,  "there  was  not  at  that  time 
(the  time  of  Croesus)  a  braver  or  more  warlike  people.  Their 
manner  of  fighting  was  on  horseback;  they  carried  long 
lances,  and  w^ere  clever  in  the  management  of  their  steeds.'"'^ 
It  was  not  till  after  they  had  lost  their  liberty,  and  very 
much  through  the  policy  of  their  Persian  conquerors,'"' that 
they  sank  into  the  effeminate  luxury  which  made  their  name 
a  by-word."'  But  their  civilization  and  corruption  will  be 
more  properly  considered  in  connection  with  the  history  of 
the  Lydian  kingdom, 

»o2  Herod,  i.  79.  103  Herod,  i.  155. 

-•»<  ^schylns  ("  Per?."  40)  calls  them  afSpo6lanoi.  See  Mr.  Grote's  remarks  on  the 
•pntrast  between  the  earlier  and  later  national  character  of  the  Lydians  and  Phry^- 
ftns.    ("  Hist,  of  Greece,"  vol.  iii.  pp.  289-291.) 


Coiu  of  I^cia- 


Tomb  of  Midas,  Kiug  of  Phrygia,  at  Nacolicia. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


EARLY    HISTORY    OF    LYDIA. 


{  1.  Ancient  kingdoms  in  Asia  Minor.  The  Z)rtrf?«mnns  of  Troy.  §2.  The  kingdom 
of  PiiRYCiiA.  Its  mythical  traditions.  GoEmus :  the  Gordian  knot.  Midas:  a 
type  of  the  rise,  wealth,  religion,  civilization,  and  fall  of  the  kingdom.  §  ?>.  His- 
torical elements  in  these  legends.  Inscription  on  the  "Tomh  of  Midas."  §4. 
Alleged  naval  supremacy  of  the  nations  of  Asia  Minor.  §  5.  The  kingdom  of 
LvniA.  Its  antiquity.  Its  three  dynasties.  Sources  of  its  history.  Legendary 
vein  throughout.  §  G.  First  dynasty,  the  Ati/adce.  Its  mythical  genealogy.  Its 
probable  connection  with  the  Mgeonian  period.  §  7.  Second  Dynasty,  the  Hera- 
clidce.  Mythical  complexion  of  their  genealogy.  §  S.  Theory  of  the  Assyrian 
origin  of  the  dynasty.  §  D.  And  of  the  Semitic  origin  of  the  Lydians.  Probabil- 
ity of  their  former  abode  in  Upper  Assyria.  Adoption  of  Greek  customs.  §  10. 
Kings  of  the  Ileraclide  dynasty.  Insignificance  of  Lydia  under  them.  Its  real 
history  begins  from  their  fall. 

§  1.  The  nations  of  Asia  Minor  were  only  politically  united 
when  Lydia  attained  an  empire  over  the  rest,  which  became 
powerful  enou2:h  to  check  the  whole  force  of  Media,  and  to 
wage  a  doubtful  conflict  with  the  Persian  conqueror.  Before 
the  rise  of  theLydian  dynasty  which  ended  with  Croesus,  the 
history  of  the  peninsula  is  a  blank,  except  for  a  few  vague 
traditions,  one  glorious  poetical  episode,  and  notices  in  the 
records  of  Egypt  and  Assyria,  which  await  further  examina- 
tioJL 


TROY  AND  PHRYGTA.  499 

On  the  sound  principle  whicli  forbids  ns  to  spoil  (^ood 
poetry  only  to  turn  it  into  bad  liistory,  the  Trojan  War 
and  the  Eni])ire  of  Priam  might  be  left  as  the  sacred  domain 
of  Homer — but  for  the  certainty,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the 
simple  realistic  bard  followed  a  national  tradition,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  for  the  notices  of  the  Dardanian  empire,  and 
(as  some  read)  of  Troy  itself,  in  the  annals  of  Egypt  and 
Assyria. 

Ctesias  and  IVIoses  of  Chorene,  indeed,  affirm  that  the  As- 
syrian annals  mention  an  expedition  to  the  Troad  to  give  aid 
against  the  Achaeans ;  and  some  Orientalists  of  high  repute 
hold  that  the  Ethiopian  Memnon,  at  the  head  of  his  eastern 
Cushites,  was  sent  by  an  Assyrian  monarch  to  help  his  Tro- 
jan vassal !  The  more  sober  statement  of  Herodotus  limits 
the  Assyrian  empire  to  the  country  east  of  the  Halys;'  and 
the  earliest  conquests  in  the  peninsula,  recorded  by  the 
monuments  themselves,  are  those  of  Sargon  and  Sennacherib 
in  Cilicia.  The  Egyptian  monuments  seem  to  speak  of  the 
Dardanians  and  Leka  as  dividing  the  dominion  of  the  pe- 
ninsula, while  the  Carians  are  powerful  on  the  coast ;  and  it 
is  said  that  the  Pisidians,  Lycians,  Dardanians,  and  Mysians 
are  found  confederated  with  the  Hittites  of  Syria  and  the 
Buten  (or  Ilotennou)  of  Mesopotamia,  against  Rameses  HI. 
But  the  identification  of  these  names  is  still  doubtful. 

§  2.  The  Phrygian  traditions  of  a  line  of  native  kings 
receive  support  from  the  monuments  and  other  marks  of 
civilization,  which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  indicate  a  power- 
ful and  Avealthy  state.  Such  a  state  would  naturally  obtain 
a  fuller  development  after  the  fall  of  Troy,  to  which  it  ap- 
pears in  the  "  Iliad  "  as  a  subordinate  ally.  But  all  the  de- 
tails recorded  of  the  Phrygian  kingdom  are  purely  mythical 
— a  mere  Gordian  knot  of  genealogy  and  legend. 

The  origin  of  the  kingdom  is  represented  by  the  tale  of 
the  peasant  Gordius,  who  dedicated  at  Gordium  the  yoke 
of  the  car  in  which  he  was  riding,  when  the  people  saluted 
him  as  the  king  promised  them  by  an  oracle.  The  same 
oracle  declared  that  the  empire  of  Asia  was  destined  for 
him  who  should  untie  the  knot  of  the  yoke ;  and  Alexander 
proved  his  claim  to  the  prize  by  solving  the  problem  with 
his  sword. 

MiDAS,^  the  son  of  Gordius,  typifies  the  growth  of  the 
kingdom ;  its  Avealth,  luxury,  and  effeminacy ;  the  introduc- 

»  Herod,  i.  95. 

"  The  name  is  spelt  Mydas  iu  Enseb.  ("  Chron."  Pars  ii.  s.  a.  Ab.  127S),  and  in  the 
Armenian  Version  Mindas  (.s\  a.  Ah.  707),  which  seems  the  gemiine  old  form,  the  n 
kaviug  been  dropped  (as  freqr.eutly)  before  the  dental. 


500  EARLY  HISTOllY  OF  LYDIA. 

tioii  of  tlie  Dionysiac  worship,  and  the  cultivation  of  music 
in  Phiygia.  It  seems  as  if  tlie  Greek  fabulists  chose  him 
(on  the  principle,  onine  ignotnm  pro  mirifico)  to  personify 
their  vague  conceptions  of  the  early  wonders  of  Western 
Asia.     We  need  only  glance  at  the  well-known  legends. 

While  he  was  yet  a  child,  ants  carried  grains  of  wheat  to 
his  mouth,  foretelling  the  abundant  resources  that  would 
flow  in  to  him.  But  he  lived  to  learn  that  gold  may  be  a 
"  precious  bane  ;"  for,  Dionysus  having  granted  him  his  wish, 
that  every  object  he  touched  should  be  turned  into  gold,  he 
was  fain  to  -pray  for  the  recall  of  the  gift  before  he  perished 
with  hunger.  The  god  broke  the  spell  by  ordering  Midas 
to  bathe  in  the  source  of  the  Pactolus,  the  sands  of  which 
were  thenceforth  mixed  with  grains  of  gold. 

The  connection  of  Phrygia  with  the  orgiastic  and  Dionys- 
iac worship  is  denoted  by  the  stories  which  made  Midas  a 
son  of  Cybele,'  and  a  sharer  in  the  blood  of  the  Satyrs ;'  and 
by  those  which  tell  how,  on  one  occasion,  the  intoxicated 
Silenus  was  made  his  captive,  and,  after  being  forced  to 
answer  various  questions,"  was  restored  by  him  to  Dionysus; 
and  how,  at  another  time,  he  caught  a  satyr  by  mixing  wine 
with  a  well,  which  was  shown  by  some  near  Thymbrium 
and  Tyroeum,"  by  others  at  Ancyra.''  The  traditional  scene 
of  the  capture  of  Silenus  has  more  than  a  fabulous  interest. 
The  Macedonians  placed  it  at  the  so-called  "Gardens  of 
Midas,"  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Bermius,  probably  near  Beroea, 
in  the  district  of  the  Bryges,  who  are  thus  connected  by  the 
legend,  as  well  as  by  their  name,  with  the  Asiatic  Phrygians.'' 

As  the  type  of  the  early  cultivation  of  music  among  the 
Phrygians,  Midas  is  made  the  son  of  Orpheus;  and  the  con- 
test'between  the  Greek  and  Phrygian  modes  is  symbolized 
by  his  decision  against  Apollo  in  the  musical  contest  with 
Pan,  or,  as  others  said,  with  Marsyas.  The  penalty  incurred 
by  this  decision  is  one  among  several  instances  of  the  retrib- 
utive spirit  which  enters  into  the  fables  of  Midas.  He  is 
the  type,  not  only  of  the  wealth  and  prosperity,  but  of  the 

3  Hygin.  "Fab."  274.  The  authors  who  believed  they  were  writing  history  made 
his  mother  a  girl  of  Telmessus,  possessed  of  prophetic  powers,  who  explained  to 
Gordius  the  prodigy  which  anuouuced  his  future  greatness,  and  became  his  wife. 

4  The  tale  that  he  had  satyr's  ears  is  probably  derived  from  some  symbolical  work 
nt  art.  How  they  were  changed  into  asses'  ears,  as  a  punishment  for  his  deciding 
against  Apollo  in  the  musical  contest  with  Pan  or  Marsyas— how  Midas  hid  his  ears 
beneath  a  Phrygian  cap— and  how  the  barber  who  discovered  the  secret  whispered 
it  into  a  hole  of  the  earth  and  buried  it,  only  to  have  it  spread  abroad  by  every  rustle 
of  the  reed  which  sprang  up  on  the  spot— all  this  is  among  the  choice  fairy-tales  ot 
Greece. 

6  For  these  questions,  see  Theopomp.  Fr.  76 ;  Aristot.  ap.  Plut.  vol.  ii.  p.  115 ;  Cic. 
"Tusc."  i.  4S.  ^  Xeii.  "Anab."'  i.  2,  §  13. 

'  Paus.  i  4,  §  5:  comp.  Athen.  ii.  45 ;  Plut.  "  de  Fluv."  10.  "^  Herod,  viii.  138. 


MIDAS,  KING  OF  PHRYGIA.  501 

degenerate  effeminacy,  of  the  Phrygians;''  and  at  last  he  kills 
himself  by  drinking  bull's  blood.'" 

§  3.  Amidst  these  legendary  stories,  it  is  not  improbable 
that  we  have  signs  of  a  line  of  Phrygian  kings,  who  bore  the 
names  of  Gordins  and  Midas,  perhaps  alternately.''  Herod- 
otus evidently  believed  in  the  historical  character  of  the 
"Midas,  son  of  Gordius,  king  of  Phrygia,"  whom  he  names 
as  the  only  exception  to  the  statement  that  Gyges  was  the 
first  of  the  barbarians  known  to  have  sent  offerings  to  Delphi. 
"  Midas  dedicated  the  royal  throne,  whereon  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  sit  and  administer  justice,  an  object  well  Avorth 
lookmg  at.'"^  In  another  passage  he  seems  to  imply  that 
this  royal  line  continued  down  to,  or  even  after,  the  conquest 
of  Phrygia  by  Croesus;  for,  in  the  celebrated  story  of  Adras- 
tus,  the  Phrygian  refugee  announces  himself  as  "  the  son  of 
Gordius,  son  of  Midas.'"'"*  It  is  unsafe  to  argue  from  the 
incidental  details  of  a  story  of  which  the  main  part  is 
mythical;  but  the  conclusion  is  probable  in  itself. 

Midas  is  twice  mentioned,  as  King  of  the  Phrygians,  in  the 
(7Aron?*c^eof  Eusebius:  first,  as  the  contemporary  of  Rameses 
II.,  and  two  years  after  the  foundation  of  Ilium  ;'*  again,  as 
the  contemporary  of  Bocchoris;'"  and  his  death  by  di-inking 
bull's  blood  is  placed  in  the  reign  of  Tirhakah.'''  But  the 
most  decisive  proof  of  the  historical  reality  of  this  line  of 
kings  is  an  inscription  on  a  tomb,  commonly  called  the 
"Tomb  of  Midas,"  at  Doganhe^  near  Kutaya^  the  ancient 
Cotyaeum,  in  Phrygia.  The  inscription  has  been  read  thus: 
"Ates  Arciaefas,  the  Acenanogafus,  built  (this)  to  Midas,  the 
loarrior-klng.''''^'' 

9  Philostrat.  "  Icon."  i.  22 ;  Athen.  xii.  p.  516. 

10  Strabo,  i.  p.  61 ;  Pliii.  "de  Superslit."  T  ;  Enseb.  "Chrou."sub  aim.  Ab.  1321. 

11  Professor  Rawlinson  (Note  to  Herod,  i.  14)  compares  this  Phrygian  dynasty  to 
the  alternation  of  a  Battus  and  an  Arcesilaiis  in  the  royal  line  of  Cyrene.  He  quotes 
Bonhie  ("Dissertations,"  ch.  viii.)  as  reckoning  four  kings  of  Phrygia  named  Midas, 
each  the  son  of  a  Gordius,  and  adds,  "Three  of  these  are  mentioned  by  Herodotus 
(i.  14,  35,  viii.  13S)."  But  there  is  clearly  no  ground  for  asserting  that,  in  these  three 
detached  notices,  Herodotus  was  consciously  speaking  of  three  different  kings,  each 
of  whom  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  distinct  historic  personage.  ^-  Herod,  i.  105. 

13  Herod,  i.  35.— Rawliusou  observes,  in  a  note:  "Here  the  legend  has  forgotten 
that  Phrygian  independence  was  at  an  end.  We  might,  indeed,  get  over  the  difficul- 
ty of  a  Phrygian  royal  house  and  a  king  Gordius  at  this  time,  by  supposing,  with 
Larcberj  that  Phrygia  had  become  tributary,  Avhiie  retaining  her  kings  ;  but  the  lan- 
guage of  Croesus  is  not  suitable  to  such  a  supposition.  Equality  appears  in  the 
phrase,  'Thou  art  the  offspring  of  a  house  friendly  to  mine,  and  thou  art  come  to 
friends ;'  and  the  independence  of  Phrygia  seems  clearly  implied  in  the  proviso, 
'Thou  shalt  want  for  nothing  as  long  as  thou  abidest  iu  my  dominions.'  Phrygia  is 
not  under  Croesus."  But  this  is  surely  a  far-fetched  inference  from  language  which,  after 
all,  is  that  not  of  the  king,  but  of  the  historian,  who  does  not  himself  perceive  the  in- 
consistency.   Such  language  might  well  be  used  iu  courtesy  to  the  son  of  a  vassal  king. 

'■*  Euseb.  "Chron."Pars  ii.  Ann.  Ab.  707,  corresponding  to  u.c.  1310. 

15  An.  Ab.  1278,  01.  x.  2  =  ii.c\  739.  le  An.  Ab.  1321,  01.  xxi,  l:=]j.c.  696. 

1^  See  Texier's  "Asie  Mineurc"  (vol.  i.  p.  155),  where  a  view  of  the  tomb  is  given, 


502  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  LYDIA. 

§  4.  There  are  curious  notices  in  Eusebins  (on  the  author- 
ity of  Dioclorus)  of  the  order  in  whicli  the  nations  of  Asia 
Minor  held  the  supremacy  of  the  sea,  during  a  period  of  304 
years  after  the  Trojan  war,  from  b.c.  1183  to  b.c.  880.  The 
result  of  these  statements  is  repeated  for  what  it  may  be 
wortli ;  but  it  is  beyond  our  present  scope  to  discuss  its 
value.^^ 

§  5.  The  kingdom  of  Lydia,  which  finally  obtained  the 
empire  of  Asia  Minor,  claimed — or  the  Greeks  claimed  for 
it — a  higher  antiquity  than  either  the  Dardanian  oi-  the 
Phrygian  monarchies;  and  the  second  of  its  three  dynasties 
is  made  contemporary  with  the  Greek  heroic  age.  These 
dynasties  are  the  Atyadm^  the  Heraclidce,  and  the  Mernmadm. 
The  Jirst  is  purely  mythical:  the  second  partakes,  to  say  the 
least,  of  the  same  character  :  the  real  history  of  Lydia  begins 
with  the  third,  but  even  through  this  there  runs  a  legendary 
vein.  Nearly  all  our  information  is  derived  from  Herodotus, 
the  few  fragments  of  Xanthus,  and  the  miscellaneous  details 
of  Ctesias,  Diodorus,  some  minor  historians,  and  the  chronog- 
raphers.  Herodotus  writes  with  the  manifest  view  of  hold- 
ing up  CrcEsus,  the  first  barbarian  who  made  war  upon  the 
Greeks,  as  an  example  of  judicial  infatuation,  and  of  the  ruin 
to  which  it  leads ;  and  this  poetic  view  colors  his  history  of 
Lydia  throughout.  Xanthus,  amidst  many  signs  of  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  annals  of  his  country,  spoils  his  credit 
by  the  marvels  he  indulges  in. 

§  6.  Herodotus  derives  the  first  line  of  kings  from  Lydus, 
the  son  of  Atys,  the  son  of  Manes;'"'  and  Diodorus  gives  the 
full  genealogy  as  follows : 

Zeus  and  Gc-  (Terra). 

Manes  :=:  CallirhoG,  daughter  of  Oceanus. 
Cotys  =  Halie,  daughter  of  Tyllus. 

I  ^1 

Asies.  Atys  =  Callithea,  daughter  of  Ciioraeus. 

I 

I  I 

Lydcs.  Tyrsenus  (Ion.  Tyrriienus,  Herod.). 

with  a  fac-simile  of  the  iuscriptiou ;  and  Rawliuson's  "Herodotus"  (vol.  i.  pp.  165, 
106),  where  this  and  another  inscription  on  the  tomb,  and  an  older  Phrygian  inscrip- 
tion, written  in  the  order  called  Boustrophedon,  are  copied  and  explained. 

!<*  The  following  are  the  statements,  in  a  tabular  form,  with  the  dates  calculated  by 
Clinton  ("  F.  H."  vol.  i.  p.  23) : 

"Maris  imperium  post  Trojanum  imperium  exercuerunt. 

1.  Lydii  et  Mpeones,  annis  92  ;  i;.c.  1183  to  1091. 

2.  Pelasgi "      85;     "    1091  "  1 000. 

3.  Thraces "      79;     "    1006"    92T. 

4.  Rhodii "     23;     "      92T  "    904. 

5.  Phryges "     26;     "     904"    880. 

I''  Herod,  i.  7, 94.    We  have  already  had  occasion  to  refer  to  his  statements  in  thesa 


THE  ATYADJE  AND  HERACLID^.  503 

Not  only  is  the  mythical  nature  of  the  genealoo:y  obvious 
on  its  face,  but  it,  as  well  as  the  statements  of^Herodotus 
and  Xanthus,  has  (as  Rawlinson  observes)  "the  appearance, 
with  which  tlie  early  Greek  annals  make  us  so  familiar,  of 
artilicial  arrangements  of  the  heroes-eponymi  of  the  nation. 
Tlie  ]\[anes,  Atys,  Lydus,  Asies,  Tyrsenus,  of  Herodotus  and 
Diodorus,  and  even  the  Torybus  (or  Torrhebus)  and  Adramy- 
tes  of  Xanthus  Lydus,  stand  in  Lydian  history  where  Pelas- 
gus,  Hellen,  Ion,  Dorus,  Achseus,  *!zEolus,  stand  in  Greek."" 
It  seems  also  that  this  first  dynasty  represents  the  Mmonian 
period  of  Lydian  history.  Its  computed  end  falls  about  the 
close  of  the  13th  century  b.c. 

§  7.  The  Second  Dynasty^  or  Heraclid.^,  are  said  by 
Herodotus  to  have  been  intrusted  with  the  government  by 
the  Atyada?,  and  to  have  obtained  the  kingdom  by  an  or- 
acle.^' Supposing  this  account  to  be  historical,  it  would 
make  the  relation  of  the  new  kings  to  the  old  that  of  usurp- 
ing maires  du  pcdais^  like  the  Carlings  to  the  Merovingians. 
But,  at  all  events  at  first  sight,  tlieir  origin  appears  not  only 
mytliical,but  presents  a  heterogeneous  mixture  of  Greek  and 
Oriental  names.  Herodotus  traces  their  origin  to  Alcceus, 
the  son  of  Hercules  and  the  slave-girl  of  Jarda'nus.''  Alccms 
was  the  father  of  Belus,  he  of  Kinus^  and  he  of  Agrox,  the 
founder  of  the  dynasty.  From  Agron  the  crow^n  descended 
in  a  direct  line  from  father  to  son,  through  twentv-two  gen- 
erations, a  space  of  505  years,  to  Caxdaules,  the  last  king." 
As  the  end  of  the  dynasty  is  fixed  (as  w^e   shall  presently 

two  passages,  about  the  change  of  name  from  Mseoniaus  to  Lydians,  after  Lydiis,  and 
the  partition  of  the  nation  into  Lydians  and  Tyrrhenians,  under  Atvs.  The  recnr- 
reuce  of  the  name  of  Atys  (the  son  of  Croesus)  at  the  end  of  the  hist'dvnastv,  if  his- 
torical, would  evidently  be  a  mark  of  honor  paid  to  the  traditional  founder  of  the 
monarchy.  But  some  consider  that  in  Herodotus's  purely  poetical  treatment  of  the 
story  of  Atys  and  Adrastus  (Her.  i.  34-45),  the  former  is  a  significant  Greek  name,  aa 
certainly  the  latter  is:  Atijs  being  "the  judicially  blind  and  fated"  (from  i^rri),  as 
Adrastm  is  "the  inevitable"  or  "uuescapable"— not,  as  some  say,  "the  man  who 
can  not  escape."    (See  Mure's  "  Literature  of  Greece,"  vol.  iv.  p.  .^2G.) 

20  Rawlinson,  "Essay  i.  to  Ilerod."  book  i.  5  4.  Nancs  is  regarded  by  some  as  the 
hero-eponinmis  of  the  Mseonians  (Freret,  " Mcmoires  de  FAcadL-mie  des  Inscriptions," 
torn.  V.  p.  SOS) ;  by  others  as  the  first  man  who  ruled  in  the  land,  like  the  Egyptian 
Menes,  etc.  (See  chap.  ii.  §  S.)  Aiiies,  whom  Herodotus  also  makes  the  grandson  of 
Manes,  is  rightly  placed  in  the  genealogy  as  the  hero-epon;nmis  of  Asia ;  for  that 
name  was  at  first  applied,  at  least  by  the  Greeks  (Horn.  "  II."  ii.  4G1),  to  a  small  district 
on  the  riverCayster,  in  Lydia.     (See  "Diet,  of  Grk.  and  Rom.  Geog.,"  art.  Asia.) 

21  Herocl.  i.  7.  This  statement  has  been  used  as  an  argument  for  the  affinity  of  the 
Lydians  with  the  Greeks,  since  the  Asiatics  seem  to  have  had  no  proper  oracles  of 
their  own,  but  consulted  the  Greek  oracles  (comp.  Herod,  i.  14, 19,  46,  etc.  •  Rawlin- 
son, "Note  to  Herod."  I.  c.).' 

22  This  girl  was  Malis,  the  slave  of  Omphal6  (the  wife  or  daughter  of  Jardaisas), 
whom  Hercules  served,  according  to  the  v^'ell-knowu  legend. 

23  Herod,  i.  7.  The  historian's  departure  from  his  usiial  reckoning  of  three  genera- 
tions to  a  century  (see  Book  ii.  c.  142)  is  an  indication  that  he  is  here  not  computing, 
but  repeating  definite  statements  both  as  to  the  nuinber  of  kings  in  the  dynasty  and 
the  number  of  years  that  it  lasted. 


504  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  LYDIA. 

see)  to  Avitbin  a  few  years  before  b.c.  700,  tbe  date  of  its 
commencement  would  fall  in  tbe  last  few  years  of  tbe  13tb 
century.  Tbe  different  computations  place  it  between  1229 
and  1208  B.C. 

§  8.  Tbe  first  impression  naturally  made  by  tbis  genealo- 
o-y  is  tbat  expressed  by  Professor  Rawlinson :  "Amoni>-  tbe 
wide  range  of  fabulous  descents  witb  wbicb  ancient  autbors 
bave  deligbted  to  fill  tbeir  pages,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  a  transition  so  abrupt  and  startling  as  tbat  from  Alc^eus, 
son  of  Hercules,  to  Belus,  fatber  of  Ninus.  It  seems  neces- 
sary absolutely  to  reject  one  portion  of  tbe  genealogy  or  tbe 
otber,  for  tbe  elements  refuse  to  amalgamate."  But,  in  fact, 
tbe  very  grossness  of  tlie  apparent  inconsistency  is  a  strong 
sign  tbat  tbe  genealogy  is  no  invention  of  a  Greek,  but  tbat 
Herodotus  is  following  some  native  tradition,  only  trans- 
lating (as  is  bis  wont)  Oriental  names  into  tbeir  supposed 
equivalents  in  Greek.  Tbe  bistorian  of  tbe  Eastern  empires 
seems  to  bave  forgotten,  for  tbe  moment,  tbat  tbere  was  an 
Assyrian  god,  wbom  tbe  Greeks  called  Hercules,  and  wbose 
introduction  into  tbe  genealogy  is  consistent  witb  tbe  ap- 
pearance of  Belus  and  Ninus.  Tbat  god,  Ninip^  bas  an  epi- 
tbet  Samclan^  "  tbe  strong,"  wbicb  answers  very  fairly  to 
Alca3us;  and  M.  Oppei't  considers  tbe  triad  of  names,  B?/Xoc 
'AXK-aioc  'HpafvA^c,  to  represent  tbe  full  title  of  tbe  deity,  Bel- 
Nini2>Samdan  ("Lord  Ninip  tbe  Migbty  "),  wbo  stands,  ac- 
cording to  custom,  at  tbe  bead  of  an  Assyrian  royal  line. 
In  JVi?ius  tbe  same  Orientalist  discovers,  not  merely  tbe  hero- 
eponymtis,  wbo  marks  tbe  Assyrian  origin  of  tbe  dynasty, 
but  tbe  very  king,  JVinip-pal-zira,  wbo  was  i-eigning  at  Nin- 
eveb  about  tbe  time  at  wbicb  its  beginning  is  calculated,  a 
little  before  1200  B.C.,  and  wbo  is  sometimes  regarded  as 
tbe  first  bistorical  founder  of  tbe  real  greatness  of  Assyria 
itself^*  In  Agi'on  be  recognizes  a  Semitic  Avord,  signifying 
fugitive;  and  from  tbe  elements  tbus  ingeniously  brougbt 
togetber,  be  fi-ames  tbe  tbeory  tbat  tbis  Agrox,  tbe  true 
founder  of  tbe  Lydian  kingdom,  was  a  younger  son  of 
Ninip-pal-zira,  wbom  one  of  tbe  conflicts,  so  frequent  in 
Oriental  royal  families,  drove  to  seek  bis  fortune  beyond 
tbe  region  of  Armenia,  wbicb  bis  fatber  bad  already  con- 
quered."    Traversing  tbe  table-land  in  searcb  of  a  perma- 

2'i  See  chap.  xi.  §  15.  Professor  Rawlinson  himself,  while  rejecting  the  Semitic 
origin  of  the  Lydians,  remarks  the  close  coincidence  in  time  between  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Upper  Assyrian  dynasty  and  of  the  Lydian  dynasty  of  the  Heraclida?. 

25  The  successful  campaigns  of  Ninip-pal-zira  in  Armenia  are  recorded  in  the 
Assyrian  anuals.  Ctesias  ascribes  to  Ninus  the  conquest  of  Lydia  and  all  Asia 
Minor ;  but  this  is  a  part  of  a  statement  wliich  is  in  other  respects  manifestly  extrav- 
agant and  fabulous. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  HERACLID^.  505 


iient  settlement^  he  fell  upon  the  rich  plain  occuijied  by  the 
Maeonians,  and  imposed  upon  them  the  new  dynasty  of 
"  the  sons  of  Ninip,"  whom  the  Greeks  called  Heraclid^. 

§  9.  This  ingenious  scheme  has,  at  all  events,  the  merit  of 
giving  a  more  definite  form  to  the  theory  of  the  Semitic  ori- 
gin of  the  Lydians,  which  appears  to  have  been  the  native 
tradition,^"  and  which  is  now  generally  adopted  by  the  best 
authorities;'^^  and  the  objections  to  that  theory  are  dimin- 
ished by  regarding  the  Lydians  rather  as  a  conquering  race 
than  mainly  as  a  migrating  people.  In  the  ethnic  table  of 
Genesis  x.,  the  position  of  Lud,  as  the  fourth  son  of  Shem, 
seems  to  mark  the  Lydians  as  a  branch  of  the  Semitic  family 
distinct  from  the  Aramaeans  ;''  for  all  biblical  authorities,  from 
Josephus^'  downward,  regard  this  Lud  as  the  progenitor  of 
the  Lydians. 

The  very  objection,  that  Lydia  lies  beyond  the  range  of 
the  ethnic  table,  turns  in  favor  of  the  theory  ;  for  it  points 
to  the  original  abode  of  the  Lydians  in  Upper  Assyria,  be- 
tween Arphaxad  (probably  Kurdistan)  and  Aram  (Mesopo- 
tamia Proper).  Quite  independently  of  the  historic  theory 
of  M.  Oppert,  a  distinguished  Orientalist  has  suggested  the 
connection  of  the  Ludim  with  the  Ruten  (or  Rotennon)^ 
whom  the  Egyptian  records  constantly  mention  i«  this  very 
region.^"  These  tribes,  which  so  pertinaciously  resisted  the 
arms  of  a  Tliothmes  and  a  Rameses,  are  not  likely  to  have 
submitted  quietly  to  the  kings  of  Nineveh,  and  the  progress 
of  the  Assyrian  empire  may  have  driven  a  part  of  them  to 
seek  new  abodes  in  Asia  Minor.  The  remains  of  ancient 
Lydian  art — such  as  the  rock-sculptures  of  JV^i/niphi,  near 
Smyrna,  and  those  of  Giaour  Kale — are  of  a  decidedly  As- 
syrian type. 

The  arguments  on  the  other  side,  so  far  as  they  have  any 
force,  may  be  explained,  partly  (perhaps)  by  the  remains  of 
the  old  Pelasgian  population  in  the  country,  and  certainly 
to  a  great  extent  by  Hellenic  influence  from  Ionia.  Thus 
we  can  understand  the   resemblance  of  the  Lydians  to  the 

-'"•  Both  from  the  above  genealogy,  and  from  the  statement  that  the  Lydian.s  had 
nothing  in  common  with  the  Pelasgians  (Diod.  i.  30). 

2^  Niebuhr,  ''Lectures  on  Ancient  History,"  vol.  i.  p.  87  ;  and  "Philosophy  of  Univ. 
Hist." vol.  ii.  p.  10;  O.  Midler,  "Sandou  und  Sardanapal,"p.  38;  Movers,  "Die  Phce- 
nicier,"  vol.  i.  p.  4T5;  Prichard,  "Phys.  Hist,  of  Mankind,"  vol.  iv.  p.  562;  Lassen, 
"Ueber  die  Sprachen  Kleinasiens,"  pp.  382,  3.  Niebuhr,  however,  brings  down  the 
lonquest  of  the  Mjeonians  by  the  Lydiaiis  to  the  acces?-ion  of  the  third  dj'nastj',  the 
Mermnada',  near  the  end  of  the  Sth  century  j;.o. 

28  Gen.  X.  22 ;  comp.  1  Chron.  i.  IT.  -»  Joseph.  Aut.  i.  G,  5  4. 

30  Mr.  Stuart  Poole's  art.  Lui)  in  the  "Diet,  of  the  Bible."  The  lettorr.  r  and  I  are 
constantly  interchanged  in  the  hieroglyphic  writing,  as  in  Lebu  nnd  Itelni  for  the 
Libyans.  On  the  relation  of  the  supposed  African  Ludim  of  Gen.  x.  13  to  the  whole 
ftuestion  see  Mr.  Poole's  art.  Ludim. 

22 


506 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  LYDIA. 


Greeks  in  manners,  customs,  and  arms;''  their  habit  of  con^ 
suiting  the  Greek  oracles ;''  and  the  curious  mixture  of  Se- 
mitic and  Aryan  etymologies,  which  high  authorities  have 
proposed  for  their  proper  names." 

§  10.  All  the  interest  belonging  to  the  Heraclide  dynasty 
is  exhausted  by  this  ethnical  question  about  their  origin. 
Of  the  twenty  kings  between  Agron  and  Candaules,  we 
have  only  a  few  doubtful  names,^"  and  one  or  two  fabulous 
stories,'' before  tiie  interesting  legends  relating  to  the  end 
of  the  dynasty.     Herodotus  connects  tlie  fortification  of  Sar- 


■■  Cum  of  Sardis  "  (Diet,  of  Geor-'.  II.  i'.  WG) 


dis  with  one  such  story  of  a  King  Meles,  whom  Eusebius 
makes  the  predecessor  of  Candaules.^"'  "  One  conclusion 
may  be  drawn  alike  from  the  silence  of  the  foreign  and  the 
fictions  of  the  native  historian — that  the  Lydians  of  the  fifth 
century  B.C.  possessed  no  authentic  information  concerning 
their  ancestors  farther  back  than  the  time  of  Gyges,  the  first 
king  of  the  race  called  Mermnadae.  From  this  we  may  de- 
rive, as  a  corollary,  the  further  consequence  of  the  insigniti- 

3i  Herod.  1.  35,  04 :  vii.  74.  ^^  Hd-od.  i.  14, 10,  46,  etc. 

'3  Thus,  for  example  (exchuling  Bchts,  Ninus,  and  ^j/ro?;,  which  the  advocates  of 
the  Aryan  theory  regard  as  jmrely  mythical),  we  have,  on  the  one  side,  in  the  royal 
names  SadyaUes  —  "  potens  per  Atlidem,"  and  Abjattes—"  elevatus  per  Attidem,"  not 
only  a  Semitic  origin,  but  an  exact  analogy  to  the  form  of  Assyrian  royal  names. 
(P.  Boetticher,  "Rudimenta  Mythologije  Semiticas:"  Rawlinson's  objection,  that 
Attvs  was  the  Phrygian  form  of  the  god's  name,  while  the  Lydian  was  At!/s,is  too 
minute.)  On  the  other  hand,  Candaules  is  said  to  be  compounded  of  the  Sanscrit 
equivalent  for  <vui',  canis,  and  hund  (a  dog),  and  dri  ("to  tear"  =  (f??),  a  derivation  re- 
ferred to  by  the  poet  Hippouax  (Fr.  1)  and  Tzetzes  (Chil.  vi.  Hist.  54).  Sardis  is  said 
to  have  meant,  in  Lydian,  yearz=sarat  or  sard  in  Sanscrit  and  Armenian,  and  Thrada 
in  Old  Persian  (Lydus  "  de  Mensibus,"  iii.  14).  See  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  Note  to  Herod, 
i.  7,  and  Prof.  Rawlinson's  "Essay  to  Herod."  book  ii.  §  3. 

3«Nicol,  Damasc.  ap.  Miiller,  "Frag.  Hist.  Grsec."  vol.  iii.  pp.  870  seq.;  Euseb. 
"  Chron."  pars  i.  c.  xv. 

36  See  specimens  from  Xanthus  in  Rawlinson,  "  Essay  i.  to  Herod."  i.  §  9. 

3«  Herod,  i.  84  ;  Euseb,  "  Chron."  I.  <■.,  and  s.  a.  Ab.  1289,  01. 13.2  =  is.o.  727. 


ORIGINALLY  A  PETTY  STATE.  507 

cance  cf  Lydia  in  times  anterior  to  his  date.  Previously  to 
the  accession  of  the  last  dynasty,  Lydia  was,  it  is  probable, 
but  one  out  of  the  many  petty  states  or  kingdoms  into  which 
Lower  Asia  was  parcelled  out.  Lycia,  whtch  gave  kings  to 
the  Greek  colonies  upon  the  coast,"  and  maintained  ifs  in- 
dependence even  against  Croesus,  must  have  been  at  least  as 
powerful ;  and  the  really  predominant  state  was  the  central 
kingdom  of  the  Phrygians,  who  exercised  a  greater  influ- 
ence over  the  Greeks  of  the  coast  than  any  other  of  the  Asi- 
atic peoples  with  whom  they  came  in  contact,  and  whose 
kings  Avere  the  first  of  all  foreigners  to  send  offerings  to  the 
oracle  at  Delphi.  Lydia,  until  the  time  of  Gyges,  was  a  pet- 
ty state,  which  made  no  conquests,  and  exercised  but  little 
influence  beyond  its  borders.'"*'  It  was  only  under  the 
third  dynasty  of  five  kings,  whose  united  reigns  amounted 
to  above  170  years,  that  Lydia  acquired  the  supremacy 
which  won  for  it  a  place  in  history  among  the  foremost  of 
the  nations. 

»^  Herod,  i.  147.  as  Rawlinson,  "Essay  i.  to  Herod."  Book  L  §  10. 


Ruins  of  Miletus. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


LYDIA    AND     MEDIA. — FROM     GYGES     TO    CYAXARES     AND    ALY*- 

ATTES. ABOUT  B.C.    716   TO   B.C.    560. — THE   CIMMERIAN  AND 

SCYTHIAN    INVASIONS    OF    ASIA. 

5  1.  Transfer  of  the  Lydian  crown  from  the  Heraclidce  to  the  Mermnadce.  Three 
forms  of  the  legend  of  Canbaui.es  and  Gyges.  In  Herodotus.  In  Plato:  the 
"Ring  of  Gyges."  The  third  form:  a  contest  of  factious.  Presents  of  Gyges  to 
Delphi.  §  2.  The  five  Mermnad  Kings.  Chronology.  Relations  of  Lydia  to  the 
Ionian  colonies.  Gyges  begins  to  attack  the  Greek  cities.  His  presents  to 
Asshur-bani-pal,  king  of  Assyria.  §  3.  Ardyb.  The  Cimmerian  invasion  of  Asia 
Minor.  Country  of  the  Cimmerians.  §  4.  The  Scythian  conquest  and  expulsion 
of  the  Cimmerians,  and  their  invasion  of  Asia  Minor,  according  to  Herodotus. 
§  5.  Criticism  of  the  story.  Westward  migrations  of  the  Cimmerians,  who  were 
probably  Cymry,  or  Celts.  §  G.  Their  early  invasions  of  Asia  Minor.  Allusions 
of  the  Ionian  poets.  Extent  of  their  devastations.  §  7.  Reign  of  Sadyattes. 
His  war  against  Miletus,  continued  by  Alyattes.  Its  curious  history.  Peace 
■with  Miletus.  Offerings  at  Delphi.  §  8.  Alyattes  drives  the  Cimmerians  out  of 
Asia.  Collision  with  Cyaxares,  king  of  Media.  §  9.  Herodotus's  summary  of  the 
reign  of  Cyaxarer.  Invasion  of  Media  by  the  Scythians.  Their  domination  in 
Western  Asia.  §  10.  Different  senses  of  the  name  Scythian.  §  11.  The  Scythians 
of  the  Greek  poets  and  of  Herodotus.  Origin  of  the  name.  §  12.  The  Asiatic 
Scythians  (Sacse),  the  Saka  of  the  Persian  cuneiform  inscriptions.  Their  two 
classes  and  habitations.  §  13.  Different  interpretations  of  the  Scythian  invasion. 
Scriptural  allusions.  §  14.  Median  and  Lydian  war  and  alliance.  The  "Eclipse 
of  Thales."  Nineveh  taken  by  Cyaxares.  §  15.  Deaths  of  Cyaxares  and  Alyattes. 
The  Tomb  of  Alyattes. 

§  1.  Every  classical  student  is  familiar  with  the  story  re- 
lated by  Herodotus  of  the  transfer  of  the  crown  of  Lydia 
from  the  Heraclidce  to  the  Mei-m^iadm^  through  the  revenge 
which  the  queen  of  Candaules,  the  last  Heraclid,  compelled 
Gyges  to  take  upon  her  husband,  for  the  insult  to  her  mod- 
esty contrived  by  the  king  in  his  foolish  admiration  of  her 


THE  "RING  OF  GYGES."  509. 

beauty/  But  this  stoiy,  which  the  historian  derived  from 
the  iambic  poet  Archilochus  of  Paros,^  is  but  one  of  the  three 
forms  of  the  legend. 

In  Plato'  we  have  it  with  the  embellishment  of  the  magic 
"Ring  of  Gyges."  This  story  is  best  told  by  Mr.  Grote: 
"According  to  the  legend  in  Plato,  Gyges  is  a  mere  herds- 
man of  the  King  of  Lydia.  After  a  terrible  storm  and 
earthquake,  he  sees  near  him  a  chasm  in  the  earth,  into 
which  he  descends,  and  finds  a  vast  horse  of  brass,  hollow 
and  partly  open,  wherein  there  lies  a  gigantic  corpse  with  a 
golden  ring.  This  ring  he  carries  away,  and  discovers,  un- 
expectedly, that  it  possesses  the  miraculous  property  of  i-en- 
dering  him  invisible  at  pleasure.  Being  sent  on  a  'message 
to  the  king,  he  makes  the  magic  ring  available  to  his  ambi- 
tion :  he  first  possesses  himself  of  the  person  of  the  queen, 
then  with  her  aid  assassinates  the  king,  and  finally  seizes 
the  sceptre."^ 

The  third  form  of  the  legend,  as  given  by  Nicolaus  Da- 
mascenus"  (not  improbably  from  Xanthus),  makes  the  revolu- 
tion the  final  issue  of  a  long  feud  between  the  houses  of  the 
Heraclid^e  and  the  Mermnadoe,  and  represents  the  latter  as 
a  Lydian  family  of  distinction.^  Some  struggle  between  the 
two  parties  is  also  implied  by  Herodotus :  "  Gyges  then 
seized  the  kingdom,  and  was  confirmed  in  it  by  the  Delphic 
oracle.  For  when  the  Lydian s  were  enraged  at  the  fate  of 
Candaules,  and  had  taken  up  arms,  an  agreement  was  come 
to  by  the  partisans  of  Gyges  and  the  rest  of  the  Lydians, 
that  if  the  oracle  should  pronounce  liira  to  be  king  of  the 
Lydians,  he  should  be  king ;  but  if  not,  he  should  give  back 
the  rule  to  the  Heraclid?e,  But  the  oracle  answered ;  and 
so  Gyges  reigned.  Thus  much,  however,  the  Pythian  priest- 
ess said,  that  vengeance  for  the  Heraclid^e  should  fall  upon 
the  fifth  descendant  of  Gyges."^     Meanwhile  Gyges  paid  the 

»  Herod,  i.  8-12. 

2  Herod.  I.  c.fin.  A  line  is  extant,  iu  the  metre  mentioned  I)y  Herodotus  (the  Iam- 
bic Trimeter),  iu  which  Archilochus  names  "the  wealthy  Gyges:"  Ov  not  tu  ru-yeca 
Tov  TToKvxiivcrov  jufc\e(.     (Aristot.  "  Rhct."  iii.  17 ;  Plut.  "  Op.  Men."  vol.  ii.  p.  470,  C.) 

3  Eepnb.  ii.  3. 

4  "  Hist,  of  Greece,"  vol.  iii.  p.  298. 

5  Muller,  "Frag.  Hist.  Grssc."  vol.  iii.  p.  383  seq.  For  the  details  of  this  story, 
which  rejects  the  complicity  of  the  queen  in  the  murder  of  Candaules,  see  Rawlin- 
son,  "Essay  i.  to  Herod."  book  i.  vol.  i.  pp.  364,  5,  notes. 

8  It  is  remarkable  that  no  authority  explains  the  name  of  the  Mermnada?.  Lenor- 
mant  ("  Histoire  Ancienne,"  tom.  ii.  p.  146)  regards  the  revolution  as  a  reaction  on 
the  part  of  the  old  Pelasgian  or  Maeonian  element  against  the  Semitic  or  Lydian ; 
and  hence  he  explains  the  devotion  of  the  Mermnadfe  to  the  Delphic  oracle.  It  is 
some  objection  to  this  view,  that  both  parties  agreed  to  consult  the  ocacle.  He  also 
says  (but  we  do  not  know  on  what  authority)  that  the  Carians  gave  an  active  sup- 
port to  the  new  dynasty  against  the  Lydian  malcontents. 

"•  Herod,  i.  13. 


510  LYDIA  AND  MEDIA. 

price  of  the  decision,  in  the  rich  presents  of  gold  and  silver 
which  were  preserved  at  Delphi  as  "  the  Gygean  oifering."' 
§  2.  The  live  generations  of  kings  referred  to  by  the  ora- 
cle, with  the  length  of  their  respective  reigns,  are  these : 

Kings.  b.c.       Ykaks. 

1.  Gy?es. ...» (T1G-6T8)    38 

2.Arclys..., (C7S-629)    49 

3.  Sadyattes (621)-61T)    12 

4.  Alyattes (CI 7-5C0)    5T 

5.  Croesus (5G0-54G)    14 

Duration  of  the  monarchy ITO^ 

From  the  first  accession  of  the  new  dynasty,  the  kingdom 
of  Lydia  comes  into  close  contact  with  the  Greeks.  Its 
coast  was  occupied  by  the  Ioniaxs,  the  most  wealthy  and 
refined  of  the  Hellenic  colonists,  whose  great  cities — such  as 
Miletus,  Ephesus,  Colophon,  Smyrna,  Phocsea,  and  many  oth- 
ers— enriched  the  neighboring  countries,  as  well  as  them- 
selves, by  the  commerce  which  they  carried  on  between  Asia 
and  all  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  Sharing  the  bene- 
fits of  that  commerce,  and  bound  by  many  ties  of  aflftnity,  the 
Asiatics  appear  to  have  cultivated  friendly  relations  with 
the  Greek  colonists,  after  the  eflTects  of  the  first  collisions  had 
subsided.'" 

These  relations  continued  under  the  supremacy  of  the 
peaceful  Phrygians,  wliose  great  influence  on  the  Greeks  has 
been  already  noticed."  But  the  third  Lydian  dynasty  was 
aggressive  from  the  first.  The  great  Ionian  cities  wei'e  too 
cio^e  to  Lydia  not  to  be  coveted  by  the  ambition  of  the 
new  kings;  and  their  wealth  had  brought  with  it  the  curse 

8  Tvyc'ida^,  Ilerocl.  i.  14.  We  have  had  occasion  ah-eady  to  mention  the  statement, 
that  these  were  the  tirst  offering??  presented  at  Delphi  by  any  foreigner,  except  Midas, 
king  of  Phrygia.  Some  ancient  writers  say  that  they  were  the  first  gold  and  silver 
oflferings  made  to  the  shrine.  (Theopomp.  Fr.  219  ;  Phanias  Eres.  Fr.  12.)  As  to  the 
bribery  of  the  oracle,  see  Herod,  v.  03,  vi.  60. 

»  The  dates  given  are  those  of  Clinton ;  but  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  exact 
time  of  the  end  of  the  monarchy,  llawlinson  places  it  at  n.c.  554,  and  consequently 
carries  back  the  accession  of  Gyges  to  u.c.  "24.  Leuormant  puts  the  fall  of  Croesus 
two  years  later  than  Clinton,  at  is.c.  544  ;  but,  by  assigning  one  year  less  to  Alyattes 
aud  ten  years  less  to  Ardys  (to  whom  Eusebius  gives  only  38  years),  he  brings  down 
the  accession  of  Gyges  to  n.c.  703,  in  order  to  adapt  his  date  to  the  mention  of  him 
in  the  annals  of  Asshur-bani-pal,  as  that  king  records  his  receipt  of  presents  from 
Goufjou,  king  of  the  Ludim,  in  b.c.  067  or  006.  It  is  too  soon  yet  to  take  the  As- 
syrian chronology  for  an  absolute  guide ;  but  such  approximations  are  very  valuable. 

10  That  such  collisions  must  have  taken  place  is  obvious,  and  we  have  direct  testi- 
mony to  their  occurrence,  as  at  Miletus  and  Colophon  (Mimnerm.  ap.  Strab.  xiv.  p. 
634).  But  even  from  them  there  ensued  a  mixture  of  the  Greeks  aud  Asiatics,  as 
when  the  loniaus  from  Athens  married  the  Carian  girls  whose  fathers  they  had  slain 
at  Miletus  (Herod,  i.  140).  Herodotus  adds  that  these  same  Milesians  set  over  them 
Lycian  kings  of  the  blood  of  Glaucus  (c.  147).  The  Greeks  showed  a  great  readiness 
to  unite  with  the  Asiatic  tribes,  aud  most  of  their  cities  appear  to  have  had  a  mixed 
population:  such  was  ofpecially  the  case  at  Teos  (Paus.  vii.  3,  §  3;  Boeckh,  "Corp. 
Inscr."No.  3004;  Rawlinsou,  "  Essay  i.  to  Herod."  i.  vol.  i.  pp.  300,  7). 

11  As  to  this  influence,  see  Grote,  "  Hist,  of  Greece,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  284-291. 


CIMMERIAN  INVASION.  511 

of  luxurious  indulgence,  inviting  the  attacks  which  were  now 
begun  by  Gyges.  Herodotus  says  that,  as  soon  as  Gyges 
became  king,  he  made  an  inroad  on  Miletus  and  Smyrna,  and 
took  the  city  of  Colophon,  but  he  performed  no  othei-  great 
deed  during  his  reign  of  thirty-eight  years/^  The  presents 
which  he  sent  to  Asshur-bani-pal  imply  friendly  relations 
with  Assyria. 

§  3.  The  reign  of  Ardys,  the  son  of  Gyges,  which  Herodo- 
tus relates  in  two  short  sentences,  brings  a  new  nation  into 
the  field  of  Asiatic  history  :  "Ardys  took  Priene,  and  made 
war  upon  Miletus.  In  his  reign  the  Cimmerians,  driven 
from  their  homes  by  the  nomads  of  Scythia^  entered  Asia, 
and  captured  Sardis,  all  but  the  citadel. ''''^^  Elsewhere  the  his- 
torian says  that  "  the  Cimmerian  attack  upon  Ionia,  which  was 
earlier  than  Crcesus,  was  not  a  conquest  of  the  cities,  but 
only  an  inroad  for  plundering.'"*  His  account  of  this  great 
movement — apart  from  the  statements  of  other  writers,  and 
the  very  interesting  questions  tlience  arising — is  extremely 
clear  and  simple. 

The  native  land  of  the  Cimmerians  was  in  Europe ;^^  and 
it  was  the  country  afterwards  called  ScythicC^ — a  country 
most  carefully  defined  by  Herodotus  as  the  region  round  the 
northern  side  of  the  Euxine  and  Palus  Ma?otis  {^^ea  of  Azov), 
from  the  Ister  (dv  Danube  to  the  Tanais  or  Don;  and  extend- 
ing indefinitely  to  the  north. '^  At  a  much  later  period,  an- 
other invasion  of  Asiatic  tribes  gave  the  country  the  name 
of  Sarmatia.  The  student  has  to  guard  against  innumera,- 
ble  sources  of  confusion  from  the  application  of  these  three 
names — Cimmeria,  Scythia,  and  Sarmatia — to  the  same  re- 

''^  Herod,  i.  14.  "To  this  war  belongs,  apparently,  the  narrative  which  Plutarch 
quotes  from  Dositheus,  v/ho  wrote  a  Lydiau  history  (Dosith.  Fr.  0).  The  Smyruseaus 
seem  to  have  been  hard  pressed,  but  by  a  stratagem,  which  they  commemorated  ever 
afterwards  by  the  festival  of  the  Elcutheria,  they  destroyed  the  army  which  had  been 
sent  against  them.  According  to  one  account,  Gyges  and  his  Lydians  had  actually 
seized  the  city,  when  the  Smyrussfins  rose  up  and  expelled  them  (Pans.  iv.  21,  §  3). 
Mimnermus,  the  elegiac  poet,  celebrated  the  event  in  one  of  his  pieces  (lb.  ix.  29. 
5  2)."  Rawlins(m's  Kotc  to  Herod.  I.  c.  Respecting  the  war  upon  and  capture  of 
Magnesia  for  the  sake  of  Magues,  which  Nicolas  of  Damascus  (p.  52,  Orell.)  ascribes 
to  Gyges,  see  Grote,  "Hist,  of  Greece,"  vol.  iii.  p.  300,  and  Rawlinson,  "Essay  i.  to 
Herod."  i.  §  12,  note.  Strabo  (xiii.  p.  590)  ascribes  the  conquest  of  the  Troad  to  Gyges, 
but  this  appears  from  Kcrodotus  to  be  an  anticipation. 

13  Herod,  i.  15.  14  Herod,  i.  G.  is  Herod.  1. 103. 

18  Herod.  iV.  11.  W^hen  Herodotus  says  that  the  wandering  Scythians  passed  from 
Asia  into  the  land  of  Cimmeria  across  the  Araxes,  it  seems  clear  that  he  can  only 
mean  the  Volga.  (See  Heeren,  "  As.  Nat."  vol.  ii.  p.  258.)  Not  only  is  it  certain  that 
the  Volga  was  sometimes  called  by  the  Greeks  Araxes  (Aristot.  "Meteor."  i.  13; 
Scymnus  Chius,  p.  12S;  "Periplus,"  p.  13S) ;  but  the  names  seem  to  have  had  the 
same  meaning.  "Ars  and  Aras  signified,  in  primitive  Scythic,  the  same  as  Volga  in 
Aryan  Slavonic,  viz.  'great;'  and  the  name  was  thus  applied  to  any  great  river." 
(Sir  H.  Rawlinsou's  Note  to  Herod.  I.  e.) 

1^  ilcrod.  iv.  passim.  This  European  Scythia  must  be  carefully  distinguished  from 
the  ;V:iatic  Scythia,  bej'ond  the  Caucasus,  the  Caspian,  and  the  Oxus  and  Jaxartes. 


512  LYDIA  AND  MEDIA. 

gion.  In  modern  geograjihy  it  corresponds  (speaking  very 
generally)  to  the  steppes  of  Southern  Russia,  and  the  term 
Ukraine  may  be  conveniently,  though  vaguely,  used  as  its 
compendious  name. 

This  remote  and  inhospitable  country,  on  an  almost  un- 
known shore,  may  well  answer  to  Homer's  "  people  and  city 
of  the  Cimmerians,  covered  in  mist  and  cloud,  at  the  bounds 
of  the  deep-flowing  ocean."'"  ^schylus  knows  the  Cimme- 
rian Isthmus  and  Bosporus  at  the  Lake  Mseotis;'^  and  He- 
rodotus traces  the  former  presence  of  the  Cimmerians  in 
Scythia  by  "  Cimmerian  castles,  a  tract  called  Cimmeria,  and 
a  Cimmerian  Bosporus.'"*"  The  name  survives  to  the  pres- 
ent day  in  the  Crimea^  or  Crim-Tartari/,Sind  in  JEJski  Crim 
{Old  6>fm),the  site  of  the  town  of  Cimmerium.  It  must  be 
remembered  that,  remote  as  this  region  was  from  Greece  and 
Ionia,  it  was  well  known  through  the  Greek  colonies  on  its 
shore — such  as  Tiras,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tiras  or  Danastus 
{Dniester) ;  Olbia  or  Borysthenis,at  the  mouth  of  the  Hypanis 
{Dnieper),  and  others;  and  Herodotus  himself  visited  the 
country  between  those  rivers.^' 

§  4.  The  historian's  account  of  the  conquest  of  the  country 
by  the  Scythians  implies,  amidst  details  that  appear  fabu- 
lous, a  complete  extirpation  of  the  old  inhabitants.  The  bar- 
row on  the  bank  of  the  Dniester,  which  was  shown  to  He- 
rodotus as  the  tomb  of  the  Royal  Tribe — who  chose  to  fall 
in  battle  against  the  rest  of  the  nation,  who  preferred  exile — 
was  more  probably  the  monument  of  the  last  sanguinary 
conflicts  with  the  invaders."  The  survivors,  he  says,  fled 
before  the  Scythians  by  the  coast  of  the  Euxine  along  the 
foot  of  the  Caucasus,  and  so,  entering  Asia  Minor  from  the 
north-east,  settled  in  the  peninsula  where  the  Greek  city  of 
Sinope  was  afterwards  built.^^  Advancing  thence,  as  seems 
to  be  implied,  still  along  the  coast,  they  ravaged  Lydia  and 
Ionia,  and  were  only  driven  out  by  Alyattes,  the  grandson 
of  Ardys." 

18  Horn.  "  Od."  xi.  13  seq. :  cf.  Eustath.  ad  loc.  !»  "  Prom.  Vinct."  729  seq. 

20  Herod,  iv.  12.  Other  such  names  are  preserved  by  Hecataeus  (Fr.  2)  and  Strabo 
(vii.  p.  44T,  xi.  p.  721). 

21  Herod,  iv.  81.  22  Herod,  iv.  11 ;  Niebuhr,  "Scythia,"  p.  52. 

23  Herod,  iv.  12.  It  would  seem  that  Herodotus,  finding  Cimmerians  at  Sinope, 
near  the  point,  and  on  the  route,  by  which  he  conceives  them  to  have  entered  Asia 
Minor,  assumed  that  they  settled  there  at  once.  It  rather  appears  that  this  was  a 
position  at  M'hich  a  remnant  maintained  themselves  when  the  main  body  were 
driven  out. 

On  another  point  Herodotus  needs  correction.  Assuming  that  the  invaders  en- 
tered Asia  Minor  from  the  north-east,  they  could  not  have  come  from  their  original 
home  by  the  sea-coast  route  round  the  western  edge  of  the  Caucasus,  for  this  route 
is  quite  impracticable.  But  they  may  have  come  through  the  Caucasian  Gates  {Pass 
vf  Daricl),  and  so  westward  into  Colchis  and  down  to  the  coast. 

24  Herod,  i.  IC.    The  duration  of  the  invasion  is  very  doubtful,  as  Herodotus  does 


THE  CIMMERIANS  CELTS.  513 

§  5.  The  improbabilities  of  this  story,  and  the  statements 
of  other  writers,  suggest  that  Herodotus  confined  his  atten- 
tion to  that  one  out  of  a  series  of  Cimmerian  invasions,  which 
was  connected  Avith  his  main  subject  for  the  time — the  his- 
tory of  the  Mermnad  kings  of  Lydia,  and  this  only  as  a  pref- 
ace to  the  story  of  Croesus  and  Cyrus.  It  is  unlikely  that 
the  whole  Cimmerian  nation  should  have  been  expelled  by 
the  Scythians  at  one  blow  :  such  a  displacement  is  effected 
by  the  nomad  hordes  coming  down  wave  upon  wave.  Even 
more  unlikely  is  the  route  pursued  by  the  displaced  nation. 
As  Niebuhr  observes  —  "All  the  wandering  tribes  which 
have  successively  occupied  Scythia,  when  overpowered  by 
new  swarms  from  the  east,  have  retired  to  the  open  country 
to  the  west,  and  towards  the  Danube."" 

That  the  great  mass  of  the  Cimmerian  nation  really  pur- 
sued that  course,  and  spread  over  Europe,  on  the  western 
shores  of  which  they  still  exist,  and  in  one  case  under  their 
own  name — the  Cumru  or  Cymry  of  Wales:  in  a  word,  that 
their  movement  to  the  west  formed  at  least  one  wave  of  the 
great  Celtic  migration — is  the  opinion  now  generally  held 
by  the  best  ethnologers ;  but  its  discussion  lies  beyond  the 
scope  of  the  present  work.  If  this  opinion  be  correct,  the 
Cimmerians'  capture  of  Sardis  was  effected  by  the  same  race 
— as  it  certainly  was  of  the  same  character — as  the  Gallic 
sack  of  Rome  ;  and  the  invaders  who  occupied  and  gave  their 
name  to  Galatla^  in  the  third  century  B.C.,  formed  a  reflux  of 
the  tide  which  poured  upon  Lydia  in  the  seventh.  We  may 
add  —  as  a  point  of  curiosity  —  that  if,  as  some  think,  the 
Chcdyhes  of  the  northern  coast  were  a  settlement  of  this  peo- 
ple,^^  the  first  iron-workers  celebrated  by  the  Greek  poets 
were  of  the  same  race  as  those  who  now  extract  the  metal 
from  the  Welsh  mines." 

not  say  at  what  part  of  the  reigns  of  Ardys  and  Alyattes  the  Cimmerians  entered 
and  were  expelled. 

25  "  Scythia,"  p.  50,  Eng.  trans. 

26  See  Grote,  "  Hist,  of  Greece,"  vol.  iii.  p.  336.  ^schylns  has  XaXi»/3o?  ^.kvOwv  anoi- 
Koy  (SejJt.  c.  Theb.  125). 

27  The  Cimmerians  are  supposed  to  be  first  named  as  the  Gomer  of  Gen.  x.  2,  3,  the 
eldest  sou  of  Japheth,  and  the  f-dthev  of  Ashkenaz,  Eiphath,  and  Togarmah,  who  re- 
appears in  Ezek.  xxxviii.  0,  as  the  subject  or  ally  of  the  Scythian  Gog;  and  in  the 
Gimiri  of  the  Persian  cuneiform  records.  (See  Sir  H.  Rawlinson,  in  "Journal  of 
As.  Soc."  vol.  xiv.  pt.  i.  p.  xxi.,  and  in  Rawlinson's  "Herod."  vol.  i.  p.  1S3,  note.) 
These  notices  connect  them  to  some  extent  with  Armenia  (the  supposed  centre  of 
ethnic  diffusion),  and  the  Armenian  historians  make  Gamir  the  ancestor  of  their 
Haichian  race  of  kings.  (Mos.  Chor.  i.  11,  sub  fm.)  Their  ethnic  position,  as  the 
progenitors  of  the  Cymry,  and  even  of  all  the  Celtic  races— who  have  a  uniform  tra- 
dition of  their  eastern  origin— is  maintained  by  Niebuhr,  Prichard,  and  many  others. 
A  very  good  summary  of  the  whole  question  is  given  in  Prof.  Rawlinson's  "Essay  i. 
to  Herod."  book  iv.  "On  the  Cimmerians  of  Herodotus  and  the  Migrations  of  the 
Cymric  Race."  After  showing  the  early  importance  of  the  Cimmerians,  and  describ- 
ing their  geographical  extent,  he  argues  their  identity  with  the  Cyvcry  from  the  close 

22* 


514  LYDIA  AND  MEDIA. 

§  6.  That  some  part  of  this  westward  migration  would  pass 
the  Danube,  and  then  the  Bosporus  and  Hellespont,  to  plun- 
der Asia  Minor,  is  a  probability  confirmed  by  abundant  tes- 
timony. In  these  inroads  they  are  found  (as  might  have 
been  expected)  mingled  with  Thracian  tribes,  especially  the 
Treres.  Strabo  (apparently  confounding  the  two  races)  says 
that  "the  Cimmerians,  who  are  also  named  Trerones,  or  some 
tribe  of  them,  frequenthj  overran  the  right-hand  shores  of 
the  Pontus  and  the  parts  adjacent  —  invading  sometimes 
the  Paphlagonians,  sometimes  the  Phrygians.""  In  other 
passages — in  which  he  ventures  to  place  their  invasions  of 
^olis  and  Ionia  about,  or  a  little  before,  the  time  of  Homer 
— he  distinctly  states  that  they  entered  by  the  Bosporus;" 
and  Eusebius  places  an  incursion  of  the  Cimmerians  (with 
the  Amazons  !)  into  Asia  in  the  reign  of  Codrus,  king  of  At- 
tica, 300  years  before  the  first  Olympiad.^"  Orosius  assigns 
this  irruption  of  the  Cimmerians  and  Amazons  to  b.c.  782 ;" 
and  the  Cimmerians  are  aftirmed,  on  the  authority  of  Aristotle, 
to  have  held  Antandrus,  in  Mysia,  for  a  hundred  years.^^ 

These  accounts  are  probably  exaggerated  ;  but  we  have 
the  evidence  of  the  Ionian  poet,  Callinus  of  Ephesus,  to  the 
ravages  which  he  witnessed  with  his  own  eyes,  when  the 
wagons  of  the  barbarians  stood  on  the  plain  of  the  Cayster. 
One  of  the  noblest  remains  of  Greek  elegiac  poetry  is  that  in 
which  he  tries  to  rouse  the  soft  and  dejected  lonians  to  face 
the  danger  and  hurl  each  his  last  javelin  at  the  foe;  for  war 
was  upon  them  while  they  sat  in  peace;  not  even  the  de- 
scendant of  demigods  can  escape  his  fate  ;  and  a  whole  na- 
tion mourns  for  the  brave  wlio  falls  in  fight. ^^  The  testimony 
of  other  writers  to  the  extent  of  their  devastations- is  thus 
summed  up  by  Rawlinson:  "Like  the  bands  of  Gauls,  which, 
at  a  later  date,  ravaged  these  same  regions  in  the  same  ruth- 

resemblauce  of  the  two  names;  from  the  history  of  the  early  migrations  of  the  Cim- 
merians, and  the  later  movements  of  the  Cimbri  and  the  Gauls— comparative  philol- 
ogy being  silent,  but  not  adverse.  An  account  is  added  of  the  migrations  of  the  race 
—first  from  east  to  west,  and  in  later  ages  back  from  west  to  east. 

28  Strabo,  i.  p.  61. 

^'J  Strabo,  i.  p.  6,  iii.  p.  149:  the  Thracian  Bosporus  is  clearly  meant. 

30  Euseb.  "  Chrun."  .»-•.  a.  Ab.  939  =  li.o.  107S  ;  Syucell.  p.  142,  C.  It  is  worth  noting 
that  the  Armenian  version  has  Cimmerians.  ^'  Oros.  i.  21. 

32  Steph.  Byz.  .s.  v.  "AvravSpo?.  See  Clinton  ("  F.  H."  vol.  1.  s.  aa.  635,  616),  who,  reck- 
onnig  Strabo's  highest  date  at  100  years  before  the  first  Olympiad,  makes  the  interval 
from  the  first  appearance  of  the  Cimmerians  in  Asia  Minor  to  their  final  expulsion  at 
least  260  years  (b.c.  876-616). 

33  Callin.  Fr.  2.  The  poet  mentioned  both  the  Cimmerians  and  Treres  as  concerned 
In  the  invasion  (Strabo,  xiv.  pp.  6;>3-647),  which  is  aa  argument  forNiebuhr's  opinion 
that  they  passed  through  Thrace,  and  not  by  the  eastern  route.  But  former  invasions 
by  way  of  Thrace  may  have  led  the  Greeks  then,  like  Strabo  in  a  later  age,  to  con- 
found the  two  peoples.  Some  suppose  Callinus  to  refer  to  an  earlier  invasion  than 
that  mentioned  by  Herodotus ;  but  it  is  most  probable  that  he  was  contemporary 
With  the  capture  of  Sardis. 


KAVAGES  OF  THE  CIMMERIANS.  515 

less  way,^*  the  Cimmerian  invaders  carried  ruin  and  devas- 
tation over  all  the  fairest  regions  of  Lower  Asia.  Paphla- 
gonia,  Bithynia,  Ionia,  Phrygia,  even  Cilicia — as  well  as  Lydia 
— were  plundered  and  laid  waste.  In  Phrygia,  Midas,  the 
king,  despairing  of  any  eflfectual  resistance  on  the  approach 
of  the  dreaded  foe,  is  said  to  have  committed  suicide.""  In 
Lydia,  as  we  know  from  Herodotus,  they  took  the  capital 
city,  all  but  the  acropolis.  In  Ionia  tliey  ravaged  the  valley 
of  the  Cayster,  besieged  Ephesus,  and,  according  to  some  ac- 
counts, burnt  the  temple  of  Artemis  in  its  vicinity  f^  after 
which  they  are  thought  to  have  proceeded  southward  into 
the  plain  of  the  Mieandei*,  and  to  have  sacked  the  city  of 
Magnesia."  One  body,  under  a  leader  whom  the  Greeks  call 
Lygdamis,  even  penetrated  as  far  as  Cilicia,  and  there  sus- 
tained a  terrible  reverse  at  the  hands  of  the  hardy  mount- 
aineers. The  Greeks  regarded  this  as  the  vengeance  of 
Artemis,  for  Lygdamis  had  been  the  leader  in  the  attack  on 
Ephesus."^' 

Whether  all  these  devastations  belong  to  the  inroad  men- 
tioned by  Herodotus,  can  hardly  be  determined.  At  all 
events,  this,  which  he  seems  to  consider  the  only  invasion  of 
the  Cimmerians,  appears  to  have  been  the  last.  Its  peculiar 
direction  may  be  accounted  for  by  supposing  that  the  in- 
vaders were  the  last  portion  of  the  nation  displaced  by  the 
Scythians,  who,  hemming  them  in  upon  all  sides,  left  them  no 
exit  but  through  the  passes  of  the  Caucasus. 

§  7.  The  Cimmerian  invasion  lasted  during  the  twelve 
years  of  Sadyaties,  the  son  of  Ardys ;""  but  its  force  must 
have  been  spent  in  the  first  half  of  his  reign,  for  he  "kindled 
the  flame  of  war"  (to  use  the  phrase  of  Herodotus)  against 
Miletus,  and  made  incursions  into  its  territory  during  six 
years."  The  war  was  left  as  an  inheritance  to'^his  son  Aly- 
ATTES,  and  occupied  the  first  five  of  the  fifty-seven  years 
that  his  long  reign  lasted.  In  the  course  of  the  war,  the 
Milesians  sustained  two  great  defeats — one  in  their  own  ter- 
ritory, in  the  district  of  Limeneium,  the  other  in  the  plain 
of  the  Ma3ander.'*'  But,  in  spite  of  these  blows,  and  though 
they  received  no  aid  from  any  of  the  lonians  —  except  the 
islanders  of  Chios,  who  sent  them  troops,  in  requital  of  a  like 
service  rendered  by  Miletus  in  their  war  with  Erythrag — the 

'*  Liv.  xxxviii.  16,  ppeakin<?  of  the  Galatiaus. 

35  Eustath.  ad  Horn.  "  Od."  xi.  14. 

36  Ilesych,  s.  v.  Xv-tdafxi^.    Was  his  Celtic  name  Lloyd  f 

^'^  Eustath.  I.  c.     Bat  the  destruction  of  Magnesia  seems,  from  Strabo,  to  have  been 
later  than  the  invasion  in  which  Sardis  was  taken.     (See  Rawlinson's  Note.) 
38  Callimach." Hymn,  ad  Diaii."  248-200;  Rawlinson,  "Essay  i.  toIL^rod."bk.i,  §  14. 
3»  Herod,  i.  15.  ^o  Herod,  i.  IS.  "i  Hd-od.  i.  18. 


516  LYDIA  AND  MEDIA. 

city  held  out  for  eleven  years,  and  obtained  an  honorable 
peace  at  last. 

How  this  happened  is  best  told  in  the  graphic  words  of 
Herodotus,  which  illustrate  a  mode  of  Asiatic  warfare  :  "  In- 
heriting from  his  father  a  war  with  the  JVJilesians,  Alyattes 
pressed  the  siege  against  the  city,  by  attacking  it  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner:  When  the  harvest  was  ripe  on  the  ground, 
he  marched  in  his  army  to  the  sound  of  pipes  and  harps,  and 
the  male  and  female  flute/^  The  buildings  that  were  scat- 
tered over  the  country  he  neither  pulled  down  nor  burnt,  nor 
did  he  even  tear  away  the  doors,  but  left  them  standing  as 
they  w^ere.  He  cut  down,  however,  and  utterly  destroyed, 
all  the  trees  and  all  the  corn  throughout  the  land,  and  then 
retired  back  again.  For  the  Milesians  were  masters  of  the 
sea ;  so  that  there  was  nothing  for  his  army  to  do  in  the  way 
of  a  blockade.  The  reason  that  the  Lydians  did  not  destroy 
the  houses  w^as  this,  that  the  Milesians  might  have  them  to 
use  as  homesteads,  from  which  they  might  go  forth  to  sow 
and  till  their  lands  ;  and  so,  each  time  that  he  invaded  the 
country,  he  might  have  something  to  plunder.  In  this  way 
he  carried  on  the  war  with  the  Milesians  for  eleven  years.  .  .  . 
But  in  the  twelfth  year  of  the  w^ar  the  following  mischance 
occurred  from  the  firing  of  the  harvest-fields.  Scarcely  had 
the  corn  been  set  alight,  when  a  violent  wind  carried  the 
flames  against  the  temple  of  Athena,  surnamed  Assesia,  which 
caught  fire  and  was  burnt  to  the  ground.  At  the  time,  no 
one  made  any  account  of  the  circumstance  ;  but  afterwards, 
on  the  return  of  the  array  to  Sardis,  Alyattes  fell  sick.  His 
illness  continuing,  ....  he  sent  messengers  to  Delphi,  to 
inquire  of  the  god  concerning  his  malady.  On  their  arrival, 
the  Pythoness  refused  to  give  them  a  response  till  they 
should*  have  rebuilt  the  temple  of  Athena,  which  they  had 
burnt  at  Assesus,  in  the  Milesian  territory."" 

He  goes  on  to  relate  how  Thrasybulus,  the  tyrant  of  Mile- 
tus, informed  of  the  oracle  by  the  friendship  of  Periander, 
and  expecting  a  message  from  the  Lydian  king,  had  all  the 
corn  in  the  city  brought  into  the  market-place,  and  ordered 
the  people  to  be  ready,  the  moment  he  should  give  the  signal, 
to  fall  to  drinking  and  revelry.  The  herald,  whom  Alyattes 
sent  to  demand  a  truce  for  the  time  necessary  to  rebuild  the 
temple,  carried  back  word  to  Sardis  that  he  had  found  all 
Miletus  engaged  in  feasting.  Thereupon  the  king,  who  had 
hoped  to  hear  that  the  city  was  in  the  last  stage  of  famine, 

42  Larcher  seems  right  in  explaining  this  of  a  cloiiLlc  flu'e,  o;ie  shrill  and  the  other 
grave  (treble  and  base),  like  the  ii^alc  and  female  voice. 
"  Herod,  i.  17-19. 


REIGN  OF  CYAXARES.  517 

was  glad  to  make  a  treaty  of  close  alliance  with  the  Mile- 
sians^ "  He  then  built  at  Assesus  two  temples  to  Athena, 
instead  of  one,  and  shortly  after  recovered  from  his  malady."" 

On  his  recovery,  he  imitated  the  example  of  Gyges  by 
sending  offerings  to  the  shrines  at  Delphi — a  silver  bowl  on 
an  iron  base,  the  latter  chased  with  small  figures  of  animals, 
insects,  and  plants ;  which  remained  famous  through  all  an- 
tiquity as  the  work  of  a  Chian  artist,  named  Glaucus,  who 
invented  the  art  of  joining  metals  by  a  solder,  or  cement, 
without  nails,  clamps,  or  similar  fastenings.  This  Glaucus 
seems  to  have  lived  about  a  century  before  Alyattes/^ 

§  8.  Alyattes  was  consoled  for  his  disappointment  at  Mile- 
tus by  the  capture  of  Smyrna ;  but  he  suffered  a  severe  de- 
feat in  an  invasion  of  the  territory  of  Clazomenge."  The  en 
terprise  of  driving  the  Cimmerians  out  of  Asia  Minor"  seems 
to  have  interrupted  the  attempts  upon  the  Greek  cities,  in 
which  his  success  had  been  so  imperfect.  The  Cimmerian 
settlement,  which  remained  at  Sinope,  indicates  the  direction 
in  which  the  Cimmerians  retired ;  and  it  was  probably  in 
pushing  on  the  war  against  them  that  Alyattes  was  led  to 
extend  his  conquests  towards  the  Halys,  and  was  brought 
into  contact  with  Cyaxares,  who  was  advancing  westward 
perhaps  through  a  similar  cause,  the  pursuit  of  the  expelled 
Scythians.'' 

I  9.  Cyaxares,  as  we  have  seen,"^  succeeded  to  the  throne 
of  Media  after  the  death  of  his  father  Phraortes  in  the  attack 
on  Media ;  or  rather,  as  is  more  probable,  he  founded  the 
Median  kingdom  itself,  about  b.c.  634.  This  was  seventeen 
years  before  the  accession  of  Alyattes  in  Lydia,  b.c.  617.^* 
After  telling  how  Cyaxares  organized  the  Median  army, 
which  would  of  course  be  his  first  business,  Herodotus  says : 
"This  is  he  who  fought  with  the  Lydians,  when  the  night 

"  Herod,  i.  22. 

45  nerod.  i.  25 ;  Paus.  x.  16,  §  1 ;  Atheu.  v.  p.  210,  b,  c ;  Plutarch.  "  de  Def.  Orac." 
47,  p.  436,  a.     See  "  Diet,  of  Gik.  and  Rom.  Biography,"  art.  Glaucus. 

•««  Herod,  i.  16. 

47  Herod,  i.  16. 

4«  Leuormaut  says  that  Alyattes,  turniug  from  his  Ionian  wars  to  the  interior  of 
Asia  Minor,  subjugated  in  a  few  years  not  only  Phrygia,  but  Cappadocia,  and  was 
thus  brought  into  that  conflict  v.'ith  Cyaxares  which  resulted  in  confining  the  Lydian 
power  within  the  Halys,  and  giving  Cappadocia  to  Media.  For  this  we  can  tind  no 
authority,  and  Herodotus  seems  to  imply  that  Phrygia  was  conquered  by  CrocRus. 
But,  considering  the  length  of  the  reign  of  Alyattes,  which  lasted  (according  to  the 
chronology  generally  received)  nearly  fifty  years  after  the  Median  war,  it  is  very  like- 
ly that  he  began  to  reduce  the  countries  within  the  limit  assigned  by  the  treaty,  and 
that  Croesus  only  completed  the  work. 

49  See  chap.  xix.,./iw. 

^0  That  is,  according  to  Clinton's  chronology.  According  to  Rawliuson,  who 
places  the  accession  of  Alyattes  in  b.c.  625,  the  difference  would  be  only  nine  years. 
The  latter  date  places  the  accession  of  Alyattes  in  the  very  year  to  which  the  same 
author  assigns  the  taking  of  Nineveh  by  Cyaxares. 


5J8  I.YDIA  AND  MEDIA. 

was  turned  into  clay  a^  they  fought,  and  who  brought  under 
his  dominion  the  whole  of  Asia  above  the  River  Halys."^' 

The  form  of  this  sentence  looks  like  a  general  notice  of  the 
king's  chief  exploit ;  and  this  is  not  necessarily  meant  to  be 
■ — as,  in  fact,  it  could  hardly  have  been  —  previous  to  the 
events  which  Herodotus  goes  on  to  relate :  "  But  having 
collected  all  who  were  subject  to  him,  he  marched  against 
Nineveh,  to  take  vengeance  for  his  father,  and  wishing  to 
destroy  this  city.  And  when  he  liad  defeated  the  Assyrians 
in  an  engagement,  there  came  against  him  a  great  army  of 
the  Scyi/iicms,  \ed  by  Madyes,  king  of  the  Scythians,  son  of 
Prothyes.  These  invaded  Asia,  having  driven  the  Cimme- 
rians out  of  Europe,  and  following  them  in  their  flight  till 
they  reached  the  Median  territory."  How  these  Scythians 
reached  Media,  while  pursuing  the  Cimmerians  who  fled  into 
Asia  Minor,  he  explains  as  follows  :  "  While  the  Cimmerians 
kept  the  line  by  the  sea-shore,  the  Scythians  missed  their 
road,  and  struck  inland,  keeping  the  Caucasus  on  their  right, 
and  so  poured  into  Media  ;''^  which  must  mean  that  they 
came  down  through  Daghestan  and  the  Pass  of  Derhend, 
between  the  eastern  extremity  of  Caucasus  and  the  western 
shore  of  the  Caspian."  The  Medes  gave  them  battle,  but 
were  defeated  and  lost  their  empire,  and  the  Scythians  be- 
came masters  of  Asia.  They  marched  forward  with  the  de- 
sign of  invading  Egypt ;  but  were  met  in  Palestine  by  Psam- 
meticlius,  who  prevailed  on  them,  by  gifts  and  prayers,  to 
advance  no  farther."'^ 

After  telling  how  some  of  the  Scythians,  on  tiieir  return, 
plundered  the  temple  of  the  celestial  Aphrodite"*^  at  Ascalon, 
and  how  the  goddess  visited  their  sacrilege  with  a  perpetual 
punishment,  he  adds  that  "  the  dominion  of  the  Scythians 
over  Asia   lasted  twenty-eight   years, ^^  during  which  time 

'1  Herod,  i.  103.  Eveu  admitting  that  Herodotus  meant  his  order  for  that  of  the 
events,  his  idea  of  their  order  is  of  course  subject  to  criticism. 

62  Herod,  i.  104 ;  iv.  12-53.  Herodotus  adds  that  this  account  is  common  both  to 
the  Greeks  and  the  barbarians— a  statement  of  more  than  usual  importance  here,  as 
suggesting  that  he  may  have  l)een  misled  by  supposing  that  the  names  used  by  the 
Orientals  i-eferred  to  the  same  jieople  whom  the  Greeks  called  Scythians. 

's  This,  which  the  ancients  called  the  C'as2rim  or  Albania;  F/ilce,  is  the  (mly  practi- 
cable pass  of  the  Caucasus,  besides  the  Pans  of  Dariel  (Caticasice  Pi/Ice)  in  the  middle 
of  the  chain,  which  has  been  already  mentioned  as  that  by  which  the  Cimmerians 
QMist  have  entered  Asia;  at  least  if  Herodotus  is  right  in  bringing  them  from  the 
3ast  at  all. 

6*  Herod,  i.  105.  Psammetichns  would  be  engaged  at  this  time  in  the  siege  of 
Azotus  (Herod,  ii.  157). 

6°  Atergatis  or  Derceto,  the  female  deity  associated  with  Dagon. 

<>«  Herod,  i.  160.  He  clearly  means  (from  the  last  words  of  the  chapter)  these  28 
years  to  be  Included  in,  and  to  be  reckoned  a  part  of,  the  40  years  of  Cyaxarcs  (n.a. 
634-594) ;  and  it  is  equally  clear  that  he  puts  the  capture  of  Nineveh  after  (in  fact  as 
a  result  of)  the  expulsion  of  the  Scythians.  If  we  could  feel  bound  by  these  slate- 
ments  in  their  exact  numerical  details,  they  would  furnish  a  strong  argument  for 


THE  ASIATIC  SCYTHIANS.  519 

their  insolence  and  oppression  spread  ruin  on  every  side. 
For,  besides  the  reguhir  tribute,"  they  exacted  from  the  sev- 
eial  nations  additional  imposts,  whicli  they  fixed  at  pleasure; 
and,  further,  they  scoured  the  country,  and  plundered  every 
one  of  whatever  they  could.  At  length  Cyaxares  and  the 
Medes  invited  the  greater  part  of  them  to  a  banquet,  and 
made  them  drunk  with  wine,  after  which  they  Avere  all  mas- 
sacred. The  Medes  then  i-ecovered  tiieir  empire,  and  had  the 
same  extent  of  dominion  as  before.  Tliey  took  Nineveh,  and 
conquered  all  Assyria,  exce]^t  the  district  of  Babylonia.  Al- 
ter this  Cyaxares  died,  hav,.ig  reigned  over  the  Medes,  if  we 
include  the  time  of  the  Scythian  rule,  forty  years."^^ 

§  10.  This  story  forms  one  of  the  puzzles  of  ancient  Asiatic 
history.  The  precise  nationality  of  these  "  Scythians,"  the 
nature  and  time  of  their  dominion,  and  its  relation  to  the 
history  of  Media — all  tliese  ai'e  problems  awaiting  their  full 
solution.  For,  first,  wlien  we  read  of  Scythians  at  this  pe- 
riod, we  must  not  rush  to  the  conclusion  that  they  belonged 
to  that  great  Turanian  or  Tartar  race  of  Central  Asia,  which 
is  generally  known  by  that  name  in  ancient  geography. 
This  is  only  one  of  tlirce  significations  of  the  name.  It  is 
applied  also  to  the  i-emains,  which  existed  in  all  the  countries 
of  Western  Asia,  of  that  primitive  Turanian  race  wliich  was 
once  the  prevailing  population,  and  of  which  the  Tartars  of 
Central  Asia  were  but  one  family,  if  indeed  they  belonged  to 
it  at  all.^''  Lastly,  there  are  the  Scyths  of  Europe — so  called 
by  Herodotus,  Hippocrates,  and  other  Greeks — whose  gen- 
erally admitted  relation  to  the  Mongolian  race  has  been  ques- 
tioned, but  not  on  very  strong  grounds.*" 

§  11.  There  seems,  indeed,  reason  to  doubt  whether  Scyth- 
ian was  originally  an  ethnic  name,  and  not  rather,  as  we  now 

js.o.  COG  as  the  date  of  the  capture  of  Nineveh.  The  2S  years  of  Scythian  domination 
would  then  begin  at  the  accession  of  Cyaxares,  in  b.o.  034;  and  this  must  he  the  date 
of  his  first  attack  on  Nineveh  ;  and  room  must  be  found  before  it  for  his  previous 
organization  and  conquests.  Those  who  accept  the  date  of  j'..c.  GOG  (as  MM.  Oppert 
and  Lenormant)  feel  compelled  to  make  the  arbitrary  alteration  of  2S  into  18,  in 
order  to  bring  the  first  attack  on  Nineveh  to  is.o.  G25,  the  epoch  of  Nabopolassar's 
independent  reign  at  Babylon.  It  is,  however,  remarkable  that  Herodotus  knows 
nothing  of  the  Babylonian  alliance,  and  ascribes  the  attack  on  Nineveh  to  the  Medes 
alone. 

s''  This  seerns  to  imply  a  full  usurpation  of  the  functions  of  government,  and  not  a 
mere  predatory  inroad.  ^-  Herod,  i.  106. 

E9  This  qualification  has  respect  to  the  indications— which  seem  to  come  out  more 
in  proportion  as  the  subject  is  pursued  farther— of  that  close  connection  between 
these  primitive  Turanians  and  the  Aryan  type,  which  is  sometimes  expressed  by 
calling  them  Scytho-Anjani^,  as  if  they  were  a  mixed  population,  and  sometimes  by 
regarding  them  as  an  ancient  type  of  the  Japhetic  race,  before  its  decided  bifurca- 
tion into  the  Aryan  and  Turanian  families.  There  seems  now  to  be  established  a 
close  connection  between  the  Turanian  and  Aryan  races,  on  the  one  hand,  as  be- 
tween the  Hamitic  and  Semitic  on  the  other. 

«»  See  Rawlinsou,  "Essay  ii.  to  Herodotus,"  bookiv. 


520  LYDIA  AND  MEDIA. 

use  Nomad^  a  generic  designation  of  certain  wandering  or 
pastoral  tribes — Tartars  in  habit,  but  not  necessarily  in  race. 
Such  was  evidently  the  idea  attached  to  the  name  on  its  first 
introduction  into  the  Greek  language  ;  for  Hesiod  applies  it 
to  the  Hippemolgi  ("  milkers  of  mares  ")  whom  Homer  had  al- 
ready described,  by  this  as  well  as  the  names  of  Galactoj^ha- 
gi  ("milk-eaters")  and  Abii  ("abstainers  from  violence")," 
as  a  pastoral  race  uf  primitive  simplicity  and  justice;  and 
^schylus  had  a  similar  idea  of  "the  Scythians  living  accord- 
ing to  just  laws,  eaters  of  mares'-milk  cheese.'"'  Elsewhere, 
hovvever,  following  less  poetical  sources,  and  referring  to  the 
region  called  Scythia  by  Herodotus,  he  describes  "  the  nom- 
ad Scythians,  who  inhabit  houses  of  wicker-work  mounted 
on  wheeled  cars,  with  far-darting  bows  slung  to  them,"  as  a 
people  to  be  avoided.''  Thus  the  name,  which  seems  to  have 
come  into  the  Greek  language  between  the  times  of  Homer 
and  of  Hesiod,  has  with  ^schylus,  besides  the  old  poetical 
sense,  the  more  definite  meaning  which  is  fully  worked  out 
in  Herodotus.  Both  name  and  information  doubtless  came 
from  the  same  source — Greek  intercourse  with  the  shores  of 
the  Euxine,  at  first  through  the  nearer  nations,  the  Thracians 
and  the  tribes  between  the  Danube.  For  the  name  is  not 
Greek,  and  neither  is  it  native.  There  is  not  a  trace  of  it 
among  any  of  the  nations  whom  the  Greeks  described  by  it ; 
and  the  European  Scythians,  the  first  people  to  whom  it  was 
definitely  applied,  are  distinctly  said  to  have  called  them- 
selves by  a  diiferent  name.  "  Collectively  they  are  named 
Scoloti^  after  one  of  their  kings ;  the  Greeks,  however,  call 
them  Scythians.""' 

61  "II."  xiii.  5,  G;  "Hesiod,"  Fr.  G3,  04.  The  word  'A/3ta)i/,  iu  the  former  passage, 
may  be  derived  either  from  u  privative  and  fiia  (as  iu  the  text),  or  from  u  aud  /S/or, 
"with  scanty  means  of  life."  Homer's  "Abii,  justest  of  men,"  clearly  reappear  iu 
the  Gabii  of  ^schylus:  "You  will  come  to  a  people  the  most  just  of  all  mortals  aud 
most  hospitable  to  strangers,  the  Gabii,  where  neither  plough  nor  earth-cuttiug 
spade  cuts  the  furrows,  but  the  self-sown  fields  bear  abundant  food  to  mortals." 
("Prom.  Sol."  Fr.  1S4.)  Homer  connects  his  Hippemolgi,  Galactophagi,  and  Abii 
with  the  Thracians  and  Mysians  {i.  c,  of  Europe;),  as  if  speaking  iu  general  of  the  pas- 
toral  tribes  north  of  Thrace  (cf.  Strabo,  vii.  3,  §§  7,  8). 

«2  "Prometh.  Solut."Fr.  ISO,  ed.  Dindorf. 

03  ^sch.  "Prom.  Vinct."  709-711.  Their  locality  is  away,  but  not  fjir,  from  a  sea- 
coast,  evidently  that  of  the  Euxine,  and  their  habitations  answer  to  the  "houses  on 
wagons  "  spoken  of  by  Herodotus  (iv.  4G).  Hesiod  also  describes  his  milk-eaters  as 
"having  their  houses  upon  carts."  It  may  be  observed,  in  passing,  that  this  milk- 
diet,  however  iun(;cent  au  nattirel,  or  in  the  form  of  cheese  (Hippocrates,  vol.  i.  p. 
555,  ed.  Kiihn),  probably  served  also  the  purpose  of  procuring  an  intoxicating  drink, 
like  that  called  Kumiss  at  the  present  day  among  the  Bashkirs  and  the  Kalmucks. 
(Sec  Grote,  "Hist,  of  Greece,"  vol.  iii.  p.  .323.) 

84  Herod,  iv.  G.  The  Greek  word  Ski^^^is-  is  probably  the  same  as  the  Asiatic  Saca, 
with  On^  as  au  ethnic  termination,  equivalent  to  the  more  usual  T»]r.  Some  have 
imagined  a  connectiou  v/ith  the  old  Norse  sh/ta,  German  schutzen,  English  shoot; 
and  it  is  remarkable  that  the  Scythians  within  the  Persian  empire  Avere  knoAvn 
epecifically  as  "archers;"  but  resemblaucee  of  this  sort  must  not  be  much  relied  on. 


THE  ASIATIC  SCYTHIANS.  521 

§  12.  In  the  Persian  inscriptions  the  name  appears  as  Saka  ; 
and  the  Sacm  of  Greek  writers  on  Persian  affairs  are  simply 
Asiatic  Scyths.  Herodotus  says  that  Sacm  is  the  name 
which  the  Persians  give  to  all  Scythians.^'"  Xow  it  is  re- 
markable that,  in  the  Babylonian  transcript  of  the  Achae- 
menid  inscriptions,  the  word  answering  to  the  Saka  of  the 
Persian  and  Scytho-Median  columns  is  Gmiiri^  a  terra  which 
elsewhere,  in  Babylonian,  always  means  the  tribes.^^  If  this 
word  had  originally  an  ethnic  sense,  its  form  would  point  to 
the  Cimmerians  as  the  first  nomad  race  known  to  (at  least) 
the  Semitic  inhabitants  of  Western  Asia.  The  Persian  in- 
scriptions distinguish  between  the  Saka  Tlgrakhiida  and 
the  Saka  Humavmrga.  The  former — whose  name  appears, 
from  the  Babylonian  transcript,  to  mean  Scythian  boiomen — 
were  doubtless  the  remains  of  the  old  nomad  population 
(generally  called  Turanian),  which  maintained  itself  within 
the  bounds  of  the  Persian  empire." 

The  Saka  Humavmrga  are  at  once  identified  with  the 
Amyrgian  Scythians  of  Herodotus^®  and  of  Hellanicus,  who 
states  that  their  name  was  geographical.^^  Herodotus  de- 
scribes them  in  the  army  of  Xerxes :  "  The  Sacse,  or  Scyths, 
were  clad  in  trowsers,  and  had  on  their  heads  tall  stiff  caps, 
rising  to  a  point.'"  They  bore  the  bow  of  their  country,  and 
the  dagger :  besides  which  they  carried  the  battle-axe,  or 
sagaris."  Their  position  in  the  army,  in  the  same  corps  with 
the  Bactrians,  agrees  with  their  geographical  locality.  They 
were  neighbors  of  the  Bactrians,  and  both  nations  were  sub- 
dued by  Cyrus  in  the  same  war.  The  Sacse  were,  in  fact, 
the  nomad  race  whom  the  Persians  found  on  their  northern 
frontier,  along  which  they  extended  from  Asterabad  to  Balkh 
in  the  area,  and  probably  as  the  ancestors,  of  the  present 
Turcomans  and  Uzbeks.  The  Sacae  appear  to  have  belonged 
to  the  Turkish  stock,  perhaps  with  a  Mongolian  intermix- 
ture. It  has  been  thought  that  the  Amyrgian  Sacse  may 
have  been  Ugrians,  their  name  being  derived  from  the  Ugrian 

The  same  cautiou  applies  to  Dr.  Donaldson's  explanation  of  Scoloti  as  =  Asa-Galatce, 
i.  e.,  Celts  of  Asia,  a  name  which  the  people  are  very  nnlikely  to  have  used  for  them- 
selves. After  all,  the  forms  7.kvB  and  Scolot  are  not  so  very  unlike,  and  Herodotus 
may  have  meant  that  the  foi-mer  was  a  Greek  modification  of  the  latter. 

«5  Herod,  iv.  (34. 

®^  Sir  H.  I?awlinsou,  in  Rawlinson's  "  Herodotus,"  vol.  iv.  p.  210.  Gimiri  is  eqniv- 
aleut  to  the  term  uWo^i/Xot,  which  Greek  writers  apply  to  the  Scythic  element  in  the 
population  of  Western  Asia.  Its  resemblance  to  the  Scriptural  Garner,  and  to 
Cimmerii  and  Cijmry,  has  been  already  noticed. 

""  They  appear  occasionally  as  attendants  on  the  Persian  kings. 

««  Herod,  iv.  G4. 

*"•  He  derives  it  from  ix\i  Amyrgian  plain:  'A^Jiv^}Jlov,^^e6iov  laKGiv-  'eWuvcko^  ZK60ait 
(Hellan.  Fr.  ITl ;  ap.  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  'A/jivpytov). 

''°  See  two  representations  of  such  caps  from  the  Behistun  sculpture,  and  from  a 
very  anu'cnt  tablet  in  Cappadocia,  in  Rawlinson's  Herod,  ad.  loc 


522  LYDIA  AND  MEDIA. 

root,  ni-r-d  =.  7nan.  The  researclies  of  Mr.  Morris  on  the 
Scytho-Meclian  column  of  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  have 
led  him  to  the  opinion  that  there  was  at  least  one  invasion 
of  Media  effected  by  members  of  the  Ugrian  stock — proba- 
bly from  Orenhurcj  or  Kazan.  History  gives  us  no  time 
when  the  Turks  of  the  Persian  frontier,  the  Sacge,  were  not 
pressing  southward/* 

§  13.  From  all  this  it  will  be  seen  that  very  different  mean- 
ings may  be  found  in  the  story  of  a  Scythian  domination 
in  Western  Asia.  It  might  be  a  temporary  recovery  of  as- 
cendency by  the  conquered  Turanian  population- — an  hypoth- 
esis beset  with  improbabilities  too  many  to  be  fully  stated 
here  ;  and  those  who  resort  to  it  feel  bound  to  suppose  a  re- 
inforcement by  a  new  invasion  from  the  noilh.  Or  it  might 
be  a  real  inroad  from  the  country  of  the  Asiatic  Scyths,  or 
Sacae,  whom  Herodotus  might  easily  confound  with  those 
European  Scyths,  to  whom  his  attention  was  more  particu- 
larly directed ;  especially  as  he  would  be  led  by  tlie  com- 
mon name  to  try  to  reconcile  the  accounts  which  he  picked 
up  in  Media,  and  in  Lydia,  and  from  the  Pontic  Greeks. 
Or,  if  we  suppose  him  to  have  been  well  informed  in  his 
very  definite  statements  about  their  entrance  into  Asia  by 
the  pass  o^  Derhend^  and  their  falling  upon  Media  from  tliat 
side,  it  may  still  be  doubted  from  what  part  of  the  region 
north  of  Caucasus  they  came,  and  to  which  of  the  northern 
(or  eastern)  nomad  races  they  belonged,'^  The  near  coinci- 
dence of  their  inroad,  both  as  to  time  and  probable  duration, 
is  very  remarkable ;  and  we  can  not  but  su})i)c)se  that  Herod- 
otus followed  some  definite  authority  in  naming  the  exact 
period  of  28  years. 

It  is  not  impossible,  after  all,  that  both  the  Cimmerian  in- 
vasion of  Asia  Minor  and  the  Scythian  invasion  of  Media 
may  have  been  but  parts  of  that  great  irruption  of  which 
the  memory  is  preserved  by  Herodotus,  by  the  lyric  poets 
of  Ionia,  and,  as  some  suppose,  even  by  Hebrew  prophecy.'^ 
Such  are  the  repeated  allusions  in  the  earlier  chapters  of 
Jeremiah — which  fall  within  Josiah's  reign — to  an  invasion 
symbolized  by  a  seething  caldron  with  its  face  toioards  tlie 
norths  and  explained  by  the  words:  ^'' Out  of  the  north  an 
evil  shall  break  forth  upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land 

"1  Their  name  appears  in  Sacastene  (=  Segesta^i) :  the  Parthiaus  were  of  the  Scyth- 
ian stock,  as  the  resembhmce  of  the  name  suggests  that  the  original  occupants  of 
Perr<ia  were  also  ;  those  of  Carmania,  ton,  s^eem  to  have  been  SacPD. 

'2  Of  course  no  authority  can  be  attached  to  the  story  of  their  pursuing  the  Cimme- 
rians and  missing  their  way;  Avhich  is  a  manifest  device  to  bring  them  from  the 
region  on  the  north  of  the  Euxine,  which  was  known  to  Herodotus  as  Scythia. 

"  See  Mure's  "  Hist,  of  Greek  Lit."  vol.  iii.  p.  1?,?,,  foil. 


MEDIAN  AND  LYDIAN  WAR.  523 

(or  the  earth).  For,  lo,  I  will  call  all  the  families  of  the 
kingdoms  of  the  north^  saith  the  Lord.'"*  ....     "I  will  bring 

evil  from  the  nortli,  and  a  great  destruction,  etc The 

whole  city  shall  llee/b;-  the  noise  of  the  horsemen  and  boic- 
men^'*  etc.'^  ....  "  Lo,  I  will  bring  a  nation  upon  you  from 
far  ....  it  is  a  mighty  nation,  it  is  an  ancient  nation,  a  na- 
tion whose  language  thou  knowest  not.  .  .  .  Tlieir  quiver  is 
as  an  oj^en  sepulchre^  they  are  all  mighty  men.  And  they 
shall  eat  up  thine  harvest  and  thy  bread,  which  thy  sons 
and  thy  daughters  should  eat :  they  shall  eat  up  thy  flocks 
and  thine  herds :  they  shall  eat  up  thy  vines  and  thy  fig- 
trees :  they  shall  impoverish  thy  fenced  cities,  vxdierein  thou 
trustedst,  with  the  sword.'"''  ....  ^^They  shall  lay  hold  on 
boio  and  spear ;  they  are  cruel,  and  have  no  mercy;  their 
voice  roareth  like  the  sea ;  and  they  ride  upon  horses^  set  in 
array,"  etc.'^  In  every  point  these  poetic  descriptions  agree 
with  the  Asiatic  nomads  described  by  Herodotus,  and  with 
the  Calmucks  in  our  own  times. 

§  14.  The  war  between  Media  and  Lydia  is  connected  by 
Herodotus  with  the  prcL  t  nee  of  the  Scythians  in  Asia,  in  a 
way  which  seems  to  show  that  he  followed  diflerent  ac- 
counts in  different  parts  of  his  history.  "A  band  of  Scyth- 
ian nomads,  loho  had  left  their  ovm  land  on  occasion  of  some 
disturbance^  had  taken  refuge  in  Media.''''  They  were  re- 
ceived as  suppliants  by  Cyaxares,  who  employed  them  as 
archers  and  huntsmen.  At  length  their  native  ferocity 
broke  out  in  resentment  of  the  king's  anger  at  their  ill-suc- 
cess one  day  in  hunting.  So,  in  place  of  game,  they  served 
up  to  him  the  flesh  of  one  of  the  Median  boys  who  had  been 
intrusted  to  them  to  learn  their  language  and  the  use  of  the 
bow,  and  fled  with  all  speed  to  the  court  of  Alyattes  at  Sar- 
dis.  The  refusal  of  the  Lydian  king  to  give  them  up  caused 
a  war  between  the  Lydians  and  Medes,  which  lasted  for 
five  years,  with  various  success.  The  Medes  gained  many 
victories  over  the  Lydians,  and  the  Lydians  also  gained 
many  victories  over  the  Medes.  Among  other  battles  there 
was  one  night  engagement.  As,  however,  the  balance  had 
not  inclined  in  fivor  of  either  nation,  another  combat  took 
place  in  the  sixth  year,  in  the  course  of  which,  just  as  the 
battle  Avas  growing  warm,  day  was  on  a  sudden  changed 
into  night.  This  event  had  been  foretold  by  Thales  the  Mi- 
lesian, who  forewarned  the  lonians  of  it,  fixing  for  it  the  very 

"4  Jerem.  i.  13-lG :  see  Ewalcl,  "  Propheteii,"  ad  loc.  "^  Jereni.  iv.  6-31. 

"8  Jerem.  v.  15-1 T.     The  ensuing  words,  "In  those  days  I  will  not  make  a  full  end 
with  you,"  prove  that  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Babylonu^.ns  is  not  meant. 
'7  Jereni.  vi.  22-26 ;  see  also  x.  22. 


524  LYDIA  AND  MEDIA. 

year  in  which  it  actually  took  place.  The  Medes  and  Lyd- 
ians,  when  they  observed  the  change,  ceased  fighting,  and 
were  alike  anxious  to  have  terms  of  peace  agreed  on.  But 
those  who  brought  them  to  an  agreement  were  Syennesis 
the  Cilician  and  Labynetus  the  Babylonian.'^  In  their  ea- 
gerness to  bind  the  rival  kings,  the  mediators  regarded  oaths 
as  insufficient — (political  human  nature  never  changes) — so 
they  arranged  the  marriage  of  Aryenis,  the  daughter  of  Aly- 
attes,  to  Astyages,  the  son  of  Cyaxares."  It  seems  to  be 
implied  tliat  this  treaty  fixed  the  Halys  as  the  boundary  be- 
tween the  Median  and  Lydian  empires.'^*' 

The  trivial  occasion  alleged  for  the  war  does  not  need 
much  discussion  ;  but  it  serves  to  suggest  the  probability 
that  the  Median  and  Lydian  kings,  each  pressing  forward  in 
the  like  enterprise  of  driving  out  the  nomad  invaders,  might 
come  into  collision  on  the  frontiers  of  Armenia  and  Cappa- 
docia.  Far  more  important  is  the  date  of  the  war,  and  its 
relation  to  the  fall  of  Nineveh.  The  "  Eclipse  of  Thales,"  as 
it  is  called,  is,  unfortunately,  far  from  decisive  of  the  ques- 
tion ;  and  it  is  only  till  we  obtain  the  further  light  which 
may  be  expected  from  the  Assyrian  records,  that  we  can  ac- 
cept provisionally  the  date,  towards  which  the  best  modern 
authorities  preponderate,  of  b.c.  610  for  the  peace  of  Cyaxa- 
res  with  Alyattes.^^ 

§  15.  Cyaxares  died  in  b.c.  594;  but  the  reign  of  Alyattes 
was  prolonged  nearly  to  the  fall  of  the  Median  empire  under 
Astyages.^"  The  his'^tory  of  the  last  kings  of  Media  and  Lyd- 
ia  is  inseparable  from  that  of  Cyrus  and  the  rise  of  Persia. 
Meanwhile,  it  only  remains  to  be  recorded  of  Alyattes  that, 
after  spending  his  remaining  years,  most  probably,  in  his 
Ionian  wars,  he  was  buried  in  a  tomb  which  Herodotus  de- 

•^s  The  terms  6  K/Xif ,,  and  o  Ra/3uXwKoc  would  mean,  according  to  the  usual  analogy, 
though  not  necessarily,  the  Kings  of  Cilicia  and  Babylonia.  We  have  already  noticed 
the  difficulty  involved  in  the  name  of  Labijiietus,  when  the  King  of  Babylon  was  Na- 
bopolassar— that  is,  accepting  is.c.  GIO  for  the  date  of  the  battle  (see  chap.  xv.  §  G). 
The  difficulty  is  not  lessened  by  the  later  date  (u.o.  597),  when  Nebuchadnezzar  was 
king.  In  either  case  there  is  the  hypothetical  explanation,  that  this  Lahynetus  (a 
name  probably  representing  the  Babylonian  JSdbunit)  was  some  prince  of  the  royal 
blood ;  but  this  is  hardly  satisfactory.     (Corap.  above,  chap.  xv.  §  5.) 

T»  Herod,  i.  73,  74 ;  cf.  chap.  103.  «"  Herod,  i.  72,  cf.  103. 

81  Those  who  are  in  favor  of  b.c.  606  for  the  fall  of  Nineveh  give  n.c.  597  for  the 
peace ;  and  the  combination  of  n  c.  GIO  for  the  peace,  and  u.c.  GOG  for  the  capture  of 
Nineveh,  is  worth  considering.  We  had  much  to  say  upon  the  probabilities  of  the 
whole  series  of  events,  in  relation  to  the  statements  of  Herodotus;  but  there  is  not 
space  for  an  argument,  which  would  still  be  inconclusive  in  the  absence  of  further 
data.  The  date  of  u.c.  5S5  for  the  eclipse,  adopted  by  Mr.  Bosanquet  ("Fall  of  Nin- 
eveh," p.  14),  though  based  on  such  astronomical  authorities  as  the  Astronomer 
Royal  and  Mr.  Kind,  would  alter  the  whole  story  of  Herodotus  by  bringing  the 
eclipse  into  the  reigns  of  Astyages  and  CrcEsns. 

S2  This  happening  u.c.  569.  The  death  of  Alyattes  is  placed  by  Clinton  in  is.o.  500, 
by  Rawlinson  in  r..c.  56S,  by  Leuormant  in  u.o.  558. 


DEATHS  OF  CYAXARES  AND  ALYATTES. 


525 


scribes  as  the  one  noticeable  structure  in  all  Lydia,  and  only 
inferior  to  the  monuments  of  Egypt  and  Babylon." 

Alyattes  was  twice  married,  to  a  Carian  woman,  who  was 
the  mother  of  Croesus,  and  to  an  Ionian,  the  daughter  of  Pan= 
taleon — another  sign  of  Greek  influence  in  Lydia/* 


83  Herod,  i.  93.    For  .a  full  description  of  the  nionumeut 
Rawlinson's  uote,  ad  loc. 

84  Herod,  i.  9-2. 


its  present  state,  see 


Tomb  of  Alyattes,  Sepnlchral  Chamber. 


Tomb  of  Cyrus  at  Murghdb,  the  ancient  Pasargadae. 


CIIAPTEll  XXIV. 


THE  MEDIAN  EMPIKE  OVERTHROWN  BY  CYRUS. B.C.  594-558- 

5  1.  Period  of  repose  and  alliance  between  Babylon,  Media,  and  Lydia.  §  2.  Asty- 
AOK8,  last  kin;;  of  Media.  His  court  and  character.  §  3.  His  relations  with  Ar- 
menia. Early  history  of  the  country.  §  4.  Under  the  early  Babylonian  monarchy, 
the  Egyptians,  and  the  Assyrians.  §  5.  The  native  kingdom  of  Van.  §  0.  Arme- 
nia under  the  Lower  Assyrian  Dynasty.  §  7.  Relatioiis  to  Media.  Tiguanes  I. 
§  S.  Story  of  his  war  with,  and  conquest  of,  Astyages.  5  9.  Armenia  under  the 
Persians.  sMO.  Position  of  Pet?sia  under  the  Median  supremacy.  §11.  The  Ten 
Tribes  of  the  Persians.  §  12.  Family  of  the  Aon.F,MEKn>.«.  The  royal  house  of 
Persia.  Camuyses,  the  father  of  Cyrus,  a  real  king  of  Persia.  §  13.  Legend  of 
the  birth  and  early  life  of  Cyrus.  His  true  place  in  history.  §  14.  His  motives 
for  overthrowing  the  Median  supremacy.  §  15.  Diflercnt  accounts  of  the  Revolu- 
tion—by Herodotus- by  Xenophon— by  Nicolas  of  Damascus.  §  16.  Nature  of  the 
Medo-Persian  Empire.     §17.  Treatment  of  Astyages  by  Cyrus. 

§  1.  The  peace  made  between  Cyaxarcs  and  Alyattes 
lasted  for  fifty  years,  according  to  the  commonly-received 
chronology  (b.c.  610-560).  This  period  was  ended  by  one 
of  the  most  marked  revolutionary  epochs  in  all  history.  At 
the  very  time  Avhen  the  Median  empire  was  transferred  to 
the  Persians  under  Cyrus,  the  throne  of  Lydia  was  ascended 
by  Croesus,  who  precipitated  the  conflict  which  brought  the 
power  of  Persia  to  the  shores  of  the  ^gean.'  It  was,  more- 
over, in  the  year  b.c  560  that  the  usurpation  of  Pisistratus 

1  The  accession  of  Croesus  is  placed  by  Clinton  in  r..c.  5G0,  by  Lenormant  in  c.c 
55S  ;  the  overthrow  of  Astyages  l)y  Cyrus  belongs  to  n.c.  559  or  55S. 


ASTYAGES,  LAST  KING  OF  MEDIA.  527 

set  in  motion  a  chain  of  causes  which  prepared  Athens  for 
the  noble  and  decisive  part  that  she  had  to  play  in  the  ensu- 
ing conflict. 

During  this  half-century,  as  Professor  Rawlinson  observes, 
"  the  nations  of  the  Asiatic  continent,  about  to  suffer  cruel- 
ly from  one  of  those  fearful  convulsions  which  periodically 
shake  the  East,  seem  to  have  been  allowed  an  interval  of 
profound  repose.  The  three  great  monarchies  of  the  East — 
the  Lydian,  the  Median,  and  the  Babylonian — connected  to- 
gether by  treaties  and  royal  intermarriages,  respected  each 
other's  independence,  and  levied  war  only  against  the  lesser 
powers  in  their  neighborhood,  which  were  absorbed  without 
much  difficulty.'"^  Nor  was  there  any  tendency  in  these 
minor  wars  to  bring  the  three  great  powers  into  collision. 
While  the  Lydian  king  found  probably  full  occupation  in  or- 
ganizing his  power  within  the  Halys,  and  repairing  the  ef- 
fects of  the  Cimmerian  inroad,  the  enterprises  of  the  kings 
of  Babylon  and  Media  led  them  to  the  very  opposite  extrem- 
ities of  their  dominions.  The  wars  of  Nebuchadnezzar  with 
Judaea,  Egypt,  and  Tyre,  were  succeeded  by  the  peaceful 
splendor  of  his  later  years;  and  the  only  foreign  relations 
of  the  last  unwarlike  King  of  Media  recall  our  attention  to 
a  most  interesting  country,  of  which  frequent  but  only  inci- 
dental mention  has  occurred  in  the  histories  of  Assyria  and 
Media.  One  sign  of  the  intimate  relations  between  Babylon 
and  Media  is  furnished  by  the  statement  of  Polyhistor,  that 
Cyaxares  sent  a  Median  contingent  to  aid  Nebuchadnezzar 
in  the  war  against  Jehoiakim  (b.c.  597).^ 

§  2.  AsTYAGEs,  or  AsDAiiAGES,^  or  (as  Ctesias  calls  him)  As- 
PADAS,^  succeeded  his  fither  Cyaxares  about  b.c.  594-3,  and 
had  reigned  35  years  when  he  was  deposed  by  Cyrus,  in  b.o. 
559-8.  The  empire  won  by  the  father  was  lost  by  the  son 
in  the  short  space  of  70  years.  Nor  is  this  surprising.  The 
conquest  of  Cyaxares  was  purely  military ;  and  the  inherit- 
or of  his  power  sat  down  quietly  to  enjoy  the  pomp  and  lux- 
ury of  an  Eastern  throne.  Scanty  as  is  our  information 
about  the  events  of  his  reign,  the  character  of  Astyages  and 
the  ceremonial  of  his  court  at  Ecbatana  have  been  depicted 
for  us  with  a  minuteness  which  w^e  could  fain  wish  were 
most  trustworthy.  But  it  is  impossible  to  doubt  that  many 
of  the  details  given  by  Herodotus,  Xenophon,  and  Nicolas 
of  Damascus,  are  drawn  from  the  court  of  the  Persian  kings; 

2  "  Essay  iii.  to  Herod."  i.  §  10. 

3  Polyhistor,  aj).  Enseb.  "Praep.  Ev. ;"  Miiller,  "Frag.  Hist.  Grfec."vo].  iii.  p.  229. 
Cyaxares  is  here  called  Astiharas,  as  he  is  by  Ctesias.  ''  Eiiseb.  "  Chrou." 

8  These  are  Greek  forms  of  the  Median  name  Ajdahak,  or  Ajtahaga,  "the  bitiug 
snake,"  which  was  perhaps  an  old  Scythic  royal  title.     (Comp.  chap.  xix.  §  9.) 


528      THE  MEDIAN  EMPIRE  OVERTHROWN  BY  CYRUS. 

though  the  full  descriptions  of  Xenophou,  in  his  romance  of 
the  Cyvopmdia^  are  the  more  susj^icious,  from  his  avowed 
purpose  of  contrasting  the  luxury  of  Astyages  with  the 
hardy  discipline  in  which  Cyrus  had  been  trained.  Still  the 
generic  likeness  among  all  these  Oriental  courts,  and  the  es- 
pecial resemblance  to  that  of  Assyria,  are  reasons  for  accept- 
ing the  broad  outline  which  Rawlinson  has  combined  from 
these  writers. 

"  The  monarch  lived  secluded,  and  could  only  be  seen  by 
those  who  asked  and  obtained  an  audience.  He  was  sur- 
rounded by  guards  and  eunuchs,  the  latter  of  whom  held 
most  of  the  offices  near  the  royal  person.  The  court  was 
magnificent  in  its  apparel,  in  its  banquets,  and  in  the  num- 
ber and  organization  of  its  attendants.  The  courtiers  wore 
long,  flowing  robes  of  many  different  colors,  among  which 
red  and  purple  predominated ;  and  adorned  their  necks  with 
chains  or  collars  of  gold,  and  their  wrists  with  bracelets  of 
the  same  precious  metal.  Even  the  horses  on  which  they 
rode  had  sometimes  golden  bits  to  their  bridles.  One  offi- 
cer of  the  court  was  especially  called  '  the  King's  Eye ;'  an- 
other had  the  privilege  of  introducing  strangers  to  him ;  a 
third  was  his  cup-bearer;  a  fourth  his  messenger.  Guards, 
torch-bearers,  serving-men,  ushers,  and  sweepers,  were  among 
the  orders  into  which  the  lower  sort  of  attendants  were  di- 
vided ;  while  among  the  courtiers  of  the  highest  rank  was 
a  privileged  class,  known  as  '  the  king's  table  companions.' 
The  chief  pastime  in  which  the  court  indulged  was  hunting. 
Generally  this  took  place  in  a  park,  or  '  paradise,'  near  the 
capital ;  but  sometimes  the  king  and  court  went  out  on  a 
grand  hunt  into  the  open  country,  where  lions,  leopards, 
bears,  wild  boars,  wild  asses,  antelopes,  stags,  and  wild  sheep 
abounded ;  and,  when  the  beasts  had  been  driven  by  beaters 
into  a  confined  space,  dispatched  them  with  arrows  and 
javelins.  Prominent  at  the  court,  according  to  Herodotus, 
was  the  priestly  caste  of  the  Magi.  Held  in  the  highest 
honor  by  both  king  and  people,  they  were  in  constant  at- 
tendance, ready  to  expound  omens  or  dreams,  and  to  give 
their  advice  on  all  matters  of  state  policy.  The  religious 
ceremonial  was,  as  a  matter  of  course,  under  their  charge ; 
and  it  is  probable  that  high  state  offices  were  often  confer- 
red upon  them.  Of  all  classes  of  the  people,  they  were  the 
only  one  that  could  feel  they  had  a  real  influence  over  the 
monarch,  and  might  claim  to  share  in  his  sovereignty."" 

Astyages  himself  is  described  as  remarkably  handsome/ 

"  Rawlinsou,  "  Five  Mon archie!*,"  vol.  iii.  pp.  217,  IS. 
■'Xen.  "Cyrop."i.  3,§  2. 


RELATIONS  OF  ASTYAGES  WITH  ARMENIA.  629 

cautious  in  policy,'  and  of  a  noble  spirit.^  His  keen  and 
dignified  rebuke  of  the  insults  of  Harpagus  upon  his  fall' 
would  be  a  good  illustration  of  both  the  latter  qualities,  did 
not  the  speech  look  rather  like  the  refiections  of  a  Greek  on 
a  betrayer  of  his  own  country.'"  An  example  of  his  policy 
is  given  in  the  story  told  by  Nicolas  of  Damascus  of  his 
peaceful  subjection  of  the  wild  and  powerful  Cadusii,  on  the 
shores  of  the  Caspian  (in  Talish  and  Ghllan).^-  The  legend 
of  his  fall,  as  related  by  Herodotus,  conveys  the  impression 
of  a  self-indulgent  king,  secure  in  his  despotic  power,  but 
wantonly  cruel  when  his  suspicion  was  aroused,  and  in  aveng- 
ing disobedience.  Herodotus  distinctly  specifies  his  cruelty 
as  the  cause  of  the  subjection  of  the  Medes  to  the  Persians  ;'^ 
and  Aristotle  says  that  Cyrus  was  encouraged  to  attack 
him  through  contempt  of  his  luxurious  life  and  the  weakness 
of  his  rule. 

§  3.  The  whole  history  of  the  reign  of  Astyages  Avould  be 
included  in  the  story  of  liis  fall,  were  it  not  for  the  curious 
account  of  his  relations  with  Armenia,  preserved  by  Moses 
of  Chorene,  the  historian  of  that  country.  Though  con- 
firmed by  no  other  testimony,  and  directly  at  variance  with 
Herodotus,  this  account  is  too  plainly  a  native  tradition  to 
be  altogetl.er  rejected.  At  all  events,  it  throws  some  light 
on  the  condition  of  Armenia  at  the  time  of  the  establishment 
of  the  Persian  empire. 

Tlie  great  table-land  which  rises  abruptly  from  the  Meso- 
potamian  valley,  and  descends  by  a  more  gradual  slope  on 
the  north-western  side  to  the  plains  which  sever  it  from  the 
chain  of  Caucasus,  has  borne  the  name  of  Armenia  from 
the  time  when  the  Pharaohs  of  the  18th  dynasty  made  war 
with  tlie  Hemenen  to  the  present  day  ;  but  there  are  traces 
of  older  names  and  populations  in  the  land.  The  native  tra- 
ditions give  Ildlasdan  as  the  first  name  of  the  country,  and 
make  its  earliest  inhabitants  a  race  (apparently  Hamite)  who 
migrated  under  Half/  from  the  Plain  of  Babel  immediately 
after  the  confusion  of  tongues.  The  superposition  of  a  Ja- 
phetic race  is  indicated  by  the  Togarmah  of  Sci'ipture,'^  a 
name  which  is  clearly  identified  with  Armenia.  "  The  house 
of  Togarmah  of  the  north  cpiarters"  is  connected  by  Ezekiel 
with  Gomer,  Meschech,  and  Tubal ;  and  its  '*  horses,  with 
horsemen  and  mules,'"*  correspond  to  the  tribute  of  20.000 

e^sch.  "Pei\s."TG3. 

9  Nicol.  Daniasc.  Fr.  G6,  p.  39S.  lo  Herod,  i.  129. 

n  Nicol.  Damasc.  pp.  .399,  400.  i-  Herod,  i.  130. 

13  Gen.  X.  3;   1  Chrou.  i.  6.    Totrarmah  is  the  sou  of  Goraev,  ton  of  Japb«th,  an," 
the  brother  of  Ashkeiiaz  aud  Riphath. 
•■*  Ezek.  xxxviii.  0,  xxvii.  14. 

23 


530      THE  MEDIAN  EMPIRE  OVERTHROWN  BY  CYRUS. 

yoimg  horses  of  a  fine  breed,  wliich  the  Persian  king  received 
from  the  satrap  of  Armenia  at  the  yearly  feast  of  Mithra.^' 
The  national  traditions  speak  of  Togarmah  as  the  common 
progenitor  of  the  whole  nation ;  and  they  connect  Armenag 
— tile  hero-epo7iymus  of  the  Japhetic  Armenians,  and  the 
second  colonizer  of  the  land — with  Haig.  the  first  colonizer, 
by  a  fictitious  genealogy.  The  predominance  of  a  Turanian 
population  in  Armenia,  during  the  period  of  the  Assyrian 
empire,  is  attested  by  the  dialect  of  the  cuneiform  inscrip- 
tions in  the  region  of  Lake  Van,  as  well  as  by  the  names  of 
the  native  rulers  whom  they  commemorate.  The  Aryan 
race,  Avhose  supremacy  is  attested  by  the  language  of  the 
country  down  to  the  present  day,  appears  to  have  gained 
the  preponderance  during  the  seventh  century  b.c. — perhaps 
in  consequence  of  the  same  great  westward  movement  of  the 
Iranians  in  which  the  Medes  took  part. 

The  political  relations  of  Armenia  are  intimately  connect- 
ed with  its  physical  character.  The  table-land  is  intersected 
by  parallel  ranges  of  lofty  mountains,  with  gently-sloping 
lower  hills.  The  intervening  valleys  are  in  part  narrow  and 
isolated  glens,  in  part  broad  and  fertile  plains,  like  that  of 
the  Araxes.  Such  a  formation  almost  necessarily  forbids 
the  establishment  of  a  strong  central  government  of  the 
whole  country,  and  makes  its  severed  valleys  the  homes  of 
independent  tribes,  strong  against  each  other,  but  exposed 
to  be  attacked  in  detail  by  a  powerful  neighboi*.  The  mas- 
ters of  Mesopotamia  had  a  special  reason  for  making  such  at- 
tacks, as  the  upper  courses  both  of  the  Tigris  and  the  Euphra- 
tes lay  within  the  mountains  of  Armenia.  But  these  ranges, 
running  east  and  west,  present  their  steepest  side  to  the 
south,  unlike  the  chains  of  Zagrus,  which,  with  an  axis  al- 
most at  right  angles  to  the  otiier,  slope  gently  to  the  basin 
of  the  Tigris.  "It  follows  from  this  contrast  that,  while 
Zagrus  invites  the  inhabitants  of  the  Mesopotamian  plain  to 
penetrate  its  recesses — which  are  at  first  readily  accessible, 
and  only  grow  wild  and  savage  towards  the  interior — the 
Armenian  mountains  repel  by  presenting  their  greatest  diffi- 
culties and  most  barren  aspect  at  once,  seeming,  with  their 
rocky  sides  and  snow-clad  summits,  to  form  an  almost  insur- 
mountable obstacle  to  an  invading  host.  Assyrian  history 
bears  ti'aces  of  this  difi'erence  ;  for  while  the  mountain  region 
to  the  east  is  gradually  subdued  and  occupied  by  the  people 
of  the  plain,  that  on  the  north  continues  to  the  last  in  a  state 
of  hostility  and  semi-independence.'"" 

§  4.  In  this  respect,  however,  a    difference  is   to   be   re- 

^5  Strabo,  p.  529.  i"  Rawlinsou,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  i.  p.  261. 


THE  NATIVE  KINGDOM  OF  VAN.  531 

marked  between  two  sections  of  the  land.  The  western  val- 
leys  were  more  approachable  by  an  enemy  ascendino-  the 
Tigris,  and  especially  the  Euphrates;  and  inroads  into  these" 
regions  gave  the  earliest  rulers  of  Mesopotamia  a  sort  of 
claim  to  the  conquest  of  Armenia.  If  faith  were  given  to 
the  lists  of  kings  preserved  by  Moses  of  Chorene,  we  should 
not  only  reckon  Armenia  among  the  dominions  of  the  old 
Babylonian  monarchy  under  Ismidagon  and  Khammarubi, 
but  carry  back  its  conquest  to  the  defeat  of  an  Armenian 
king,  Anushavan,  in  the  eighteenth  century  b.c.  More  sub- 
stantial is  the  testimony  of  the  Egyptian  records,  which  rep- 
resent Thothmes  III.  as  following  up  his  conquest  of  the 
Mesopotamian  liuten  by  pursuing  the  Remenen  or  Armenen 
into  their  mountains.  When  the  Egyptian  supremacy  in 
Mesopotamia  yielded  to  that  of  Assyria,  the  conquest  of  Ar- 
menia appears  to  have  been  effected  by  Xinip-pal-zira  ;  and 
the  Assyrian  religion  obtained  a  footing  which  it  held  to 
historic  times.  The  worship  of  the  goddess  Anahid,  or  Ana- 
itis,  was  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  Armenian  religion. 

§  5.  In  the  south-eastern  part  of  Armenia,  however,  was  a 
district  specially  defended  by  nature.  The  triangular  basin 
oi  Lake  Yan  (the  ancient  Arsissa  Pahis)  lies  at  the  intersec- 
tion of  the  Armenian  ranges  with  those  of  Zagrus,  which 
forms  the  nucleus  of  both  mountain  systems.  Protected  on 
the  south  by  the  chain  of  Niphates,  and  by  high  ranges  on 
every  otlier  side,  it  is  "  an  isolated  region,  a  sort  of  natural 
citadel,  where  a  strong  military  power  would  be  likely  to 
establish  itself.  Accordingly,  it  is  here,  and  here  alone  in  all 
Armenia,  that  we  find  signs  of  the  existence  of  a  great  or- 
ganized monarchy  during  the  Assyrian  and  Median  periods. 
The  Van  inscriptions  indicate  to  us  a  line  of  kings  who  bore 
sway  in  the  eastern  Armenia — the  true  Ararat — and  who 
were,  both  in  civilization  and  military  strength,  far  in  ad- 
vance of  any  of  the  other  princes  who  divided  among  them 
tlie  Armenian  territory.  The  Van  monarchs  may  have  been 
at  times  formidable  enemies  of  the  Medes.  They  have  left 
traces  of  their  dominion,  not  only  on  the  tops  of  the  mount- 
ain-passes which  lead  into  the  basin  of  Lake  Urumiyeh,  but 
even  in  the  comparatively  low  plain  of  Miyandab,  on  the 
southern  shore  of  that  inland  sea.  It  is  probable  from  this 
that  they  were  at  one  time  masters  of  a  large  portion  of  Me- 
dia  Atropatene."" 

§  6.  In  Ctesias's  legend  of  the  first  capture  of  Xineveh  uu"' 
der  Sardanapalus,  Arbaces  and  Belesys  are  aided  by  one  of 
these  kings  of  Ararat,  named  Barouh\  who  became  sovereign 

1^  Rawliusoi),  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iii.  p.  39. 


532      THE  MEDIAN  EMPIRE  OVERTHROWN  Br  CYRUS. 

of  all  Armenia.  The  Assyrian  kings  of  the  lower  dynasty 
constantly  record  their  Armenian  campaigns,  and  claim  the 
subjection  of  the  southern  part  of  the  country  at  least;  but 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  they  effected  any  permanent  con- 
quest. Sargon  has  recorded  in  the  inscriptions  at  Khorsa- 
bad  the  internecine  war  which  he  waged  with  Ursa  (the 
Ilartchea  of  Moses  of  Chorene),  king  of  all  Armenia,  and  his 
vassals,  among  whom  was  Ullusim  of  Van.  It  was  about 
the  same  time  that  Argistls  (the  Gornhag  of  Moses)  exe- 
cuted those  great  works  in  the  rocks  of  the  acropolis  of  Van 
(where  his  name  is  still  to  be  read)  which  popular  tradition 
ascribed  to  Semiramis. 

§  7.  The  conquest  of  Armenia  is  claimed  for  the  Median 
Phraortes  ;  but  it  seems  inore  probable  that  the  Armenian 
kings  made  an  alliance  with  the  kindred  Medes  against  their 
common  Assyrian  and  Scythian  enemies,  in  which  a  nominal 
supremacy  was  accorded  to  the  stronger  power.  Such  seems 
to  be  the  relation  borne  to  Astyages  by  the  Armenian  king 
who  figures  in  the  story  told  by  Moses  of  Chorene.  Ti- 
GRANES  {Dlkra?u{),  the  first  of  that  name,  which  became  fa- 
mous five  hundred  years  later  in  the  wars  Avith  Lucullus  and 
Pompey,  is  one  of  the  great  i)0]iular  heroes  of  Armenia.  Kis 
portrait  is  drawn  by  Moses  of  Chorene,  evidently  from  the 
native  poets  :  "A  hero  with  fair  hair,  tipped  with  silver, 
with  a  ruddy  face,  and  a  look  sweet  as  honey  :  his  limbs  ro- 
bust, his  shoulders  broad,  his  legs  nimble,  his  foot  well  mould- 
ed :  always  sober  in  repast,  and  regulated  in  his  ])lcasures. 
Our  ancestors  celebrated  to  the  sound  oi'  tha  jxtnipirn  (a  sort 
of  lute  with  metal  chords)  his  moderation  in  the  pleasures 
of  the  senses,  his  magnanimity,  his  eloquence,  his  beneficent 
qnalities  in  all  that  att'ected  his  fellow-men.  Always  just  in 
liis  judgments,  and  the  friend  of  equity,  he  held  the  balance 
in  his  hand,  and  Aveighed  each  one's  actions.  He  neither  en- 
vied those  greater  than  himself,  nor  despised  his  inferiors  : 
his  only  ambition  was  to  cover  all  with  the  mantle  of  hif? 
care." 

§  8.  The  sister  of  this  king  was  the  second  Avife  of  Asty- 
ages.'® Moses  of  Chorene — whose  whole  narrative  is  colored 
by  the  manifest  purpose  of  transferring  the  fame  of  the  con- 
quest of  Media  irom  the  Persians  to  the  Armenians — repre- 
sents this  marriage  as  the  first  step  in  a  plot  devised  by  the 
jealous  fears  excited  in  Astyages  by  an  alliance  formed  be- 

i»  Rawlinson  says  the  third  wife,  makiii<?  Anusia  the  second;  but  it  is  more  prob' 
able  that  the  Aimsia  of  Moses  is  no  other  than  the  Ariienis  of  Herodotus— the 
daughter  of  Alyattes,  whom  Astyages  married  at  the  end  of  the  war  between  Lydhi 
•and  Media. 


ARMENIA  UNDER  THE  PERSIANS.  rj33 

tvveen  Cyrus  and  Tigranes,  both  of  whom  the  story  makes 
independent  kings,  able  to  bring  large  forces  into  the  Held. 
"  His  fears  werelncreased  by  a  dream,  in  which  he  thought 
he  saw  the  Armenian  monarch  riding  upon  a  dragon,  and 
comino-  through  the  air  to  attack  him  in  his  own  palace, 
wherelie  was  quietly  worshipping  his  gods.     Regarding  this 
vision  as  certainly  portending  an  invasion  of  his  empire  by 
the  Armenian  prince,  he  resolved  to  anticipate  his  designs 
by  subtlety,  and,  as  the  iirst  step,  demanded  in  marriage  the 
sister  of  f  iu'ranes,  who  bore  the  name  of  Tigrania  (in  Ar- 
menian, Dlkmniihr).     Tigranes  consented,  and  the  wedding 
was  celebrated,  Tigrania  becoming  the  chief  or  favorite  wife 
of  the  Median  king,  in  lieu  of  a  certain  Anusia,  who  had  pre- 
viously held    that    honorable   position.     At   first,  attempts 
were  made  to  induce  Tigrania  to  lend  herself  to  a  conspira- 
cy by  which  lier  brother  was  to  be  entrapped  and  his  person 
secured  ;    but,  this   plan    failing   through   her  sagacity,  the 
mask  was  thrown  off,  and  preparations  made  for  war.     The 
Armenian  prince,  anticipating  his  enemy,  collected   a  vapt 
army  and  invaded  Media,  where  he  Avas  met  by  Astyages  in 
person.     P'or  some  months  the  war  languished,  since  Tigranes 
feared  that  his  pressing  it  Avould  endanger  the  life  of  his  sis- 
ter ;  but  at  last  she  succeeded  in  effecl^ing  her  escape,  and 
lie  found  himself  free  to  act.     Hereupon  he  brought  about 
a  decisive  engagement,  and,  after  a  conflict  which  for  a  long 
time  was  doubtful,  the  Median  army  was  completely  defeat- 
ed, and  Astyages  fell  by  the  hand  of  his  brother-in-law.     Cy- 
rus is  not  i-epresented  as  taking  any  part  in  this  war,  though 
afterwards  lie  is  mentioned  as  aiding  Tigranes  in  the  con- 
quest of  Media  a? t d  Fersia,  which  are  regarded  as  forming  a 
part  of  the  dominions  of  the  Armeriian  king.""* 

§  9.  It  is  impossible  to  accept  this  story,  in  so  far  as  it  con- 
tradicts the  otherwise  universal  testimony  v.liich  ascribes  the 
overthrow  of  the  Median  empire  to  the  Persians  under  Cyrus. 
But  the  exaggerations  of  national  vanity  are  rather  the  para- 
sites of  histm-ic  truth  than  the  self-sown  growth  of  sheer 
falsehood  ;  and  the  Persians  may,  on  their  part,  have  con- 
cealed some  substantial  aid  derivecl  from  an  Armenian  revolt 
against  Astyages.  It  may  have  been  as  his  share  of  the  com- 
nion  booty  that  Tigranes"^carried  back,  as  Moses  tells  us,  the 
first  wife  of  Astyages,  with  10,^000  Medes,  whom  he  settled 
in  the  plain  of  the  Araxes,  where  their  descendants,  as  late 

19  "Mos.  Chor.  i.  23-30.  The  story  rests  on  Lhe  authority  of  a  certain  Maribas 
(Mar-Ibns  or  Mar- Abas)  of  Catina,  a  Syrian  writer  of  the  second  centnry  before  our 
era,  who  professed  to  have  found  it  in  tlie  royal  library  of  Nineveh,  where  it  was  con- 
tained ill  a  Oreek  book  purporting  to  be  a  translation  made  by  order  of  Alexaudet 
from  a  Chaldec  original.     (Ibid.  c.^S.)"— Rawliusou,  Essay  iii.  to  Herod,  i.    Note  A. 


r,Si      THE  MEDIAN  EMriRE  OVEUTllKOWN  BY  CYHU». 

as  the  second  century  ol*  our  era,  formed  the  separate  gov. 
ernment  of  3Iurazkni.  A  whole  cycle  of  traditions  and  le- 
gends gathered  about  tliis  Median  colony.  We  are  further 
told  by  Moses  of  Choi-ene  that  Tigranes  became  the  vassal 
of  Cyrus,  and  not  only  embraced  the  Zoroastrian  faitli,  but 
zealously  propagated  it  in  his  kingdom.  Thus  mucii  is  cer- 
tain, that  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  Persian  empire  we 
find  Armenia  one  of  its  most  faithful  provinces,  and  Zoroas- 
trianism  the  pi-evalent  religion,  though  corrupted  by  renmants 
of  Assyi-ian  polytheism.  To  this  day  the  Armenian  ^vords 
for  god^  holiness,  fire^  fiinercd  jytle^'ioorshij)^  ii\\di  similar  ideas, 
are  pure  Iranian.  But  all  this  may  have  resulted  rather 
from  a  distinct  Iranian  migration  than  direct  Persian  intiu- 
ence  ;  and  the  alliance  of  the  two  nations  against  Media  may 
have  been  the  eftect,  rather  than  the  cause,  of  their  common 
faith.  The  descendants  of  Tigi-anes  continued  to  govern 
Armenia  under  the  Persians  without  a  single  revolt ;  and  the 
last  of  the  dynasty,  Vahe,  the  son  of  Van,  fell  in  delending 
the  cause  of  Darius  Codomannus  against  Alexander. 

§  10.  The  true  nature  of  the  revolution  which  transferred 
the  supremacy  from  the  Medes  to  the  Persians,  and  placed 
the  Achsemenid  dynasty  on  the  throne  of  Cyaxares  and  Asty- 
ages,  is  obscured  by  the  legends  which  glorified  the  person 
of  its  leader — Cyrus.  Nor,  indeed,  have  Ave  any  very  clear 
account  of  the  relation  of  the  Persians  to  the  Medes  before 
the  revolution  ;  but  it  seems  to  have  been  a  close  alliance, 
based  on  blood,  language,  and  religion,  in  -which  the  prece- 
dence belonged  to  Media.  Had  Persia  been  a  conquered  na- 
tion, which  in  its  turn  conquered  its  oppressor,  we  should  not 
have  heard  of  "  the  law  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  which 
changeth  not,"  nor  would  the  two  names  have  been  used  al- 
most indifterently  from  the  beginning  of  the  ^^ Medo- Persian 
empire  "  to  the  latest  times.  It  would  seem  that  while,  in 
the  common  brotherliood,  precedence  naturally,  belonged  to 
the  moi-e  powerful  people,  tiie  hardy  Persians  preserved,  with 
their  simplicity  of  life,  a  virtual  independence  among  their 
highlands;  growing  in  vigor  as  the  Medes  yielded  to  luxury, 
and  equally  disposed  and  prepared  to  resist  the  outrages  of 
despotic  power.  The  precise  nature  of  the  provocation  is  in- 
extricably mixed  up  with  fable  in  the  legend  which  Herodo- 
tus repeats  as  the  most  sober  and  probable  of  the  stories  re- 
lated about  Cyrus. 

§  11.  The  Persians  of  this  age  were  still,  partially  at  least, 
in  the  nomad  state.     They  were  divided  into  ten  tribes,'' 

20  Herod,  i.  125.    Xenoiilimi  is  probably  leso  accurate  in  making  the  number  cA 
tribes  twelve  (Cyrop.  i.  '2,  §  5). 


THE  ACH^EMENID  LINE.  535 

forming  three  social  classes.  The  aristocracy  of  warriors 
was  formed  by  the  three  tribes  of  the  Pasargadre,  the  Mara- 
phians,  and  the  Maspians — on  whom,  says  Herodotus,  all  the 
others  were  dependent.  Three  mere,  the  Panthialaeans,  the 
Deriisiaeans,  and  the  Germanians  (whose  name  has  an  evi- 
dent connection  with  Carmania),  were  engaged  in  agricul- 
ture. The  remaining  four — the  Daans,  the  Mardians,  the 
Dropicans,  and  the  Sagartians — were  iiomads.^'  The  Pasar-. 
gadae  were  the  noblest  of  all,  and  formed  not  improbably  the 
nucleus  of  the  original  Iranian  migration'  whicli  gave  name 
to  the  countryo  Their  name,  which  seems  to  be  a  Greek  cor- 
ruption of  ParsagadcTe''^  (in  old  Persian,  Par^auvddd),  is 
really  that  of  the  old  Persian  capital,  and  is  riglitly  explained 
by  a  Greek  geographer  as  "the  encampment  of  the  Per- 
sians."^^ 

§12.  "Among  tlie  Pasargada?,"  adds  Herodotus,  "the 
AcH^MENiD.E  are  a  clan^^  from  wliich  the  Persian  kings  have 
sprung."  In  numerous  extant  inscriptions  those  king's  boast 
the  title  {IlakhdmcuiisJiiya)^  and  their  descent  fi'ora  Ach.e- 
i^^EiiES  {Hakhdmanish)^  whom  Herodotus  also  names  as  the 
founder  of  the  royal  line.  He  makes  Xerxes  boast  his  de- 
scent, on  the  mother's  side,  from  ''^  Cyrus^ihQ  son  of  Ccanbyses, 
the  son  of  Telspes^  the  son  of  Aclumnenes^''  and,  on  the  fa- 
ther's side,  from  ''^Darms,  the  son  of  Ilystasjyes^  the  son  of 
Arsames^thQ  son  of  Ariaramnes^tha  son  of  Telspes.''^^'''  Else- 
where he  names  another  Cyrus  as  the  grandfather  of  the 
great  Cyrus  f^  and  to  that  older  Cyrus  other  writers  give  a 
father,  Cambyses,  whose   sister  Atossa  mari-ied  Pharnaces, 

^21  Respecting  the  meaning  of  these  names,  and  other  points,  see  Sir  Henry  Eavvlin- 
son's  "  On  the  Ten  Tribes  of  the  Persians"  (Essay  IV.  to  Herodotus,  i.).  He  regards 
the  Maraphii  and  Maspii  as  races  cognate  with  the  Pasargadpe,  Avhom  they  accom- 
panied in  their  original  migration.  Respecting  the  nomad  tribes,  Professor  Eawiin- 
son  observes  that  "nomadic  hordes  must  always  be  an  important  element  in  the 
population  of  Persia.  Large  portions  of  the  country  are  only  habitable  at  certain 
seasons  of  the  year.  Recently  the  wandering  tribes  (Ilyats)  have  been  calculated  at 
one-half,  or  at  the  least  one-fourth,  of  the  entire  population."    (Note  to  Herod.  I.  c) 

22  It  is  so  written  by  Q.  Curtius  (v.  6,  §  10;  x.  1,  §  2). 

23  Steph.  Byz.  ,s.  v.  nuo-o-ap7d<3ai.  "According  to  Anaximenes  (ap.  Steph.  Byz.  I.  c), 
Cyrus  founded  Pasargadte:  but  Ctesias  appears  to  have  represented  it  as  alreadj'  a 
place  of  importance  at  the  time  when  Cyrus  revolted.  (See  the  iiewly-discovered 
fragment  of  Nic.  Damasc.  in  the  "  Frag.  Hist.  Gr."  vol.  iii.  pp.  405,  6,  ed.  Didot.)  There 
seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  the  Persian  capital  of  both  Cyrus  and  Cambyses, 
Persepolis  being  founded  by  Darius.  Cyrus  was  himself  buried  there  (Ctesias,  Pers. 
Exc.  §  9;  Arrian,  vi.  29;  Strabo  xv.  p.  1035).  Murr/haub  (the  site  of  i^s  ruins)  is  the 
onhj  place  in  Persia  at  which  inscriptions  of  the  age  of  Cyrus  have  been  discovered. 
The  ruined  buildings  bear  the  following  legend:  'Adam  Kurush,  Khshayathiya, 
Hakhumanishiya,'— 'I  [am]  Cyrus  the  King,  the  Achaemenian.'"  (Rawlinson,  note 
to  Herod.  I.  c).  24  .tp,,,-^,,,,  Herod,  i.  125. 

25  Herod,  vii.  11.  The  most  satisfactory  way  of  accounting  for  the  apparent  gap  in 
this  genealogy  (see  what  follows  in  the  text  above)  is  the  supposition  that  some 
transcriber  omitted  the  double  mention  of  the  names  Cijnis  and  Cainbi/i^es,  because  he 
did  not  imderstaud  it.  26  Herod,  i.  111. 


."ioG 


THE  MEDIAN  EMPIRE  OVERTPIKOWN  BY  CYRUS. 


king  of  Capp.iaoeia.''     The  full  genealogy  of  Xerxes,  there- 
fore, would  stand  thus  :^^ 

Achfemeues. 

I 
Teispes. 


Cambyses  I. 

Cyrus  I. 

Cambyses  II. 

Cyrus  II.  (the  Great). 


Ariaramnes. 

I 

Arsames. 


1 

Atossa, 

m. 

Pharuaces. 


Hystapes.  (whence) 

I  1 

— m.  Darics  I.  m.— J        0tani;s. 


Cambyses  III. 


Smerdi^ 


Atossa. — 


— daushter. 


Xerxes. 


All  that  formerly  puzzled  the  critics  in  these  statements 
has  now  been  made  clear  by  the  Behistun  inscription.  To 
use  the  words  of  its  decipherer:''  "Darius,  in  the  first  para- 
graph, styles  himself  an  Achmmenian ;  in  the  second,  he 
shows  his  right  to  this  title  by  tracing  his  paternal  ances- 
try to  Achc^menes  ;'°  in  the  third,  he  goes  on  to  glorify  the 
Achaimenian  family,  by  describing  the  antiquity  of  their  de- 
scent and  the  fact  of  their  having  for  a  long  time  past  fur- 
nished kings  to  the  Persian  nation  ;''  and  in  the  fourth  para- 
crraph  he  further  explains  that  eight  of  the  Achsemenian  fam- 
Tly  have  thus  already  filled  the  throne  of  Persia,  and  that  he 
is  the  ninth  of  the  line  who  is  called  to  rule  over  his  country- 
men.'"' 

The  distinctness  with  which  Darius  qualifies  the  whole  line 
in  o-eneral,  and  his  eight  predecessors  in  particular,  as  kin<is^ 
derives  double  force  from  his  withholding  that  title  from  his 
own  paternal  ancestors,''  and  leaves  no  doubt  that  they  were 

27  Diod.  Sic.  ap.  Phot.  "Bib]."p.  115S. 

^^  We  take  the  table  from  Eawlinson's  note,  but  distinguishing  the  well-known 
historic  names  by  capitals.  For  a  full  genealogical  table  of  the  whole  house,  ar.d 
what  is  known  </f  each  member,  see  Eawlinson's  Appendix  to  Herod,  vii.  note  B. 

29  Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  note  to  Herod.  1. 125. 

30  The  names  here  are  the  same  as  in  Herodotus :  Ilakhamanisli  (Achcemenes) ; 
Chishpa'ish  (Teispes)  ;  Ariydrdmana  (Ariaramnes) ;  Arshdma  (Arsames) ;  VisMmpa 
(Hystaspes). 

31  Par.  3.  "Says  Darius  the  king :  '  On  that  account  we  have  been  called  Achfeme- 
niaus;  from  antiquity  we  have  descended:  from  antiquity  our  family  have  been 
kings.'" 

32  Par. 4.  "Says  Darius  the  king:  '  (There  are)  eight  of  my  race  who  have  been 
kings  before  (me) ;  I  (am)  the  ninth  ;  nine  of  us  have  been  kings  in  a  double  line.' " 
The" one  wanting  in  the  genealogy  to  make  up  this  number  mayiJ»fr/(«^>s  be  Smerdis, 
or  possibly  some  original  divine  or  heroic  reputed  ancestor,  prior  to  Achiemenes. 

33  On  this  point  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  observes:  "Darius  seems  to  put  forward  no 
claim  whatever  to  include  his  immediate  ancestry  among  the  Persian  kings;  they 
are  merely  enumerated  in  order  to  establish  his  claim  to  Achaemenian  descent,  and 
are  in  no  case  distinguished  by  the  title  of  Khshdyathiija,  'King.'  So  clear,  indeed, 
and  fixed  was  the  tradition  of  the  royal  family  in  this  respect,  that  both  Artaxerxes 
Mnemon  and  Artaxerxes  Ochus  may  be  observed,  in  tracing  their  pedigree,  to  qual- 


THE  KOYAL  HOUSE  OF  PERSIA.  537 

a  native  dynasty  who  ruled  in  Persia  during  the  Median  su- 
premacy. Nor  can  we,  in  a  genealogy  so  ^ninutely  stated, 
make  Achaemenes  a  mere  hero-eponymuH.''^  Whether  (as  has 
been  supposed  of  Cyaxares  among  the  Medes)  he  was  the 
leader  of  a  new  Iranian  migration,  which  reinforced  the 
vigor  of  the  Persians;  or  whether  he  first  gathered  their 
separate  tribes  into  a  compact  state  ;  or  whether  he  united 
both  these  characters — are  matters  of  conjecture. 

Thus  much  is  clear,  that  he  was  the  real  founder  of  the 
long  line  of  Persian  kings,  who  gloried  in  his  name  as  long 
as  the  dynasty  lasted. ^^  When,  therefore,  Herodotus  speaks 
of  Cambyses,  the  father  of  Cyrus,  as  "  a  Persian  of  good  fam- 
ily, indeed,  but  of  a  quiet  temper,  whom  Astyages  looked  on 
as  much  inferior  to  a  Mede  of  even  middle  condition,"^^  he 
is  led  into  error  by  consistency  Avith  the  story  he  had  to  tell 
— unless,  indeed,  he  meant  to  show  the  overweening  arro- 
gance of  the  Median's  estimate  even  of  a  Persian  king. 
Xenophon — whose  romance  often  preserves  genuine  frag- 
ments of  tradition  which  Herodotus  has  missed,  and  who 
would  natui-ally  hear  the  royal  traditions  in  the  camp  of  the 
younger  Cyrus — exj^ressly  calls  Cam^>yses  "King  of  the  Per- 
sians;'"^ and  the  question  lias  been  set  at  rest  by  an  inscrip- 
tion on  a  brick  at  ISenkereh,  in  Chaldsea,  in  which  Cyrus  styles 
himself  "  the  son  of  Cambyses,  tJie  poicerful  king?'' 

§  13.  The  marriage  of  Cambyses  to  Mandane,  the  daughter 
of  Astyages,  and  the  consequent  position  of  Cyras  as  heir  to 
his  grandfather — for  it  seems  that  Astyages  had  no  son^" — 

ify  each  ancestor  by  the  title  of  'King'  up  to  Darim,  but  from  that  time  to  drop  the 
royal  title,  and  to  speak  of  riystaspes  and  Arsarnes  as  mere  private  individuals." 
(Note  to  Herod.  I  c.) 

34  The  idea  of  heroe.<<-P2mninni  belongs  not  to  the  Orientals,  bnt  to  the  Greeks,  ^vho, 
quite  consistently,  made  P.-rses  or  Perseus,  not  Achsemenes,  the  hero-eponyimis  of  the 
Persians  (Herod,  vii.  01 ;  Xen.  "  Cyrop."  i.  2,  §  1 ;  Plato,  "  Alcib."  i.  p.  120,  E. ;  Apol- 
lod.  ii.  4,  §  5). 

35  The  name  Achcemems,  though  occupying  so  prominent  a  position  in  authentic 
Persian  history,  is  unknown  either  in  the  antique  traditions  of  the  Vendidad,  or  in 
the  romantic  lei^ends  of  the  so-called  Kayanian  dynasty— probably  because  Achjeme- 
nes  lived  after  the  compilation  of  the  Vendidad,  bnt  so  long  before  the  invejition 
of  the  romances  that  his  name  was  f(n-gotten.  The  name  signifies  "friendly,"  or 
"possessing  friends,"  being  formed  of  a  Persian  word,  hakhd,  corresponding  to  the 
Sanscrit  sakha  and  an  attributive  affix  equivalent  to  the  Sanscrit  mat,  which  forms 
Jhe  nominative  in  man.     (Sir  H.  Rawlinson's  note  to  Herod.  I.  c.) 

36  Herod,  i.  107.  37  Cvroj).  i.  2,  §  1. 

^  38  The  distinct  statement  of  Herodotus  (i.  109)  and  Justin  (i.  4)  to  this  effect  is  cou- 
Irnied  indirectly  by  the  Behistun  inscription,  where  a  Median  pretender  traces  his 
descent  not  from  Astyages,  but  frcmi  Cyaxares.  It  has  long  been  decided  that  the 
Cyaxares  II. -whom  Xenophon  makes  the  son  of  Astyages,  and  the  last  king  of  Me- 
dia, and  to  whom  C.vrus  quietly  succeeds  by  right  of  birth— is  an  iniaginary"person, 
introduced  into  the  "  Cvropaedia"  as  a  foil  to  Cyrus,  and  not  (as  used  to  be  supposed) 
the  "Darius  the  Mede"  of  the  Book  of  Daniel  (see  the  "Student's  O.  T.  History," 
chap.  xxvi.).  Ctesias,  however,  names  Parmises  as  a  son  of  Astyages  (Pers.  Exc 
§  3)  ;  and  Moses  of  Chorene  gives  him  several  sons  by  Auusia,  who  are  amon;v  the 
raptives  settled  in  Armenia  by  Tigranes  (Hist.  Arm.  i.  ;>9). 

23^= 


r>38      THE  MEDIAN  EMPIRE  OVERTIIHOWN  BY  CYRUS. 

look  like  points  invented  to  suit  the  spirit  of  the  popular  le* 
gend.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  for  a  dynasty  estab- 
lished by  conquest  or  revolution  to  trace  a  descent  from  the 
displaced  family.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  nothing  im- 
probable in  the  marriage  of  the  King  of  Persia  to  the  daugh- 
ter of  his  Median  suzerain/^  The  marvellous  legend,  pre- 
served by  Herodotus,  of  the  superstitious  motive  for  that 
marriage ;  the  exposure  and  preservation  of  the  young  Cy- 
rus;  his  recognition  by  his  grandfather;  the  cruel  vengeance 
which  Astyages  takes  upon  Harpagus  for  preserving  the  boy, 
whom  nevertheless,  lulled  into  security  by  the  Magi,  he 
brings  up  at  his  own  court ;  and  the  plot  by  which  Harpa- 
gus at  once  ghits  his  own  revenge,  and  leads  Cyrus  to  seize 
the  crown — all  this,  wluch  is  too  well  known  to  need  re- 
peating, and  is  spoilt  by  telling  in  any  other  than  the  w^ords 
of  Herodotus,  must  be  dismissed  to  the  realm  of  poetry,  with 
the  legend  of  Komulus  and  Remus." 

But  we  may  the  more  readily  enter  into  the  spirit  of  poetic 
patriotism,  which  invented  such  marvels  to  mark  the  destiny 
of  the  founder  of  the  Persian  empire,  when  we  remember 
that  his  name  shines  conspicuous  in  the  higher  poetry,  which 
reveals  his  true  calling  in  the  scheme  of  Divine  Providences 
on  His  authority  "that  saith  of  Cyrus,  He  is  my  sJKqjhard^ 
and  shall  perform  all  my  pleasure  :  even  saying  to  Jerusalem, 
Thou  shalt  be  built ;  and  to  the  temple,  Thy  foundation  shall 
be  laid:"*' — "Thus  saith  Jeliovah  to  his  anointed^Xo  Cyrus, 
whose  right  hand  I  have  strengthened,  to  subdue  nations  be- 
fore him;  and  I  will  loose  the  loins  of  kings,  to  op:.'n  before 
him  the  two-leaved  gates;  and  the  gates  shall  not  be  shut: 
I  will  go  before  thee,  and  make  the  crooked  places  straight: 
I  will  break  in  pieces  the  gates  of  brass,  and  cut  in  sunder 
the  bars  of  iron  :  and  I  will  give  thee  the  treasures  of  dark- 
ness, and  hidden  riches  of  secret  places,  that  thou  mayest 
know  that  I,  Jehovah,  which  call  thee  by  thy  name,  am  the 
God  of  Israel.  For  Jacob  my  servant's  sake,  and  Israel 
mine  elect,  I  have  even  called  thee  by  thy  name  :  I  have  sur- 
named  thee,  tJiough  thou  hast  not  knoivn  me.     I  am  Jehovah, 

89  Ctesias  and  Nicolas  of  Damascus  say  that  C3'Tns  was  iu  uo  way  related  to  As- 
tyages. 

45  Read  Herod,  i.  107-130,  with  the  notes  of  Prof.  Rawlinsoii  and  the  comments  of 
Mr.  Grote.  The  attempt  at  rationalizimi  a  poetical  legend  (thns,  to  use  Professor 
Maiden's  happy  phrase,  "spoiling  a  good  poem  without  making  a  good  history") 
peeps  out  in  the  explanation  given  of  the  name  of  Cyrus's  f  )ster-mothe",  Spaco  (or, 
in  Greek,  Cyno),  which  really  meani  that  the  child  was  suckled  by  a  bitch  (Herod,  i. 
no,  122),  exactly  as  Livy  (i.  4)  attempts  to  explain  the  "she-wolf"  of  Romulus  and 
Remus.  The  "other  name"  under  which  Cyrus  was  brought  up  is  said  by  Strabo 
to  have  been  Agradates,  which  seems  to  be  a  mere  corruption  oi  Atradntcs,  the  name 
of  his  reputed  father.  In  the  story  preserved  by  Nicolas  of  Damascus,  this  name  is 
ijiven,  instead  of  Camb;jses,  to  the  father  of  Cyrus.  -'  Isa'ah  xliv.  28. 


LEGENDARY  STORY  OF  CYRUS.  539 

itTid  there  is  none  else,  there  is  no  God  beside  me  :  I  girded 
thee^  THOUGH  thou  hast  not  known  me."" 

The  last  phrase,  so  emphatically  repeated,  should  serve  to 
correct  what  we  may  call  the  religious  fondness,  which,  in 
sympathy  with  the  philosophic  fiction  of  Xenophon,  has 
thrown  a  halo  of  sanctity  about  the  king  who,  with  all  his 
real  greatness,  was  but  the  best  type  of  the  ti'ue  Asiatic  con- 
queror, and  the  leader  of  a  rude  military  people  ;  to  whom  it 
was  given,  in  the  liappy  words  of  ^schylus,  to  fulfill  the 
destiny  that  "one  man  should  rule  over  all  Asia  nourisher 
of  fiocks,  holding  the  sceptre  of  government  ;'"^  or,  as  a  ni;>d- 
ern  ethnologist  would  say,  to  bring  the  Semitic  nations  under 
the  new  and  invigorating  influence  of  Aryan  rule. 

§  14.  Of  the  true  history  of  the  revolution  little  certain  can 
be  told.  Herodotus  and  Xenophon  both  agree  (though  as- 
signing ditterent  causes)  that  Cyrus  was  brought  up  as  a 
youth  at  the  court  of  Astyages.  It  was  a  frequent  custom, 
both  in  Egypt  and  in  Asiatic  monarchies,  for  the  sovereign 
to  keep  the  sons  of  vassal  kings  about  him — partly  as  hos- 
tages, and  partly  to  be  trained  to  govern  in  his  interests. 
The  general  testimony  to  the  weakness  of  Astyages,  and  the 
story  of  an  Armenian  revolt,  supply  tliose  probable  motives 
for  rebellion  which  may  perhaps  have  been  superfluous  to 
the  energy  and  ambition  so  consj)icuous  in  the  character  of 
Cyrus ;  and  Harpagus  may  very  likely  represent  a  malcon- 
tent party  among  the  Medes.  But  the  "suflicient  reason" 
is  perhaps  best  sought  in  the  religious  zeal  inspired  by  the 
purer  ]\Iazdeism  which  had  been  preserved  in  Persia,  and 
which  was  afterwards  tlie  animating  spirit  of  the  revolution 
eflected  by  Darius.*''  "To  eai-nest  Zoroastrians,  such  as  the 
Achaiuienians  are. shown  to  liave  been  by  their  inscrij)tions, 
the  yoke  of  a  power  which  had  so  greatly  corrupted,  if  it  had 
not  wholly  laid  aside,  the  worship  of  Ormazd,  must  have  been 
extremely  distasteful  ;  and  Cyrus  may  have  wished,  by  his 
rebellion,  as  much  to  vindicate  the  honor  of  his  religion  as  to 
obtain  a  loftier  position  for  his  nation.  If  the  Magi  really 
occupied  the  position  at  the  Median  court  which  Herodotus 
assigns  to  them — if  they  'were  held  in  high  honor  by  the 
king,  and  shared  in  his  sovereignty'^^ — if  the  priest-ridden 
monarch  was  perpetually  dreaming,  and  perpetually  referring 
his  dreams  to  the  Magian  seers  for  exposition,  and  tlien 
guiding  his  actions  by  the  advice  they  tendered  him*" — the 
religious  zeal  of  the  young  Zoroastrian  may  very  naturally 

42  Isaiah  xlv.  1-5.  -^^  .Esch.  "  Pers."  T58. 

•»*  This  is  conspicuous  throu;j,hi'U;  'he  Behistuu  Iii-criptioii. 

45  Herod,  i.  120.  46  Herod,  i.  107,  lOS,  121- 


o40      THE  MEDIAN  EMPIRE  (JVEKTIIROWN  BY  CYRUS. 

have  been  aroused  ;  and  the  contest  into  which  he  phmged 
may  have  been,  in  his  eyes,  not  so  much  a  national  struggle 
as  a  crusade  against  the  infidels."*' 

§  15.  As  to  the  manner  in  which  the  revolution  Avas  ac- 
complished, the  ancient  writers  are  quite  at  variance.  Herod- 
otus  represents  the  injured  Median  noble,  Harpagus,  as  se- 
cretly inviting  Cyrus  irom  Persia,  to  head  the  plot  which  he 
had  prepared  ;  and  Astyages  as  deserted  in  the  first  battle 
by  the  greater  part  of  his  army,  and  uttei-ly  defeated  and 
ni^ade  prisoner  in  a  second  battle."  Xenophon,  wdien  writ- 
ing as  an  historian,  and  not  as  a  novelist,  gives  testimony  to 
a  prolonged  resistance,  the  more  valuable  from  its  being  in- 
cidental. On  the  occasion  of  the  Ten  Thousand  passing  the 
ruined  cities  of  Larissa  and  Mespila  on  the  Tigris  (at  or  near 
the  site  of  Nineveh),  he  observes  that  both  resisted  the  at- 
tempts of  the  Persian  king  to  take  them  by  storm,  and  that 
the  latter  afforded  a  refuge  to  the  Median  queen,  v^Jien  the 
Medes  were  deprived  of  their  supremacy  by  the  Perdans.^^ 
But  this  may  refer  to  a  last  stand  made  in  Assyria  after  the 
defeat  and  capture  of  Astyages  i«n  Media  or  Persia. 

Another  story,  jjreserved  by  Nicolas  of  Damascus  (either 
from  Ctesias  or  Dino,  or  both),  relates,  with  circumstantial 
fullness,  how^  Cyrus  escaped  from  the  court  of  Ecbatana,  to 
raise  the  standard  of  revolt  in  concert  with  his  father:  how 
Astyages  marched  against  the  rebels  with  a  vast  host,  and 
defeated  them  after  two  days'  battle,  in  which  the  father  of 
Cyrus  was  killed,  and  the  routed  Persians  Avere  forced  back 
to  a  position  in  front  of  PasargadcT,  Avhere  another  fui-ious 
fight  of  two  days  ended  in  fjivor  of  the  Persians,  who  slew 
60,000  Medes;  and  how  Astyages,  utterly  routed  in  a  final 
attack,  was  taken  prisoner  in  the  pursuit,  and  the  insignia  of 
royalty  fell  into  the  hands  of  Cyrus,  who  was  saluted  by  his 
army  as  "  King  of  Media  and  Persia.'"" 

§  16.  That  title  describes  the  true  nature  of  the  empire 
vv'hich  —  in  whatever  manner — was  certainly  transferred 
from  Astyages  to  Cyrus.  It  Avas  not  a  conquest  by  a  for- 
eign poAv'er,"but  the  transfer  of  supremacy  from  one  to  the 
otber  of  two  nations  already  closely  united — a  transfer  Avhich 
has  been  Avell  described  as'"  but  slightly  galling  to  the  sub- 

"T  Rawlinson,  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iii.  p.  225.  Nicolas  of  Damascias  seems  to 
hint  at  this  rcli2;ious  motive  for  the  insurrection  (pp.  402,  404). 

43  Herod,  i.  127-S. 

49  Xen.  Anab.  iii.  4,  §§  T-12.  This  entirely  disposes  of  the  quiet  succession  as  rep- 
resented in  the  "Cyropsedia-"  On  "the  identity  of  Larissa  with  Nivirud  see  chap, 
xi.  §  9. 

^"  The  details  of  this  story  are  civeu  fully  hy  Professor  Kawiiiison  ("Five  Mon- 
archies," vol.  iii.  pp.  225-230),  who  forms  a  higher  estimate  of  its  authority  than  we 
are  disposed  to  admit. 


NATURE  OF  THE  MEDO-PERSIAN  EMPIRE.  541 

jected  power,  and  a  matter  of  complete  indifference  to  the 
dependent  countries.  Except  in  so  far  as  religion  was  con- 
cerned, the  change  from  one  Iranic  race  to  the  other  would 
make  scarcely  a  perceptible  diiference  to  the  subjects  of  ei- 
ther kingdom.  Tlie  law  of  the  state  would  still  be  '  tlie  law 
of  the  Medes  and  Persians.'"  Official  employments  would 
still  be  open  to  the  people  of  both  countries.'^  Even  the 
f^ime  and  glory  of  empire''  would  attach,  in  the  minds  of  men, 
almost  as  much  to  the  one  nation  as  the  other.  If  Media  de- 
scended from  her  pre-eminent  rank,  it  was  to  occupy  a  sta- 
tion only  a  little  below  the  highest,  and  one  which  left  her 
a  very  distinct  superiority  over  all  the  subject  races."^' 

§  17.  An  earnest  of  this  united  government  was  at  once 
given  by  the  generosity  with  which,  as  all  the  authorities 
agree,  Astyages  was  treated  by  his  conqueror.  Herodotus 
says  that  Cp-us  kept  Astyages  at  his  court,  during  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  without  doing  him  any  further  injury." 
According  to  Ctesias,  Astyages  was  made  satrap  of  the  Bar- 
canii,  a  Parthian  people  on  the  borders  of  Hyrcania,  and, 
having  perished  in  a  desert  region  through  the  treachery  of 
a  courtier,  he  was  honorably  buried  by  Cyrus.  It  has  been 
inferred,  from  the  supposed  date  of  the  great  battle  between 
Cyaxares  and  Alyattes,  that  Astyages  was  seventy  years  old 
at  his  deposition  ;  but  tliis  is  very  uncertain."'' 

61  Dau.  vi.  8;  Esther  i.  19. 

52  Herod,  i.  156,  162;  vi.  94;  vii.  88;  .Behistun  Inscr.  col.  ii.  par.  14,  §  6;  col.  iv. 
par.  14,  §  6. 

53  Rawlinson,  "Five- Monarchies,"  vol.  iii.  p.  231.  This  relatiou  between  the  two 
component  branches  of  the  Medo-Persiau  empire  explains  how  the  kingdom  of 
Babylon  was  said  to  be  "given  to  the  Medes  and  Persians"  (Dan.  v.  28)— a  phrase 
sometimes  mistaken  for  an  alliance  of  the  two  powers  ;  and  the  employment  of  :Me- 
dian  officials  in  the  highest  places  is  illustrated  by  the  viceregal  government  of  Baby- 
lon by  "Darins  the  Mede,"  whoever  he  may  have  been.  The  constant  use  by  the 
Greeks  of  such  phrases  as  6  Mf/do?,  rn  yudmu,  nn^iajju^,  etc.,  with  reference  to  the  Per- 
sian power,  has  been  already  noticed. 

54  Herod,  i.  130  ;  comp.  c.  15. 

55  The  peace  made  on  this  occasion  was  cemented  by  the  marriage  of  Astyages  to- 
Aryenis,  daughter  of  Alyattes.  Assuming  Astyages  to  have  been  at  least  15  or  16  in 
H.O.  610,  he  would  be  nearly  TO  in  i;.o.  558.  But  the  date  of  the  battle  can  not  be  con- 
sidered certain,  and  the  marriage  may  have  been  merely  a  contract.  The  calcnla- 
tion,  therefore,  is  by  no  means  conclusive  against  the  identilication  of  Astyages  with 
"Darius  the  Mede,"  who  was  62  years  old  at  the  capture  of  Babylon,  in  u.c.  533 ;  but 
it  would  result  from  the  ideatitication  that  Astyages,  who  reigned  35  years,  was  only 
7  years  old  at  his  accession,  and  42  at  his  deposition.  (The  arguments  ou  both  side» 
are  fairly  stated  by  Rawlinson,  Essay  iii.  to  Herod,  i.  §  11.) 


Ruins  of  Sai'dis. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 


CYRUS  THE   GREAT  AND  CRCESUS. OVERTHROW  OF  LYDTA   AXT 

BABYLON. B,C.  560-529. 

5  1.  CvRL-3  TiiF.  Great.  Accession  of  CRfEsus  iu  Lydia.  His  conquest  of  Asia  MinoJ 
within  the  Hal  vs.  Poetic  view  of  his  career  iu  Herodotus.  §  2.  Croesus  resolves 
to  oppose  Cyrus.  §  3.  His  consultations  of  the  Grecian  oracles.  §  4.  His  allian- 
ces with  Sparta,  Egypt,  and  Babylon.  :frecipitate  commencement  of  the  war. 
§  5.  Preparations  of  Cyrus.  Overtures  to  the  Asiatic  Greeks.  He  marches  into 
Cappadocia.  §  6.  Passage  of  the  Hal5's  by  Croesus.  Battle  of  Pteria.  §  7.  Re- 
treat of  Croesus,  and  advance  of  Cyrus.  Battle  in  front  of  Sardis.  §  8.  Siege  and 
capture  of  the  city.  Legends  in  Herodotus.  Treatment  of  Croesus.  His  later  his. 
tory.  §  9.  Conquest  of  the  Greek  colonies'.  Departure  of  Cyrus.  His  schemes  of 
conquest.  Reduction  of  the  Iranian  countries.  Capture  of  Babylon.  ?  10.  Le- 
geuds  of  the  death  of  Cyrus.     His  tomb  at  Pasargadie.     §  11.  Character  of  Cyrus. 

§  1.  Cyrus  the  Great  (in  Old  Persian,  KurushY  is  said 
by  Dino^  to  have  been  exactly  forty  years  old  when  he  suc- 
ceeded to  the  dominion  of  Astyages  over  all  the  tribes  from 

i  "This  word  was  generally  supposed  by  the  Greeks  to  mean  'the  Sun'  (see  Ctes. 
'Pers.'  Exc.  §  49  ;  Plut.  'Artax.' ;  Etym.  Mag.  s.  v.  Kdpo9,  etc.)— that  is,  it  was  identi- 
fied with  the  Sanscrit  SurTja,  Zend  Imare,  modern  Persian  Klnw.  It  is  now  suspect- 
ed that  this  identification  was  a  mistake,  as  the  Old  Persian  K  never  replaces  the 
Sanscrit  .s-.  The  name  is  more  properly  com])ared  with  the  Sanscrit  Kuru,  which  was 
a  popular  title  among  the  Aryan  race  before  the  separation  of  the  J.Iediau  and  Per- 
sian branches,  but  of  which  the  etymology  is  unknown."  (Rawliuson,  App.  to  He- 
rod, vi.  Note  A.  "On  the  Proper  Names  of  Medes  and  Po'-'^iaus.") 

2  Ap.  Cic.  "DeDiv."i.  23. 


ACCESSION  OF  CRCESUS.  543 

the  Halys  to  the  desert  of  Khoiassan  (b.c.  558).  In  the 
same  year,  or  just  before/  Crcesu>s  succeeded  his  father 
Alyattes  on  the  throne  of  Lydia,  in  the  thirty-fifth  year  of 
his  age/  and  at  once  began  the  career  of  conquest  which 
brought  under  his  sway  all  the  nations  of  Asia  Minor  with- 
in the  Halys,  except  the  Lycians  and  Cilicians.  Herodotus, 
treating  the  partial  attacks  of  previous  kings  on  the  Ionian 
colonies  as  of  little  permanent  consequence,  says  of  Croesus : 
"  So  far  as  our  knowledge  goes,  he  was  the  first  of  the  bar- 
barians who  held  i-elations  with  the  Greeks  ;  forcing  some 
of  them  to  become  his  tributaries,  and  entering  into  alliance 
with  others.  He  conquered  the  ^olians,  loniaus,  and  Do- 
rians of  Asia,  and  made  a  treaty  with  the  Lacedaemonians. 
Up  to  that  time  all  the  Greeks  had  been  free."^ 

He  first  attacked  Ephesus,  and  afterwards  found  some 
substantial  complaint — or,  failing  that,  any  poor  excuse — 
for  making  war  successively  on  all  the  states  of  Ionia  and 
^olis.®  The  ingenious  apologue,  by  which  Bias  of  Priene, 
one  of  the  Seven  Sages,  diverted  him  from  the  scheme  of  at- 
tacking the  islanders,  is  evidently  introduced  by  Hei-odotus 
to  illustrate  the  growing  influence  of  Greek  ideas  on  Lydia  / 
but  a  palpable  anachronism  is  involved  in  the  exquisitely 
beautiful  episode  of  Solon's  preaching  to  the  king,  who  had 
shown  him  all  his  wealth,  the  lesson  which  is  the  key-note  to 
the  story  of  CroesiTs  as  related  by  Herodotus:  "He  wlio 
unites  the  greatest  number  of  advantages,  and,  retainin^v 
them  to  the  day  of  his  death,  then  dies  peaceably — that  man 
alone  is  entitled  to  the  name  of  happj^  But  in  every  matter 
it  behooves  us  to  mark  well  the  end;  for  oftentimes  God 
gives  men  a  gleam  of  happiness,  and  then  plunges  them  into 
ruin.'"* 

§  2.  To  this  fate,  incurred  in  the  eyes  of  the  Greek  by  the 
king's  ao-gression  upon  his  countrymen,^  Croesus  was  hurried 
on  by  his  ambition  to  measure  his  strength  with  Cyrus,  and 
to  check  the  growing  power  of  the  Persians  before  it  came 
to  a  head. ^"  His  first  object  was  to  add  Cappadocia  to  his 
dominions ;  and  he  claimed  to  be  the  avenger  of  the  wrong 
done  to  his  brother-in-law,  Astyages.''  The  immense  re- 
sources obtained  from  his  command  of  the  fertile  regions  of 

3  ii.a.  5G0,  Clinton  ;  jj.c.  558,  Lenormant. 

*  Herod,  j.  26.  s  Herod,  i.  C.  «  Herod.  1.  26. 

^  Herod,  i.  27.  s  HeiDd.  i.  32.  9  Herod,  i.  5. 

•<^  Herod,  i.  46.  The  statement  that  Croesus  "learnt  that  Cyrus  had  destroyed  the 
empire  of  Astyagos,  and  that  the  Persians  were  heeommg  dailij  more  2J0iverfui,"  may 
give  a  hint  of  the  occupations  of  Cyrus  during  the  first  ten  years  or  so  of  his  reign, 
according  to  the  usual  chronology.  The  dates  of  Prof.  Rawlinson,  however,  place 
the  accession  of  Croesus  ten  years  before  that  of  Cyrus,  and  leave  only  four  years  to 
the  fall  of  the  Lydian  ki'ig.  ii  Herod.  1. 73. 


r;41         CYRUS  THE  GREAT  AND  CRCESUS. 

Asia  Minor,  the  gold-yielding  streams   of  Lydia,'^  and  the 
commerce  of  the  Ionian   states — which  made  the  riches  of 
Crcesus  a  proverb  in  all  antiquity'^ — might  well  seem  ade- 
quate to    the   enterprise,  to  which  the  Delphic   oracle  had 
given,  though  with  characteristic  ambiguity,  the  divine  sanc- 
tion/*    He  also  made  an  alliance  with  the  LacedaMuonians/* 
§  3.  The  curious   chapter  in  the  history  of  sujjerstition, 
which  tells  how  Croesus  first  shrewdly  tested,  and  then  blind- 
ly ti-usted,  the  oracle  which  finally  lured   him  to  his  fate, 
should  be  read  at  length  in  the  charming  story  of  Herodo- 
tus.'"    It  is  a  sign  of  the  intercourse  that  was  now  carried 
on  among  the  states  of  the  Levant,  that  the  Lydian  messen- 
gers were  sent,  not  only  to  the  Milesian  Branchidre,  to  the 
Boeotian  oracles  of  Amphiaraus  and  Trophonius,  to  that  of 
the  Delphians  at  Pytho,  and  the  only  less  famous  oracle  of 
Abse  in  Fhocis,  to  Dodona  in  Epirus,  the  most  ancient  of  all 
the  oracles  of  Greece  ;  but  even  to  the  oracle  of  Amnion,  in 
the  Libyan   desert.''      The  Pythian   oracle   alone— mindful, 
doubtless,  of  former  gifts  from  Lydia,  and  not  grudging  to 
scatter  among  the  envoys  the  seed  of  future  golden  harvests 
— was  able    to   tell  the'  grotesque  and  improbable   occupa- 
tion which  was  the  test  fixed  by  Croesus,  who  declared,  with 
an  amusing  mixture  of  credulity  and  skepticism,  "that  the 
Delphic  was  the  only  real  oracular  shrine.'"'     The  ofi'erings 
which  attested  his  faith  make  the  page 'of  Herodotus  glitter 
with  gold  ;'"  and  seem  to  deserve  a  better  reward  than  the 
twofokl  assurance  that,  "  if  Crcesus  attacked  the  Persians,  he 
would  destroy  a  mighty  empire,'"°  and  that  "when  a  mule 
should  be  king  of  Med'ia"  he  need  not  be  ashamed  to  fiy, 
like  a  coward,  to  the  pebbles  of  Hermus.-' 

12  Besirles  the  well-kiiow.!  golden  saiuls  of  PactoUis,  and  the  "golden  legend"  of 
Midas,  Herodotus  tells  us  that,  wheu  the  Lacediemoiiiaus  wanted  gold  for  a  statue 
they  sent  to  purchase  it  in  Lydia,  and  Croesus  gave  it  them  as  a  present  (Herod,  i.  09). 

13  The  splendid  offerings  at  Delphi,  which  Herodotus  saw  with  his  own  eyes,  prove 
that  the  wealth  of  Crcesus  was  no  mere  fable.  Western  Asia  Minor  also  yielded  un- 
bounded riches  to  its  masters,  down  to  the  time  of  "Dives  Attalus"  and  the  procon- 
sular plunderers  of  t-he  province  of  Asia.  . 

1^  Herod,  i.  73.  i^  Herod,  i.  09,  TO.  I*"'  Herod,  i.  40  seq.  ^^  Herod,  i.  40. 

18  Herod,  i.  48.  Dismissing  all  the  grave  nonsense  with  which  this  story  has  been 
discussed,  it  is  enough  to  state  the  (xlternative:  either,  as  Cicero  thought  ("De  Div. 
ii.),  the  story  is  a  pure  fabrication  ;  or  Croesus  intrusted  his  secret  to  some  of  the  en- 
voys, who  betrayed  it  for  a  consideration.  It  is  urged  that  common  sense  would  for- 
bid the  latter  course;  but  Crcesus  must  have  arranged  with  the  envoys  the  time  of 
the  experiment,  and  the  superstitious  curiosity  which  devised  the  test  was  just  the 
state  of  mind  to  drop  a  hint  of  its  nature.  But  Cicero's  opinion  is  just  as  likely  to 
have  been  right.  Herodotus  states  afterwards  that  the  oracle  of  Amphiaraus  also 
earned  the  faith  and  offerings  of  Croesus  (i.  52).  ^^  Herod,  i.  50,  51. 

2»  Herod,  i.  53. 

21  Herod,  i.  55.  This  sort  of  irony,  which  tempts  the  doomed  man  to  believe  him- 
self safe  till  an  impossible  event  should  come  to  pass,  might  occupy  a  commentator 
in  illustrating  it,  "  till  Biruam  wood  shall  come  to  Dunsinane." 


CRCESUS  CONSULTS  THE  ORACLES.  r,4r. 

§  4.  Confident  in  tlic  promise  of  the  first  response  and  the 
impossibility  of  the  second,  the  fated  Lydian  resolved  to  be 
the  first  to  cross  the  Halys — thus  measuring  himself  against 
the  "  mule  "  of  mixed  Persian  and  Median  birth,  and  bring- 
ing destrnction  on  his  own  mighty  empire.  Before  the  Lac- 
edaemonian alliance,  which  he  formed  at  the  advice  of  the 
Pythian  oracle,  Croesus  had  made  a  league  with  Amasis, 
king  of  Egypt ;  which  was  now  strengthened  by  the  acces- 
sion of  "  Labynetus,"  king  of  Babylon  f^  but  he  was  too 
eager  to  give  these  powerful  allies  time  to  send  their  con- 
tingents to  his  aid.  It  was  in  vain  that  Sandanis,  a  Lydian 
of  high  repute  for  wisdom,  gave  such  counsel  as  the  follow- 
ing :  "  Thou  art  about,  O  king,  to  make  war  against  men 
who  wear  leathern  trowsers,  and  have  all  their  other  gar- 
ments of  leather ;  who  feed  not  on  what  they  like,  but  on 
what  they  can  get  from  a  soil  that  is  sterile  and  unkindly  ; 
who  do  not  indulge  in  wine,  but  drink  water ;  who  possess 
no  figs,  nor  any  thing  else  that  is  good  to  eat.  If,  then,  thou 
conquerest  them,  what  canst  thou  get  from  them,  seeing  that 
they  have  nothing  at  all  ?  But  if  they  conquer  thee,  con- 
sider how  much  that  is  precious  thou  wilt  lose  :  if  they  once 
get  a  taste  of  our  pleasant  things,  they  will  keep  such  hold 
of  tliL'm  that  we  shall  never  be  able  to  make  them  loose  their 
grasp.  For  my  part,  I  am  thankful  to  the  gods  that  they 
have  not  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  the  Persians  to  invade 
Lydia."-^^ 

^  5.  Cyrus,  in  fiict,  was  by  no  means  indisposed  to  take 
this  course.  It  appears,  from  his  character  and  his  whole 
career,  that  he  had  from  the  first  led  forth  his  hardy  horse- 
men from  tlieir  native  hills  in  the  spirit  which  was  after- 
wards avowed  as  a  fixed  maxim  of  Persian  policy:  "For 
Asia,  with  all  the  various  tribes  of  barbarians  that  inhabit 
it,  is  regarded  by  the  Persians  as  their  own  ;  but  Europe 
and  the  Greek  race  they  look  on  as  distinct  and  separate."^* 

22  Herod,  i.  T7.  Assnmiug,  what  seems  almost  certain,  that  the  Labynetus  of  this 
passage  is  Nabonadiiis,  Ave  have  here  a  definite  limit  of  lime ;  for  the  accession  of 
this  Babylonian  king  is  fixed  by  the  astronomical  canon  at  n.c.  555. 

23  Herod,  i.  Tl.  The  passage  is  quoted  for  the  sake  of  its  testimony  to  the  manners 
of  the  Persians  of  that  day,  and  their  subsequent  change  of  character.  Herodotus 
adds  that  the  speech,  though  it  failed  to  i)ersuade  Croesus,  "was  quite  true  ;  for  be- 
fore the  conquest  of  Lydia,  the  Peisians  possessed  none  of  the  luxuries  or  delights 
of  life." 

2^  Herod,  i.  4.  Rawlinson  well  observes  (ad  loc.)  that,  "The  claim  made  by  the 
Persians  to  ihe  natural  lordship  of  Asia  was  convenient  as  furnishing  them  with 
pretexts  for  such  wars  as  it  suited  their  policy  to  engage  in  with  non-Asiatic  nati-ms. 
The  most  remarkable  occasion  on  which  they  availed  themselves  of  Puch  a  plea  was 
when  Darins  invaded  Scythia.  According  to  Herodotus,  he  asserted,  and  the  Scyth- 
iano  believed,  that  his  invasion  was  designed  to  punish  them  for  having  attacked 
the  Medes  and  held  i)ossession  of  Upper  Asia  for  a  numiier  of  years,  at  a  time  wheu 
Persia  was  a  tributary  natiou  to  Media.     (See  Herod,  iv.  t,  and  IIS,  li;*.)'" 


540  CYKUS  THE  GREAT  AND  (  liffiSUS. 

But  the  ambition  of  the  conqueroi*  was  tempered  by  the  pi'ii' 
deuce  of  the  consummate  general  and  statesman.  He  did 
not  rush  to  the  conflict  without  first  sounding  what  would 
naturally  seem  his  enemy's  most  vulnerable  ])oint.  "Before 
beginning  his  march,  he  sent  heralds  to  the  lonians,  with  an 
invitation  to  them  to  revolt  from  the  Lydian  king  :  they. 
however,  refused  compliance/'"^  Those  rich  commercial  cit- 
ies, fostered  by  Croesus  as  inlets  of  wealth,  doubtless  feai-ed 
the  ruder  and  unknown  conqueror.  Meanwhile  Cyrus  had 
collected  his  army  and  begun  his  march,  increasing  his  num- 
bers at  every  step  by  the  forces  of  the  nations  that  lay  in  his 
way.^®  For  this  purpose  lie  appears  to  have  taken  the  more 
circuitous  route  through  the  friendly  country  of  Armenia 
(along  the  valley  where  is  now  Erzerum)^  Avhich  brought 
him,  not  into  the  Cappadocian  table-land,  but  into  the  mari- 
time region  called  Pontus  in  the  Roman  times. 

§  6.  Croesus  directed  his  march  to  the  same  quarter — hav- 
ing crossed  the  Halys,  either,  as  Herodotus  thought,  by  the 
bridges  which  still  existed  in  his  time ;  or,  as  the  Greeks 
generally  believed,  by  the  aid  of  Thales  the  Milesian,  wdio 
diverted  a  part  of  the  stream  into  a  new  channel  behind  the 
camp,  thus  making  the  natural  bed  easier  to  ford.^'  He  en- 
tered the  district  of  Pteria,  near  Sinope,  and  began  to  ravage 
the  country  of  the  unoffending  "Syrians,"  taking  their  chief 
city,  and  reducing  the  inhabitants  to  slavery.  While  thus 
occupied,  he  seems  to  have  been  surprised  by  the  approach 
of  Cyrus,  who  encamped  opposite  to  him  in  Pteria.  A  long 
and  bloody  battle,  in  which  both  armies  fought  valiantly, 
with  great  slaughter  on  both  sides,  was  ended  by  the  fall  of 
night — the  Lydians,  though  overmatched  in  numbers,  sus- 
taining the  reputation  that  "  in  all  Asia  there  Avas  not  at 
that  time  a  braver  or  more  warlike  people.'"** 

§  1.  Croesus  now  saw  his  mistake  in  precipitating  the  w^ar 
with  his  inferior  force;  and,  as  Cyrus  did  not  renew  the  at- 
tack next  day,  he  retreated  to  Sardis,  disbanded  his  army, 
and  sent  messengers  to  summon  the  promised  succors  from 
Egy])t,  Babylon,  and  Sparta,  against  the  fifth  month,  intend- 
ing to  resume  the  offensive  in  the  spring.  But  Cyi'us,  con- 
ceiving his  adversary's  purpose,  broke  up  his  cam]),  and  pur- 
sued  with  such  speed,  that  he  was  himself  the  first  to  an- 

25  Ilerod.  i.  76.  ^n  Herod,  i.  76. 

^''  Herod,  i.  75.  Both  the  story  about  Thales  and  the  i)hirnl  "bridges"  seem  to 
point  to  a  place  where  the  river  is  parted  uatnrally  into  two  channels,  as  at  Bafra, 
between  Samsiai  and  Sinope.  The  Halys  is  fordable  not  far  above  its  mouth,  but  it 
is  also  crossed  by  rude  plank  bridges.  There  are  remains  of  bridges  with  stone 
piers,  probably  of  the  Roman  age.  (See  RawliiiS(;n'.s  note  ad  hx:  and  Hamilton's 
"Asia  Minor,"  vol.  i.  p.  ^27.)  '^"^  Herod,  i.  79. 


BATTLE  OF  8ARDIS.  517 

noiince  his  coming  to  the  Lydian  king.  In  tliis  emergency 
Crojsus  led  out  from  Sardis  his  native  Lydian  Lancers — then 
the  best  cavalry  of  Asia — to  meet  the  enemy  in  the  valley 
of  the  Hermus.  By  the  advice  of  Harpagus,  Cyrus  placed 
his  baggage-camels,  with  riders  accoutred  as  horsemen,  in 
front  of  his  line, "  because  the  horse  has  a  natural  dread  of 
the  camel,  and  can  not  abide  either  the  sight  or  the  smell  of 
that  animal.'"'  And  so  it  proved  :  but  the  rout  of  the  horses 
was  partly  repaired  by  the  courage  of  the  riders,  who  leaped 
out  of  their  saddles  and  engaged^the  Persians  on  foot.  The 
combat  was  long,  but  numbers  prevailed  ;  and,  after  great 
slaughter  on  both  sides,  the  Lydians  fled  back  behind  the 
walls  of  Sardis. 

§  8.  The  siege  of  the  capital  was  novv'  formed  ;  and  Cra^sus, 
trusting  to  its  strength,  sent  to  hasten  his  allies.  Herodotus 
accounts  for  the  delay  of  the  Laceda?monians,  and  we  hear 
nothing  of  the  Babylonian  succors;  but  Ave  have  already 
seen  that  a  large  Egyptian  contingent  probably  invaded  the 
Persian  dominions.'""  But,  in  any  case,  there  was  no  time  for 
the  arrival  of  help  ;  for,  to  the  surprise  of  both  ]jarties,  the 
siege  was  ended  in  a  fortnight.  The  citadel  of  Sardis  v^'as 
built  upon  a  precipitous  rock  in  the  broad  valley  of  the 
Hermus,  at  a  point  where  the  hills  approach  each  other 
closely  ;  and  here  its  name  is  still  pi-eserved  by  the  village 
of  /Sart.  Its  natural  strength  was  said  to  have  been  con- 
verted into  absolute  impregnability  by  a  charm — when  the 
old  King  Meles  carried  round  the  walls  the  lion  that  his  le- 
man  bore  to  him— except  at  one  part,  where  the  clitt' seemed 
quite  inaccessible.  On  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  siege  Cy- 
rus proclaimed  a  reward  to  the  man  who  should  first  mount 
the  wall,  and  then  delivered  an  assault.  The  troops  were 
beaten  back;  but  a  certain  Mardian,  named  Hyra^ades,  re- 
membered having  seen  a  Lydian  soldier  descend'the  preci])i- 
tous  and  comparatively  unguarded  part  of  the  rock  to  fetch 
his  helmet,  which  had  rolled  down,  and  which  he  picked  up 
and  carried  back.  Climbing  the  rock  at  the  same  place,  Hy- 
roeades  was  followed  by  other  Persians,  and  Sardis  was  thus 
taken,  and  given  up  to  pillage.^' 

We  need  not  repeat  the  romantic  tales,  of  the  escape  of 

29  Herofl.  i.  SO ;  Xeii.  "Cyrop."  vli.  1,  §  47.  See  Rawliusou's  note  for  a  modern  in- 
stance  in  which  the  ^;ame  stratagem  is  said  to  have  been  conteinplated. 

30  See  chap.  viii.  §  19. 

31  Herod,  i.  M.  Pol)  oeniis  (Strateg.  vii.  6,  §  10)  gives  a  different  version  of  the  sur- 
prise, besides  repeating  another  and  very  absurd  acconnt  from  Otesias.  Rawiinson 
(note,  ad  loc.)  points  out  that  Sardis  Avas  taken  a  second  time  in  alir.ost  eractiv  the 
same  way  by  Lagoras,  one  of  the  generals  of  Antiochns  the  Great  (Polyb.  vii.Vt). 
Perhaps  soma  readers  may  call  to  mind  how  the  castle  of  Tillietndlem"  ifo«:Zrf  have 
been  surprised,  if  Ciiddie  Her.drigg  had  not  found  "his  brosfc  too  hot." 


548  C:YKU8  the  GREAT  AND  CRCESUS. 

Croesus  from  slaughter  By  his  dumb  son's  recovery  of  his 
speech  ;^^  or  of  his  being  saved  from  sacrifice  by  fire  by  invok- 
ing the  name  of  the  sage  whose  warning  had  now  come  true  f^ 
or  of  his  winning  the  regard  of  Cyrus  by  his  sage  advice  f* 
or  of  the  Pythoness's  vindication  of  her  oracles.^^  It  is  suffi- 
cient to  know,  both  from  Herodotus  and  Ctesias,  that,  after 
some  severe  treatment,  Croesus  was  received,  like  Astyages, 
into  the  favor  of  Cyrus,  who  assigned  him  a  territory  for  his 
manUenance,  and  gave  him  an  honorable  position  at  court, 
where  we  find  the  Lydian,  more  than  twenty  years  later, 
giving  his  prudent  but  ineffectual  counsel  to  Cambyses.^^ 

§  9.  The  fall  of  Sardis  involved  the  submission  of  the 
whole  Lydian  empire,  with  the  exception  of  the  Greek  colo- 
nies. They  hastened,  indeed,  to  send  ambassadors  to  Cyrus 
at  Sardis,  praying  to  become  his  lieges  on  the  footing  which 
they  had  occupied  under  Croesus;  but  the  conqueror  ex- 
pressed, by  the  fable  of  the  piper  and  the  fish,  his  resentment 
at  their  refusal  of  his  former  ofifers."  Miletus  alone  was  ad- 
mitted to  an  alliance  on  the  terms  proposed :  the  rest  were 
devoted  to  complete  conquest.  The  story  of  how  that  con- 
quest was  afterwards  effected  by  Harpagus,  and  the  scenes 
of  heroic  self-sacrifice  enacted,  especially  by  the  Phocaeans, 
belong  to  the  history  of  Greece. 

Deeming  it  sufficient  to  depute  this  enterprise  to  one  of 
his  generals,  Cyrus  himself,  after  a  residence  of  a  few  weeks 
at  Sardis,  returned  to  Ecbatana,  bent  on  larger  schemes, 
which  are  clearly  defined  by  Herodotus :  "  He  wished  to 
make  war  in  person  against  Babylon,  the  Bactrians,  the 
Sacpe,  and  Egypt. "^^^  The  last  of  these  designs  Avas  be- 
queathed to  his  son  Cambyses ;  and  the  interval  before  he 
executed  the  first  was  no  doubt  occupied  by  the  conquest 
of  the  still  independent  nations  of  the  table-land  of  Iran,  and 
in  the  region  of  the  Caspian  and  Oxus.  Herodotus,  hasten- 
ing to  the  story  of  the  fall  of  Babylon,  dismisses  these  cam- 
])aigns  in  a  single  sentence:  "While  the  lower  parts  of  Asia 
were  in  this  way  brought  under  by  Harpagus,  Cyrus  in  per- 
son subjected  the  upper  regions,  conquering  every  nation, 

32  Herod,  i.  85. 

33  Hevod.  i.  85.  Nicolas  of  Damascus  (Fr.  SO)  amplifies  the  story,  and  tries  to  an- 
swer what  seems  the  insuperable  objection,  that  the  burning  of  human  bein£:s  was 
forbidden  by  the  law  of  Zoroaster.  Ctesias  ascribes  the  kind  treatment  of  Crciesus 
by  Cyrus  to  quite  a  different  miracle  (Excerpt  §  4). 

'3^  Ibid.  8S-!)0.  35ii)ici.9o,i)]. 

3«  Herod,  iii.  36.  This  was  during  the  Egyptian  expedition,  n.c  523.  The  capture 
of  Sardis  is  placed  by  Clinton  in  b.c.  54*5,  by  Lenormant  in  b.c.  544,  and  by  Rawlinson 
as  high  as  H.o.  554.    "  sMlerod.  i.  141. 

38  Herod,  i.  153.  The  suppression  of  the  revolt  of  Sardis  under  Pactyas,  and  the 
conquest  of  the  Carians  and  Lycians  by  Harpagus,  may  be  read  in  Herodotus. 


DEATH  OF  CYRUS.  54!) 

and  not  suftering  one  to  escape.'"'  These  conquests  appear 
to  have  embraced  Hyrcania,  Parthia,  Chorasmia,  Bactriana, 
Soo-diana,  Aria  {Herat),  Drangiana,  Arachosia,  Sattagydia, 
and  Gandaria."  At  length,  in  B.C.  539,  Cyrus  found  himself 
free  to  effect  the  conquest  of  Babylon ;  and  the  fall  of  that 
city,  in  the  following  year,  extended  his  dominion  to  the 
frontier  of  Egypt.*'  From  this  epoch  (Jan.  5,  b.c.  538)  may 
be  dated  the  full  establishment  of  the  Persian  empire.  It 
was  not  till  two  years  later  that  Cyrus  fixed  his  usual  resi- 
dence at  Babylon;  and  hence  the  Hebrews  date  his  reign 
from  B.C.  536,  which  was  also  the  end  of  their  captivity," 

§  10.  The  last  seven  years  of  the  reign  of  Cyrus,  and  the 
manner  of  his  death — except  the  simple  fact  that  he  fell  in 
battle  with  a  Scythian  tribe  of  Central  Asia — are  lost  in  the 
obscurity  of  legends.  The  romantic  story  of  his  attack  on  the 
Massageta?,  beyond  the  Araxes  (meaning  probably  the  Jax- 
artes),  his  first  successful  stratagem,  and  the  full  vengeance 
wreaked  on  him  by  the  Queen  Tomyris,  are  avowedly  se- 
lected by  Herodotus — like  the  legend  of  his  early  years — 
from  among  different  accounts;  and  the  historian  seems  al- 
most to  have  wished  to  complete  the  historic  irony,  taught 
by  the  fall  of  Croesus,  in  his  conqueror's  fate."  Ctesias  re- 
fers the  catastrophe  to  a  campaign  against  the  Derbices,  a  peo- 
ple of  the  Indian  frontier.  The  germ  of  historic  truth  envel- 
oped in  these  legends  is  probably  to  be  sought  in  the  necessity 
of  protecting  the  north-eastern  frontier  of  the  empire  against 
the  assaults  of  Turanian  tribes. 

All  accounts  agree  that  the  body  of  Cyrus  was  recovered, 
and  buried  at  Pasargadse,  where  the  building,  which  exactly 
corresponds  to  Arrian's  description  of  the  tomb  of  Cyrus  in 
the  time  of  xVlexander,  has  now  been  certainly  identified  by 
its  inscriptions:  "On  a  square  base,  composed  of  immense 
blocks  of  beautiful  white  marble,  stands  a  quadrangular 
house,  or  rather  chamber,  built  of  huge  blocks  of  marble  five 
feet  thick,  wdiich  are  shaped  at  the  top  into  a  sloping  roof. 
Internally  the  chamber  is  ten  feet  long,  seven  wide,  and  eight 
high.  There  are  holes  in  tlie  marble  floor,  which  seem  to 
have  admitted  the  fastenings  of  a  sarcophagus.     The  tomb 

39  Herod,  i.  177.  Some  details  are  supplied  1)3'  the  few  extant  fragmeiits  of  this 
part  of  the  history  of  Ctesias.  Que  of  the  most  interesting  is  the  contest  with  the 
Sacje,  of  whose  army  of  half  a  million  two-thirds  were  women,  and  the  defeat  of 
Cyrus  by  their  queen,  Sparethra.     (Ctesias,  "  Pers.  Exc."  §§  2,  3.) 

•»"  Rawlinson,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iv.  p.  371.  ^i  See  chap.  xv.  §§  19,  20. 

■12  For  the  edict  of  Cyrus  and  the  return  of  the  Jews,  see  the  "Student's  Old 
Testament  Historj-,'  chap,  xxvii.  §  1. 

"IS  Herod,  i.  201  seq.  See  the  closing  Avords  of  c.  214.  The  poetical  spirit  of  the 
story  is  further  seen  in  Cyrus's  dream  of  the  future  greatness  of  Darius,  the  eon  of 
Hystaspes  (c.  209). 


550         CYRUS  THE  GREAT  AND  CRa:SUS. 

stands  in  an  area  marked  out  by  pillars,  wJiereon  occurs  re- 
peatedly the  inscription  (written  both  in  Pei-sian  and  in  the 
so-called  Median),  '  I  am   Cyrus  the  King,  tfie  Ach^me- 

Is  IAN. 

§  11.  Cyrus  has  always  been  a  favorite  hero,  both  of  his- 
torians and  romance-writers ;  and  the  spirit  of  the  latter  has 
too  often  tinged  the  portrait  drawn  of  him  by  the  former. 
But,  after  rejecting  the  false  estimate  founded  on  the  ideal 
picture  of  the  Cyropmdia^  or  on  the  misunderstanding  of  his 
place  in  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah,  his  character  displays  very 
noble  qualities.  So  calm  and  sound  a  judge  as  Mr.  Grote 
observes:  "In  what  we  read  respecting  him  there  seems, 
amidst  constant  fighting,  very  little  cruelty.  His  extraordi- 
nary activity  and  conquests  admit  of  no  doubt.  He  left  the 
Persian  empire  extending  from  Sogdiana  and  the  rivers  Jax- 
artes  and  Indus,  eastward,  to  the  Hellespont  and  the  Syrian 
coast,  westward ;  and  his  successors  made  no  permanent  ad- 
dition to  it,  except  that  of  Egypt.""  The  fuller  sketch  of  Pro- 
fessor Rawlinson  may  be  adopted  as  a  fair  estimate:'"  "The 
character  of  Cyrus,  as  represented  to  us  by  the  Greeks,  is 
the  most  favorable  that  we  possess  of  any  early  Oriental 
monarch.  Active,  energetic,  brave,  fertile  in  stratagems,'" 
he  has  all  the  qualities  required  to  form  a  successful  military 
chief.  He  conciliates  his  people  by  friendly  and  familiar 
treatment,"*^  but  declines  to  spoil  them  by  yielding  to  their 
inclinations  when  they  are  adverse  to  their  true  interests." 
He  has  a  ready  humor,  which  shows  itself  in  smart  sayings 
or  repartees,  that  take  occasionally  tlie  favorite  Oriental  turn 
of  parable  or  apologue.''"  He  is  mild  in  his  treatment  of  the 
prisoners  that  fall  into  his  hands,^^  and  ready  to  forgive  even 
the  heinous  crime  of  rebellion, ^^  He  has  none  /aflhe  pride 
of  the  ordinary  Eastern  despot,  but  converses  on  terms  of 
equality  with  those  about  him.'^^     We  can  not  be  surprised 

*■*  Rawlinson,  note  to  Herod,  i.  214. 

■^5  "  Hist,  of  Greece,"  vol.  iv.  p.  288.  Special  attention  should  be  given  to  Mr.  Grote's 
ensuing  remarks  on  the  way  in  which  Cyrus  fixed  the  habits  of  the  succeeding  kings 
of  Persia,  and  on  the  vast  change  which  his  conquests  effected  on  the  Persian  nation 
—holding  out  to  their  nobles  satrapies  as  lucrative  and  powerful  as  kingdoms,  and 
to  the  soldiers  plunder  and  license  without  limit;  and,  while  tempting  them  with  all 
the  luxuries  of  the  conquered  countries,  for  which  they  soon  abandoned  their  old 
simplicity,  opening  the  prospect  of  a  career  of  unbounded  conquest,  into  which  the 
successors  of  Cyrus  at  once  plunged.  The  result  was  to  roll  back  the  tide  of  con- 
quest upon  an  empire  enfeebled  by  luxury,  divided  by  the  jealousies  and  contests  of 
provincial  rulers,  and  with  a  central  power  too  weak  to  prevent  its  falling  to  pieces. 

46  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iv.  p.  380. 

47  Herod.  1.  80, 186,  211 ;  Mic.  Daraasc.  Fr.  60.  48  Herod,  i.  126 ;  iii.  89. 
"  Herod,  ix.  122. 

60  Herod,  i.  12G,  121, 141, 153,  etc. :  Pint.  "Apophth."  p.  1T2,  E.  F. 

^51  Beros.  Fr.  14,  iin. ;  Herod,  i.  130,  208,  213 ;  Ctes.  "  Pers.  Exc."  §  2. 

52  Herod,  i.  155^  156.  53  Herod,  i.  8T-90, 155,  209. 


CHAKACTER  OF  CYK  US.  r,.",] 

that  the  Persians,  contrasting  him  with  their  later  monarchs, 
held  his  memory  in  the  highest  veneration,'"  and  were  even 
led  by  their  affection  for  his  person  to  make  his  type  of 
countenance  their  standard  of  physical  beauty.'' 

St  Herod,  iii.  89 ;  Xeu.  "  Cyrop."  i.  2,  §  1 ;  Arrian.  "  Exp.  Alex."  vi.  29.  etc 
S5  Plut.  "Apophth."  p.  172  E.,  "  Polit."  p.  S21,  E. 


Double  Grifflu  Capital.    (Persepolie,) 


Bronze  Figure  of  Apis. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

CAMBTSES. — THE  MAGIAX  USURPATIOX. — RESTORATION   OF  THE 
MONARCHY    BY    DARIUS. B.C.   529-522. 


5  1.  The  family  of  Cyrus.  Cambj'ses  and  Smerdis  (Bardes).  His  daughters.  5  2. 
Reign  of  c'ambyses  (u.o.  5-29-5'22).  Murder  of  Snierdiis.  §  3.  Snbjectiou  of  the 
Phceniciaus.  Their  fleet,  becomes  the  chief  uaval  force  of  Persia.  §4.  Expedition 
against  Egypt.  Phanes.  The  "King  of  Arabia."  §  5.  Defeat  and  treatment  of 
Psammenitus.  Capture  of  Memphis.  Submission  of  Libya,  Barca,  and  Cyrene. 
§  6.  Cambyses  at  Sais.  His  Lehavior  as  king  of  Egypt.  He  plans  three  great  ex- 
peditions. The  Phcenicians  refuse  to  serve  against  Carthage.  Embassy  to  the 
Ethiopian  king :  his  defiance.  Destruction  of  the  force  sent  against  the  Ammo- 
nians.  March  of  Cambyses  into  Ethiopia.  Failure  of  the  expedition.  §7.  Cam- 
byses slays  the  Apis.  §  S.  His  alleged  madness.  His  various  outrages.  His  ad- 
diction to  drunkenness.  §  9.  He  leaves  Egypt  completely  subdued.  Apostasy  of 
the  Persians  and  Medes  to  Magism.  Revolution  under  the  Magiau  Gom atks,  called 
the  Pbeudo-Smkkdis.  Account  given  in  the  BeMstun  Inscription.  Death  of  Cam- 
byses in  Syria,  probably  by  suicide.  §  10.  Popular  measures  of  the  usurper.  His 
policy  towards  the  Jews.  §11,  His  detection  as  related  by  Herodotus.  §  12.  Story 
of  the  Seven  Conspirators.  Remarkable  agreement  of  Herodotus  and  the  Bebis- 
tun  Inscription.  §  13.  The  clear  claim  of  Darius  to  the  crown  in  right  of  his 
Achiemenid  descent.  Privileges  secured  by  the  conspirators.  ?  14.  Their  debate, 
in  Herodotus,  a  fiction  expre.ssive  of  Greek  ideas.  §  15.  Darius,  with  "  his  faith- 
ful men,"  slays  the  Magian,  and  takes  the  kingdom. 

§  1.  Cyrus  left  two  sons  and  three  daughters,  by  his  sole 
wife/  Cassandane,  the  daughter  of  Pharnaspes,  an  Achae- 
menian,  who  had  died  before  her  husband,  and  had  been 
greatly  lamented  by  him.^  The  sons  were  Kahujiya  and 
Bardiya^  names  which  were  transformed  by  Greek  oi'gans 

^  This  seems  implied  by  Herodotus,  in  his  contradiction  of  the  Egyptian  story,  tha. 
Cambyses  was  the  son  (and  not  the  husband)  of  Nitetis,  the  daughter  of  Apries  (lii. 
2).  Both  the  historian  (iii.  30)  and  the  Behistun  Inscription  (col.  i.  par.  10)  speak  of 
Cambyses  and  Smerdis  as  "  both  of  the  same  father  and  mother."  Ctesias.  in  making 
Cvrus  the  son-in-law  of  Astyages  ("Pers.  Exc."  §  10),  is  probably  repeating  one  of 
the  slories  so  often  invented  to  add  legitimacy  to  a  new  dynasty  ;  and  the  name  of 
this  i)rincess,  Amytis,  resembles  that  of  the  Median  wife  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  (See 
Rawlinson,  note  to  Herod,  iii.  2.) 

2  Herod,  ii.  1 ;  iii.  2.  '  Behistiin  Inscription. 


REIGN  or  CAMBYSES.  553 

into  Cambyses  and  Smerdls.*  Of  the  daughters,  Atossa  is 
well  known  in  history'  as  tlie  wife,  first  of  Cambyses,  next 
of  the  Magian  who  personated  Snierdis,  and  last  of  Darius; 
and  as  the  mother  of  Xerxes,  wlio  is  said  by  one  writer  to 
have  killed  her  in  a  lit  of  passion. '^  Another,  whose  name 
is  not  mentioned,  was  also  married  by  Cambyses,  the  royal 
judges  giving  the  opinion,  which  Herodotus  humorously  calls 
"  at  once  true  and  safe — '  they  did  not  find  any  law  allow- 
ing a  brother  to  take  his  sister  to  wife,  but  they  found  a  laAV 
that  the  King  of  the  Persians  might  do  whatever  he  pleased.' 
And  so  they  neither  wai'ped  the  law  through  fear  of  Cam- 
byses, nor  ruined  themselves  by  over-stiffly  maintaining  the 
law ;  but  they  brought  another  quite  distinct  law  to  the  king's 
help,  v/hich  allowed  him  to  hin  e  his  wish."^  This  sister- 
v.'ife  was  put  to  death  by  Cambyses  in  Kgypt,  in  resentment 
of  her  suggested  reproaches  for  his  murder  of  Smerdis.^  The 
remaining  and,  as  it  seems,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Cyrus, 
Artystone,  became  the  favorite  wife  of  Darius,  the  son  of 
Hystaspes.'^  It  appears  to  be  from  the  reign  ofCtxmbyses 
that  the  polygamy  and  incestuous  marriages  of  ihe  Persian 
kings  began, 

§  2,  Cambyses  (b.c.  529-522),  having  been  appointed  by 
Cyrus  as  his  successor,  was  sent  back  by  him  with  Croesus 
into  Persia  from  the  country  of  the  Mawsagetie,  before  the 
tinal  catastroi)he.  Such  is  the  simple  statement  of  Herodo- 
tus;'" but  the  less  trustworthy  writers  say  that,  while  Cyrus 
left  the  empirc  to  Cambyses,  he  declared  it  to  be  his  will 
that  Smerdis  should  have  the  government  of  several  impor- 
tant provinces;''  and  so  he  prepared  the  catastrophe  that 
ensued. 

«  Kabujiya  is  thought  to  be  from  the  Sanscrit  Kab^  "  to  praise,"  and  vji,  "  a  speak- 
er;" its  signification,  according  to  this  view,  is  "a  bard."  (Sir  H.  Rawliuson's  "An- 
cient Persian  Vocabulary,"  quoted  in  Rawlinson's  "  Herodotus,''  vol.  iii.  p.  554.  But 
may  not  the  name  rather  signify  "praised  by  those  who  speak  of  him  ?")  "  Bardiya 
is  probably  the  Zend  berezya  (comp.  Vedic  barhya\  'elevated,'  'glorious'"  (Oppert. 
ap.  Rawlinson^  I.  c.  p.  501).  The  Greek  forms  of  both  names  arise  from  the  common 
insertion  (or  substitution)  of  vi  before  (or  for)  b,  as  in  such  pairs  of  words  as  /5\<;f 
and  fxaXaKrs,  /3poTo<r,  «/i/3poTor  (and  morfi)  rinfSpo-ov,  2  Aor.  of  aiiapT-dvoi.  Thus  we 
have  Megabyzus  (the  conspirator  with  Darins)  for  Baqabukhsha,  and  several  other 
cases  ofMefja  (Grk.)  for  Ba<ja  (Pers.).  CVmtbyses  for  A'rt&njiya  is  exactly  paralleled 
by  the  modern  Greek  0«/i7rpiKa  for  fabrica.  So  Bardiya,  which  should  have  been 
Bardis  or  Barden,  becomes  Mardus  (^Esch.  "  Pers."  ISO)  or  Merdis  (Nic,  Damasc.  and 
Justin),  and  then  Smerdis,  by  the  well-known  interchange  of  m  and  sm  as  in  hik^us- 
and  <TixiKp6<;,  etc.  Ctesias  calls  Smerdis  Tanyoxarces,  which  M.  Oppert  (ap.  Rawlin- 
sou,  I.  c.  p.  562)  interprets  "strong  of  body"  (fr.  tanu,  "  body,"  and  vazarka,  "great,-' 
"mighty").  This  looks  like  an  epithet  derived  from  the  physical  strength  which 
excited  his  brother's  envy  (Herod,  iii.  30). 

»  Herod,  iii.  31,  GS,  SS,  133-4,  vii.  4:  .^sch.  "  Pers."  157  seq. ;  she  is  not  meatione^l 
oy  Ctesias,  nor  in  any  inscripticm.  ^  Aspas.  ad  "Aristot.  ELh."  p.  171. 

"•  Herod,  iii.  31.  e  Herod.  I.  c.  ^  Herod,  iii.  SS-,  vii.  69.  i«  Herod,  i.  20s. 

11  Ctesias,  "Pers.  Exc."  §  S;  Xeu.  "Cyrop."  viii.  7,  §  11 1  but  they  difler  entirely  ae 
to  the  provinces  committed  to  Smerdis. 

2-t 


554        cambysp:s  and  the  magiax  usurpation. 

The  murder  of  Smerdis  is  related  in  the  Behistim  Inscrip- 
tion as  the  only  important  event  in  the  reign  of  Cumbysea 
before  his  invasion  of  Egypt,  and  as  performed  with  the  se- 
crecy of  which  advantage  was  afterwards  taken  by  the  im- 
postor Gomates.  "Afterwards  Cambyses  slew  that  Bardes 
(Bardiya).  When  Cambyses  had  slain  Bardes,  it  was  not 
known  to  the  people  that  Bardes  had  been  slain.  Afterwards 
Cambyses  proceeded  to  Egypt.'"''  Herodotus  transposes  the 
crime  to  the  period  of  the  Egyptian  campaign,  so  as  to  make 
it  the  first  of  the  outrages  that  indicated  the  madness  which 
his  Egyptian  informants  regarded  as  the  penalty  of  the 
king's  sacrilege.'^ 

§  3.  Another  interesting  question  arises  out  of  the  inter- 
val of  four  years  which  "elapsed  befoi-e  Cambyses  invaded 
Egypt.'"  During  this  time  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  re- 
ceived the  submission  of  the  Phoenicians^  who  now  for  the 
first  time  appear  as  forming  tlie  great  maritime  force  of  the 
Persian  empire.  Herodotus  relates  that  the  courtiers  of 
Cambyses  extolled  him  above  his  father,  inasmuch  as  "  he 
was  lord  of  all  that  Cyrus  ever  ruled,  and,  further,  had  made 
himself  master  of  Egypt  and  the  sea.''''''  Even  as  flattery, 
this  must  have  had  a  foundation ;  and  we  find  Heiodotus 
distinctly  asserting  that,  in  the  time  of  Cyrus,  "  Phoenicia 
was  still  independent  of  Persia,  and  the  Persians  themselves 
were  not  a  sea-faring  people."'^  But,  under  Cambyses,  we 
are  told  that  "  the  Phoenicians  had  yielded  themselves  to  the 
Persians,  and  upon  them  all  his  sea-service  depended.'"'' 
Phaniicia  would  probably  be  regarded  as  won  to  the  einj)ire 
of  Cyrus  by  the  conquest  of  Babylon  ;  but  its  actual  sub- 
mission was  another  matter,  and  this  appears  to  have  taken 
place  under  Cambyses.  Henceforth  the  PJioenician  navy  be- 
came the  great  maritime  force  of  Persia.  Eor  want  of  it 
Cyrus  had  been  unable  to  follow  up  his  conquest  of  ^Eolis 
and  Ionia  into  the  islands  ;'*  its  possession  gave  Carabyse? 

J2  Behistnn  Inscr.  col.  i.  par.  10. 

13  Herod,  iii.  30.  It  i?,  therefore,  needless  to  discuss  the  circnrastances  nuder  which 
Herodotus  alleges  the  murder  to  have  beeu  committed,  or  the  motive  of  jealousy 
which  is  said  to  have  arisen  while  Smerdis  was  in  Egypt  with  Cambyses. 

»*  That  is,  according  to  the  date  of  the  fifth  year  of  Cambyses,  u.c.  525,  which  rests 
on  the  authority  of  Manetho,  as  quoted  in  the  Armenian  "  Chronicou  "  of  Ensebius, 
and  which  Diodorus  also  gives  (i.  GS).  Syncellns,  however,  gives  Manetho's  date  as 
two  years  earlier,  in  the  third  year  of  Cambyses,  u.o.  52T,  and  this  date  is  adopted 
very  decidedly  by  M.  de  Konge.  ^^  Herod,  iii.  34. 

16  Herod,  i.  143.  Xenophon  is  the  sole  authority  for  the  conquest  of  Phoenicia  by 
Cyrus,  to  Avhom  he  also  ascribes  that  of  Egypt !     {"■  Cyrop."  i.  1,  §  4.) 

"  Herod,  iii.  19.  Herodotus  adds  that  "  the  Cyprians  had  also  joined  the  Persians 
of  their  own  accord"  probably  in  connection  with  the  voluntary  submission  of  the 
Phoenicians,  inasmuch  as  the  Cyprians,  their  old  dependents,  had  lately  been  con- 
quered by  Amasis.  ^®  Herod,  i.  143. 


EXPEDITION  AGAINST  EGYPT.  555 

the  command  of  the  coast  and  Egypt,  and  of  the  Nile," 
wivhout  which  Mempliis  could  hardly  have  been  taken,  and 
afterwards  made  the  conquest  of  Greece  itself  seem  practica- 
ble to  Darius  and  Xerxes. 

§  4.  Meanwhile  the  subjugated  lonians  and  ^olians'^" 
swelled  the  forces  which  Carabyses  collected  for  the  con- 
quest of  Egypt — an  enterprise  bequeathed  to  him  by  his  fa- 
ther.^' While  the  opportunity  for  the  attack  w^as  delayed, 
the  prudent  Amasis  seems  to  have  conciliated  Cyrus  by 
some  acknowledgment  of  his  suzerainty;  and  he  sent  the 
best  Egyptian  eye-doctor  to  the  Persian  court  at  the  request 
of  Cyrus.  In  resentment  at  being  torn  from  his  wife  and 
children,  this  physician  is  said  to  have  stirred  up  Cambyses 
to  demand  in  marriage  the  daughter  of  Amasis,  whose  sub- 
stitution of  a  daughter  of  the  dethroned  Apries  gave  mor- 
tal offense  to  the  deceived  Persian." 

While  Cambyses  was  meditating  the  attack,  there  arrived 
a  certain  Phanes  of  Halicarnassus,  a  deserter  from  among  the 
Carian  mercenaries  of  Amasis,  whose  secrets  he  revealed  to 
the  Persian  king.  By  his  advice,  also,  Cambyses  obtained 
the  safe-conduct  of  the  most  powerful  Bedouin  sheikh  of  those 
parts'^^  for  his  passage  through  the  desert  of  Gaza.  The 
Arab  kept  his  oath  with  the  wonted  fidelity  of  his  race,  and 
sent  supplies  of  water  on  camels  to  three  different  stages." 

§  5.  When  tlie  march  was  made,  Amasis  had  just  died, 
and  Cambyses  found  his  son  Psammenitus  encamped  at  the 
Pelusiac  mouth  of  the  Nile.  In  presence  of  both  armies,  the 
Greek  and  Carian  mercenaries  of  Psammenitus  led  out  the 
sons  of  Phanes  before  their  father's  eyes,  and  slew  them  over 
a  bowl,  in  which  their  blood  was  mixed  with  water  and  wine. 
In  tins  horrid  draught  each  soldier  pledged  himself  to  the 
fight  that  followed  ;  but  the  Egyptians  turned,  and  fled  in 
complete  disorder  to  Memphis."     Thither  Cambyses  sent  a 

19  Herod,  iii.  13,  25.  Cambyses  received  also  the  aid  of  40  Samiau  triremes  from 
Polycrates  (ibid.  c.  44). 

20  Herodotus  twice  lays  stress  on  this  (ii.  1,  iii.  1).  The  latter  passage,  in  fact,  re- 
sumes the  former  after  the  long  digression  upon  Egypt.  21  Herod,  i.  153. 

22  Herod,  iii.  1.  Dahlmann  has  observed  that  while  a  sufficient  ground  of  quarrel 
was  given  by  the  part  taken  by  Amasis  in  the  great  league  with  Lydia  and  Babylon 
against  the  growing  power  of  Persia,  "  the  spirit  of  the  time,  framing  its  policy  upon 
the  influence  of  persons  rather  than  of  things,  required  a  more  individual  motive." 
("Life  of  Herod."  chap.  vii.  §3.)  Herodotus's  account  of  the  conquest  is  colored 
Ihroughout  by  his  Egyptian  sources  of  information. 

23  Herodotus  (iii.  4)  calls  this  person  "the  king  of  the  Arabs." 

*<  Herod,  iii.  7-9.  Mr.  Kinglake  says  of  the  Arabs  of  the  same  desert  at  this  day  t 
"It  is  not  of  the  Bedouins  that  travellers  are  afraid,  for  the  safe-conduct  granted  by 
the  chief  of  the  ruling  tribe  is  never,  I  believe,  violated."     ("  Eothen,"  p.  191.) 

25  Herod,  iii.  11,  13.  See  the  curious  observation  of  the  historian,  who  himself  vis- 
ited the  battle-field,  on  the  thinness  of  the  Persian  and  the  thickness  of  theEgvptian 
skulls  (chap.  xiii.).  "The  thickness  of  the  Egyptian  skull"  (says  Sir  Gardner  Wilkin- 
eou)  "is  observable  iu  the  mummies  :  and  those  of  the  modern  Egyptians  fortunately 


55G  CAMBYSES  AND  THE  IMAGIAN  USURPATION. 

Persian  herald  on  board  a  Mytilenaean  ship;  but  erew  and 
envoy  were  torn  limb  from  limb  by  the  Egyptians.  Mem- 
phis surrendered  alter  a  siege  ;  and  here  Cambyses  received 
embassies  from  the  Libyans  who  bordered  upon  Egypt,  and 
from  the  Greek  colonists  of  Cyrene  and  Barca.  The  Libyans 
were  received  as  tributaries,  but  the  presents  of  the  Gyre- 
nseans  and  Barcaeans  were  contemptuously  rejected  as  in- 
adequate." 

The  romantic  story  of  the  behavior  by  which  Psammenitus 
roused  the  compassion  of  Gambyses,  and  stayed  the  course 
of  his  ignominious  vengeance,  is  in  spirit  a  repetition  of  the 
tale  of  Groesus  and  Gyrus.^'  The  remark  of  Herodotus  seems 
here  more  trustworthy  than  his  facts  :  "  Gould  Psammenitus 
have  kept  from  intermeddling  with  affairs,  he  mig-ht  have 
recovered  Egypt,  and  ruled  it  as  governor.  For  it  is  the 
Persian  custom  to  treat  the  sons  of  kings  with  honor,  and 
even  to  give  their  fathers'  kingdoms  to  the  children  of  such 
as  revolt  from  them.""  But,  being  detected  in  stirring  up 
revolt,  he  was  compelled  to  drink  bull's  blood,  and  so  he 
died. 

§  6.  From  Memphis  Gambyses  went  to  Sa'is,  which  was 
then  the  capital  of  Egypt;"'  here  it  appears,  from  a  monu- 
ment in  the  Vatican,'  that  he  assumed  the  full  style  of  an 
Egyptian  king,  as  "  Kambath-Remesot,  Lord  of  Upper  and 
Lower  Egypt ;"  that  he  confirmed  the  Egyptian  dignitaries 
in  their  olfices ;  and,  "  like  the  kings  who  ruled  before  him," 
made  offerings  "  to  the  divine  mother  of  the  gods  (i.  e.,  Neith) 
at  Sais,  and  performed  the  usual  libations  in  her  temple  to 
the  Lord  of  Ages."  Thus  far  there  is  no  sign  of  the  mad  fa- 
naticism which  stamps  his  character  in  history.'"  He  now 
planned  three  expeditions— one  by  sea  against  Garthage, 
the  name  of  which  now  first  appears  in  the  stream  of  general 
history ;  on  the  second,  against  the  Ammonians,  he  resolved 
to  send  a  detachment  of  his  army  ;  while  he  prepared  for  the 
third,  which  he  designed  to  conduct  in  person,  by  sending 
spies  into  the  country  of  the  "  Macrobian  "  (or  long-lived) 

possess  the  same  property  of  hardness,  to  judge  from  the  blows  they  bear  from  the 
Turks,  aud  in  their  combats  among  themselves."  (Note  in  Rawliusou's  "Herod."  aa 
loc.)  Ctesias  makes  the  loss  of  the  Egyptians  iu  this  battle  §0,000,  that  of  the  Per- 
sians  only  7000,     ("Pers.  Esc."  §  9.) 

20  Herod,  iii.  13 ;  but  from  iv.  165  we  learn  that  the  submission  was  completed  by 
Arcesilaiis,  aud  the  Tate  of  tribute  agreed  upon.  Diodorus  (x.  14)  says  that  both  the 
Libyans  and  Cyreuseans  had  fought  on  the  Egyptian  side  against  Cambyses. 

«T  Herod,  iii.  14.  . ,   .  .    .^.        . 

2?  Herod,  iii.  15.  To  the  examples  which  he  adduces  others  are  added  in  the  notes 
of  Rawlinson  and  Wilkinson,  ad  loc.  ^^  Herod,  iii.  16. 

30  The  story  of  his  outrage  on  the  corpse  of  Amasis,  which  Herodotus— who  repre- 
of  his  going  to  Sais— himself  considers  as  mixed  with  fable,  de 


Bents  it  as  the  motive 

serves  little    '-edit.     CSee  Herod,  iii.  16.) 


FAILURE  Oi'  THREE  EXPEDITIONS.  557 

Ethiopians,  who  were  reputed  the  tallest  and  handsomest 
men  in  the  whole  woil<],  and  who  lived  "in  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth.'"' 

The  Carthaginiaii  project  miscarried  through  the  refusal 
of  the  Phoenicians  to  sail  on  such  a  service,  "since  they  were 
bound  to  the  Carthaginians  by  solemn  oaths,  and,  besides,  it 
would  be  wicked  in  them  to  make  war  on  their  own  chil- 
dren.'""  The  envoys  sent  to  the  Ethiopian  king  brought  back 
an  unstrung  bow,  with  the  advice  not  to  attempt  the  inva- 
sion till  the  Persians  could  bend  it  easily/^  On  receiving 
this  defiance,  Cambyses  began  liis  march.  At  Thebes  he  de- 
tached 50,000  men,  with  orders  to  burn  the  oracle  of  Am- 
nion, and  to  carry  captive  the  Ammonians.^^  Their  march 
was  traced  as  far  as  "the  city  Oasis,""  seven  days'  journey 
across  the  sand,  after  which  they  were  never  heard  of  more. 
The  Ammonians,  however,  related  that  the  army,  while  at 
their  midday  meal,  were  suddenly  and  entirely  covered  by 
columns  of  sand  raised  by  a  south  wind,  strong  and  deadly. ^^ 

The  main  army  under  Cambyses  narrowly  escaped  an 
equal  destruction.  The  provisions  were  exhausted  before 
one-fifth  of  the  march  was  accomplished  :  the  sumpter-beasts 
were  next  eaten,  and  then  the  army  was  reduced  to  sustain 
life  on  the  grass  and  herbs ;  but  still  Cambyses  pushed  ob- 
stinately forward.  At  last  they  came  to  the  bare  sand  ;"  and 
here  the  soldiers  began  to  cast  lots  for  every  tenth  man  to 
be  eaten  by  the  rest.  On  hearing  of  this  horrid  decimation, 
Cambyses  at  length  relinquished  the  attempt,  and  returned 

3*  Herod,  iii.  17, 18, 19,  20,  25.  It  is  the  less  Heedful  to  inquire  what  race,  or  what 
part  of  Africa,  may  be  here  intended,  as  the  account  of  the  people  is  evidently  in 
great  part,  if  not  wholly,  fabulous.  But  we  must  suppose  that  the  kingdom  really 
meant  is  that  of  MeroC-,  the  only  great  power  Avhich  divided  with  Egypt  the  posses- 
sion of  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  The  story  is,  however,  well  worth  perusing  in  Herod- 
otus. There  is  something  in  the  rude  frankness  of  the  Ethiopian  king  which  recalls 
to  mind  the  too-famous  Theodore ;  and  if  the  country  is  to  be  identified  at  all,  there 
is  much  to  be  said  for  its  being  Abyssinia.  Among  the  points  mentioned  incident- 
ally, we  are  told  that  the  oldest  of  the  Persians  reached  SO  years  of  age,  the  Macro- 
bians  120. 

32  Herod,  iii.  19.  Here  is  a  sign  of  the  terms  of  semi-independence  on  which  the 
Phoenicians  submitted  to  Persia. 

33  Herod,  iii.  21.  The  unstrung  bow  is  a  hieroglyphic  symbol  of  Ethiopia.  It  was 
by  bending  this  bow  that  Smerdis,  according  to  Herodotus,  roused  his  brother's  jeal- 
ousy. 

S'*  Herod,  iii.  25.  This  attack  may  be  ascribed  to  the  religious  fanaticism  of  the 
Zoroastrian. 

3'  Herod,  iii.  26.  In  all  probability,  the  modern  El  Khargeh,  the  chief  city  of  the 
so-called  "Great  Oasis,"  where  are  the  remains  of  a  temple  bearing  the  names  of 
Darius  and  of  some  later  kings.     The  Oasis  of  Ammou  is  the  modern  Shcah. 

36  Herod.  I.  c. ;  Diod.  x.  13,  §  3.  The  more  probable  cause  of  the  catastrophe  was 
this  "wind  itself,"  the  Simoom,  for  the  sand-storms  of  the  desert  do  not  cover  up  ob» 
jects  of  any  size.     (See  Wilkinson's  note  in  Rawlinson's  "  Herodotus,"  ad  loc.) 

3^  Cambyses  seems  to  have  followed  the  ordinary  caravan  route,  and  to  have 
reached  as  far  as  Wadj/  Omfjat,  in  22°  N.  hit.,  where  the  sands  become  quite  barren. 
(Burckhardt,  as  quoted  in  Rawlinson's  note,  ad  loc.) 


558  CAMBYSES  AND  THE  MAGI  AN  USURPATION. 

to  Thebes, "  after  he  had  lost  vast  numbers  of  his  soldiers." 
Thence  lie  marched  to  Memphis,  ready  to  wreak  his  double 
disappointment  on  the  Egyptians/®  The  exjjedition,  hovv- 
e\*er,  had  one  permanent  result,  in  the  annexation  of  the  old 
Egyptian  province  of  "  Ethiopia  above  Egypt"  to  the  Per- 
sian empire. 

§  7.  It  happened  just  at  this  time  that  a  new  Apis  had 
been  discovered ;  and  the  rejoicings  common  on  the  occasion 
were,  not  unnaturally,  taken  by  Cambyses  as  a  triumph  over 
his  defeat.^^  When  the  native  officers  of  Memphis  told  him 
the  real  cause,  he  put  them  to  death  for  liars.  Next  he  sum- 
moned the  priests;  and,  on  receiving  tlie  same  answer,  he 
told  them  "  he  w^  ould  soon  find  out  whether  a  tame  god  had 
come  to  dwell  in  Egypt,"  and  sent  them  to  fetch  Apis.  No 
soonei-  was  the  sacred  ox  brought  in  than  the  king  drew  his 
short  Persian  sword,  and  struck  in  such  haste  that,  missing 
his  aim  at  the  vitals,  he  wounded  it  in  the  thigh.  Then,  up- 
braiding the  priests  for  believing  that  gods  became  fiesh 
and  blood,  and  sensible  to  steel,  he  ordered  them  to  be  bas- 
tinadoed, and  any  of  the  Egyptians  found  keeping  the  festi- 
val to  be  put  to  death.  The  Apis  languished  for  some  time 
in  the  temple,  and  then  died,  and  was  buried  secretly  by  the 
priests."  According  to  Plutarch,  Cambyses  slew  the  Apis 
outright,  and  gave  his  flesh  to  the  dogs."' 

§  8.  To  tliis  act  of  sacrilege  the  Egyptians  ascribed  the 
judicial  madness  which  Cambyses  now  began  to  display 
without  control."""^     The  murder  of  Smerdis,  alleged  by  He- 

3s  Herod,  iii.  25.  It  seems  not  au  improbable  conjecture  that  this  was  the  occasion 
seized  by  Psammeuitus  for  the  intrigues  which  caused  his  death,  and  which  may- 
have  been  in  part  the  cause  of  the  change  in  the  conduct  of  Cambyses  towards  the 
Egyptians.  Rawlinson  justly  observes  that  the  losses  of  the  army  could  not  have 
been  ruinous,  as  it  was  still  strong  enough  to  subdue  the  disaffectitm  of  the  Egyp- 
tians. 

2»  This  may  have  been  really  the  beginning  of  an  attempt  to  revolt,  as  the  priests 
could  declare  au  incarnation  of  Apis  when  they  pleased.  The  execution  of  theMem- 
phian  officers  is  thus  more  reasonably  explained.  ■"*  Herod,  iii.  21,  29. 

41  As  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  observes,  this  story  is  the  more  probable,  and  the 
Egyptian  priests  would  be  likely  to  conceal  so  great  a  calamity  from  Herodotus. 
The  truest  story  by  no  means  always  comes  out  nearest  the  time  of  the  event. 

''^  Herod,  iii.  30.  The  apparent  inconsistency  of  Herodotus,  who  has  already  said 
of  the  march  against  Ethiopia,  "■' Henneless  madman  that  he  was,"  is  rather  a  proof 
that  his  belief  in  the  madness  of  CamV)yses  does  not  depend  wholly  on  the  Egyptian 
view.  The  remark  of  Bishop  Thirlwall— "  the  actions  ascribed  to  him  are  not  more 
extravagant  than  those  recorded  of  other  despots" — bears  a  twofold  interpretation 
to  those  well  versed  in  the  style  of  a  writer  whose  irony  is  sometimes  almost  too 
refined  to  be  detected :  nor  are  the  graver  arguments  of  Heeren  and  Rawlinson  of 
much  weight.  If  Egyptian  horror  exaggerated  his  outrages,  there  must  have  been 
peculiar  outrages  to  provoke  it.  The  silence  of  the  Behistun  Inscription  is  account- 
ed for  by  its  brief  notice  of  Cambyses,  and  Achoemenid  records  do  not  befoul  the 
"memory  of  an  Achcemenid.  The  same  remark  (considering  his  sources)  will  apply 
to  the  silence  of  Ctesias,  which  is  curiously  adduced  by  one  who  usually  disowns  his 
authon; y.  If  "  the  Persians  knev^  nothing  of  the  pretended  madness  of  this  king," 
at  least  they  entirely  distrusted  him  (Herod,  iii.  60),  arid  willingly  went  over  to  his 


ALLEGED  MADNESS  OF  CAMBYSES.  559 

rodotiis  as  the  first  "overt  act,"  has  been  supix)sed  to  have 
been  perpetrated  long  before ;  and  the  murder  of  liis  sister, 
which  was  the  next,  has  been  related  above."  The  well-told 
stories  of  his  convincing  Prexaspes  of  his  sobriety  by  shoot- 
ing through  the  heart  the  son  of  that  courtier,  who  was  fain 
to  compliment  the  king  on  his  aim,  and  the  narrow  escape 
of  Croesus  from  the  same  fate,  at  which  the  king  rejoiced,  but 
put  to  death  the  men  who  had  saved  the  Lydian — are  among 
those  to  be  read  oidy  in  the  words  of  Herodotus/*  They  il- 
lustrate the  addiction  of  Cambyses  to  drunkenness,  a  com- 
mon vice  of  the  Persian  kings  ;  and  if,  as  Herodotus  says,  he 
was  also  subject  to  epilepsy  from  his  birth,"'  we  scarcely 
need  any  judicial  explanation  of  his  madness,  except  the 
Nemesis  which  visits  that  greatest  of  all  political  wrongs,  the 
possession  of  despotic  power."  For,  after  all  the  fallacious 
arguments  nrged  in  defense  of  a  "  beneficent  despotism  " — a 
thing  so  rare  that  the  epitliet  sounds  like  irony — and  after 
all  the  just  horror  excited  by  the  rare  excesses  of  revolution- 
any  frenzy,  a  horror  due  equally  to  the  tyranny  which  pro- 
voked them — no  lesson  should  be  more  strenuously  impressed 
by  the  historian  than  this:  that  despotic  power  is  the  great- 
est misfortune  for  all  who  inherit,  the  greatest  crime  in  all 
who  seize  it. 

§  9.  Whether  inspired  by  madness,  or  by  calculating  se- 
verity, the  harsh  measures  of  Cambyses  effectually  secured 
the  submission  of  Egypt,  and  he  heads  the  27th  Dynasty  (of 
Persian  kings).  In  b.c.  522  he  left  the  country,  and  was  re- 
turning home  through  Syria,  when  news  reached  him  that 
his  njuive  dominions  were  lost  to  him.  The  story  of  this  re- 
volt, as  told  by  Herodotus,"^  and  obscured  by  unauthorized 
conjectures,  is  now^  made  clear  from  the  Behistun  Inscription, 
which  distinguishes  tino  stages  in  the  revolution — the  relig- 
ious defection  to  Magism,  and  the  usurpation  of  the  Magian 
impostor.  "  When  Cambyses  had  proceeded  to  Egypt,  then 
the  state  became  icicked.  Then  the  lie  became  abounding  in 
the  land,  both  in  Persia  and  in  Media,  and  in  the  other  prov- 
inces.""^    Darius  proceeds  in  a  separate  paragraph  : 

^^ Aftericards  there  arose  a  certain  man,  a  Magian   {Ma^ 

supposed  brother,  and  they  b-raiided  his  memory  as  that  of  a  tyrant ;  for,  says  He- 
rodotus,  "the  Persians  say  that  Darius  was  a  huckster,  Cambyses  a  master  (de<Tx6- 
Trif),  and  Cyrus  a  father :  for  Darius  looked  to  make  a  gain  in  every  thinj^ ;  Cambyses 
wa^  harsh  and  reckless;  while  Cyrus  was  gentle,  and  procured  them  all  manner  of 
good  "  (Herod,  iii.  89).  ".■.  Herod.  iii.  30,  .31. 

**  Herod,  iii.  34-36.  For  other  cases  of  religious  outrage  see  c.  3T,  and  the  admira- 
ble reflections  on  national  usages  in  c.  38.  ^s  Herod,  iii.  33. 

*^  See  the  illustration  of  this  by  the  comparison  drawn  between  Cambyses,  Calig- 
ula, and  the  Czar  Paul,  in  Mr.  Malkin's  admirable  "  Historical  Parallels." 

*^  Herod,  iii.  01  seq.  ^s  Behistun  Inscription,  col.  i.  par.  10 


560  CAMBYSES  AND  THE  MAGIAN  USURPATION. 

ff ush),  uiimed  Gomatos  {Gaumata),'^  from  Pissiachada,  the 
mountain  called  Aracadres.  He  thus  lied  to  the  state:  'I 
am  Bardes  (Bardiya)^  the  son  of  Cyrus,  the  brother  of  Cam- 
byses.'^"  Then  the  trhole  state  became  rebeUlous.  From  Cam- 
byses  it  went  over  to  him — both  Persia,  and  Media,  and  the 
other  2yrovinces.  He  seized  the  empire.  Afterwards  Cam- 
byses,  unable  to  endure  (or  self-wishing  to  die),  died."^' 

It  is  at  once  clear  that  this  was  no  mere  3fedian  revolt— 
a  conjecture  unsupported  even  by  Herodotus  ;'^  though  the 
chief  strength  of  the  usurper  would  naturally  be  in  the  more 
Magianized  province  of  Media,  and  there  was  the  fortress  in 
which  he  was  slain.''  The  whole  tenor  of  the  inscription 
shows  that  the  *'  lie  "  of  the  first  paragraph  is  not  the  false 
pretense  of  the  usurper  (as  in  paragraph  11),  but  the  relig- 
ious corruption  lohich prevailed frst,  and  which  he  established 
fully  after  his  accession.  For  Darius,  relating  his  restoration 
of  the  empire  "  as  it  was  before,"  says :  "  The  temples  ichich 
Gomates  the  3Iagian  had  destroyed,  I  rebuilt.  The  sacred 
offices  of  the  state,  both  the  religious  chants  and  the  worship 
(I  restored  to  the  people),  of  which  Gomates  the  Magian  had 
deprived  them.  ...  As  (it  was)  before,  so  I  restored  what 
(had  been)  taken  away."^'' 

But  how  came  "the  lie"  to  prevail  "both  in  Persia  and 
Media,  and  all  the  provinces,"  so  soon  after  Cambyscs  set 
out  for  Egypt?  A  very  probable  answer  is  that  Cambyses 
had  already  favored  the  Magian  corruption,  which  had  long 
been  complete  in  Media,  and  which  afterwards  prevailed  in 
Persia,  notwithstanding  the  zealous  reformation  of  Darius. 
For  Herodotus  tells  us  that  Cambyses  left  in  Persia,  as  Comp- 
troller of  his  household,  a  3Iagian  named  Patizeithes,"  who, 
struck  with  the  likeness  of  his  brother  to  the  murdered 
Smerdis,  set  him  on  the  throne,  and  began  the  revolt.''     The 

<9  The  name  siguifies  "possessing  herdLs"  from  ffao  (=:Germ.  Kuh,  Eng.  cow),  and 
mat,  "with"  or  "  possessing."  (Sir  H.  Ra-.vlinson's  "Old  Pers.  Vocab.")  The  only 
ancient  writer  who  preserves  the  Magian's  true  name  is  Trogus  Pompeins  (aj).  Jus- 
tin, i.  9),  in  the  form  ComeUs,  which/however,  he  assigns  to  the  wrong  brother.  It 
ie  important  to  observe  that  the  Magian  was  a  Persian,  not  a  Mede.  His  birthplace, 
Pissiachada,  was  near  Parga  (Fahraj),  in  the  country  between  Shiraz  and  Kerman. 
The  Magi  were  spread  over  the  whole  proper  territory  of  Media  and  Persia,  from 
Cappadocia  (Strabo,  xv.  3)  to  the  borders  of  Kerman.  (Rawlinson,  "Five  Mouar- 
chies,"  vol.  iv.  p.  399,  n.) 

50  This  is  as  open  a  proclamation  of  revolt  as  that  of  Cyrus  the  Younger  against 
his  brother  Artaxerxes. 

*i  Ibid.  par.  11,  witli  unimportant  abbreviations. 

52  Herodotus  knows  of  only  one  Median  revolt,  thntnuder  Darius  (i.  130). 

53  Ibid.  par.  14. 

5*  Ibid.  par.  14.    The  matter  is  placed  beyond  all  doubt  by  the  general  slaughte^ 
of  the  Magi,  which  ensued  on  the  death  of  the  usurper. 
66  That  is,  "  powerful  lord,"  from  jjrt^/,  "  lord  ;"  and  the  Zend  ziKit,  "  powerful." 
58  Herodotus  strengthens  the  coincidence  by  making  the  Magian's  true  name  Smer- 
dis, a  very  natural  mistake,  or  assumption,  if  he  did  not  know  of  the  name  of  Goma- 


USURPATION  OF  GOMATES.  r>Gl 

likeness  is  represented  by  Herodotus  as  not  close  enough  to 
dispense  witli  the  necessity  of  concealment ;"  and  this  is  ex- 
actly confirmed  by  the  inscription :  "  He  slew  many  people 
who  had  known  the  old  Bardes :  for  that  reason  he  slew 
them,  lest  they  should  recognize  me,  that  I  am  not  Bardes, 
the  son  of  Cyrus."^**  The  usurpation  seems  to  have  been  un- 
opposed :  "  Says  Darius  the  king — There  was  not  a  man, 
neither  Persian  nor  Median,  nor  any  one  of  our  family,  who 
w^ould  dispossess  that  Gomates  tiie  Magian  of  the  crown. 
The  state  feared  him  exceedingly."^^  "  He  did  according  to 
his  desire."^"  He  had  effectually  "dispossessed  Cambyses 
both  of  Persia  and  Media  ;"®'  and  the  king  seems,  in  despair, 
to  have  committed  suicide  in  Syria."^  The  place  where  he 
died,  Ecbatana  (Agbatana),  has  not  been  satisfactorily  iden- 
tified ;  and  perhaps  the  name  was  invented  to  suit  the  proph- 
ecy to  which  Shakspeare  gives  us  an  exact  parallel  in  the 
death  of  Henry  IV.  "  in  Jerusalem.'"^  His  reign  had  lasted 
seven  years  and  five  months  (b.c.  529-522).  During  his 
whole  reign,  as  well  as  that  of  Cyrus,  the  nations  brought 
their  several  gifts  to  the  king ;  and  fixed  tributes  were  first 
imposed  by  Darius.^* 

§  10.  The  Magian  usurper,  Gomates,  or  (as  he  is  usually 
called)  the  Pseudo-Smerdis,  kept  possession  of  the  throne 
during  the  seven  months  wanting  to  make  up  the  reign  of 
Cambyses  to  eight  years  (b.c.  522)."'  "  The  state  feared  him 
exceedingly,"  says  Darius.*"'  So  Herodotus:  "The  Magian 
now  reigned  in  security.  .  .  His  subjects,  wliile  his  reign 
lasted,  received  great  benefits  from  him,  insomuch  that,  when 
he  died,  all  the  duellers  in  Asia  mourned  his  loss  exceeding- 
ly, except  onh/  the  Persians.  For  no  sooner  did  he  come  to 
the  throne,  than  forthwith  he  sent  round  to  every  nation  un- 
der his  rule,  and  .granted  them  freedom  from  war-service  and 

tes.  The  ^ileuce  of  the  Behistim  Inscription  is  no  decisive  evidence  against  them 
beino:  two  Magian  brothers.  st  gee  Herod,  iii.  6S. 

^'*  Behistun  Inscription,  col.  i.  par.  13. 

^3  Behistun  Inscription,  col.  i.  par.  in.  •'o  Ibid.  par.  12.  "i  Ibid. 

"2  This  seems  the  only  reasonable  interpretation  of  the  concluding -Avords  of  par. 
11  of  the  inscription,  quoted  above.  The  story  of  Herodotus— that  the  button  slipped 
oft  the  king's  sword-sheath  as  he  vaulted  on  his  horse  to  march  against  the  usurper, 
and  the  sword  pierced  his  thigh  just  where  he  had  smitten  Apis— is  precisely  the 
compromise  Ave  should  expect  between  the  Egyptian  view  of  a  divine  judgment  and 
the  Persian  desire  to  soften  away  a  suicide,  which  is  carried  a  step  farther  in  the  ac- 
count of  Ctesias— that  Cambyses  wounded  himself  mortally  with  a  knife,  with  whrch 
he  was  carving  wood  for  his  amusement  ("  Pers.  Exc."  §  10).  For  the  other  embel- 
lishments of  the  story,  see  Herodotus,  iii.  61-G6. 

"'  Henry  IV.  Pt.  ii.  Act.  iv.  Sc.  4.  Stephanus  Byzantinus  identifies  Ecbatana  with 
the  region  of  Batanea  (Bashan)  ;  Pliny  makes  it  a  town  on  Mount  Carmel  ("H.  N." 
V.  19).  This  would  lie  in  the  route  of  Cambyses,  but  we  have  no  other  mention  of 
such  a  place. 

«*  Herod,  iii.  S9.  «'  Herod,  iii.  GT.  6«  Behistun  Inscription,  col.  i.  par.  13. 

24* 


5(52  CAMBYSES  AND  THE  MAGIAN  USURPATION. 

from  taxes  for  the  space  of  three  years.""  The  Persiaiii 
were  already  exempt  from  taxation;  and  though  they  at 
first  adhered  to  the  usurper,  supposing  him  to  be  the  more 
wortliy  son  of  Cyrus,  for  this  very  reason  their  indignation 
would  be  the  greater  when  the  imposture  was  discovered. 
"VYe  liave  already  referred  to  his  establishment  of  the  Magian 
system  and  priesthood,  and  his  overthrow  of  the  Zoroastrian 
temples  and  worship.  Another  interesting  example  of  his 
reversal  of  the  religious  policy  of  his  two  predecessors  is  fur- 
nished by  his  edict  to  stop  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem/" 

§  11.  The  silence  of  the  Behistun  Inscription  as  to  the  de- 
tection of  the  false  Smerdis  is  no  reason  for  rejecting  the 
main  outlines  of  the  story  as  told  by  Herodotus.  Cambyses, 
who  had  at  first  believed  himself  tricked  by  the  agent  to 
whom  he  had  committed  the  murder  of  Smerdis,  was  soon 
convinced  of  the  truth;  but  his  dying  warning  to  the  Per- 
sians, and  especially  to  the  Achaimenids,  was  set  down  to 
hatred  of  his  brother. ^^  But  the  religious  measures  of  the 
Magian  must  have  excited  disaftection  among  the  Zoroas- 
trians ;  and  his  continued  seclusion  must  have  roused  sus- 
picion. According  to  Oriental  custom,  he  had  taken  the 
harem  of  his  predecessor;'"  but  one  of  his  precautions  was 
to  keep  hi^  wives  from  associating  with  each  other.'"  This 
confirmed  the  doubts  of  one  of  the  noblest  Persians,  named 
Otanes,  who  had  been  the  first  to  suspect  the  cheat;"  and 
the  final  discovery  was  made  by  his  daughter  Phsedima,  one 
of  the  king's  wives.  She  detected  the  false  Smerdis  by  his 
want  of  ears,  for  the  Magian  had  suffered  that  mutilation  for 
some  great  crime  in  the  reign  of  Cyrus.'^ 

§  12.  The  steps  taken  upon  the  discovery  are  differently 
related.  The  Behistun  I'ecord  is  as  follows:  "Says  Darius 
the  king — There  was  not  a  man,  neither  Persian  nor  Median, 
nor  any  one  of  our  family  (^.  e.,the  Achaemenids),  who  would 
dispossess  that  Gomates  the  Magian  of  the  crown....    No 

«7  Herod,  iii.  C7. 

^•^  Ezra,  iv.  7-24.  The  order  of  the  narrative  in  Ezra  seems  to  require  the  identifl~ 
cation  of  Gomates  with  "Artaxerxes,"  a  title  which  he  may  very  probably  have  as- 
sumed, as  it  sim))ly  means  "king"  with  the  intensive  i)reflx  "Arta."  The  "Ahasue- 
rus"  of  Ezra  iv.  6  is  evidently  Cambyses,  who  seems  to  have  inclined  to  a  policy  of 
aispicion  towards  the  Jews,  perhaps  under  Magian  influence.  ^^  Herod,  i.  66. 

'0  As  Absalom  did  :  2  Sam.  xvi.  20-22.  ''^  Herod,  i.  68. 

'2  In  chap.  70,  Darius  is  made  to  say  that  he  thought  he  alone  knew  of  the  impos 
turo,  which  agrees  better  with  the  inscription. 

'3  See  Herod.  I.  c.  and  chap.  (59.  The  cutting  off  the  ears  and  nose  was  no  ui.usnal 
punishment  in  Persia.  The  story  of  Zopyrus  (iii.  154  scq.),  w'hether  credible  or  not 
in  itself,  is  founded  on  the  custom  ;  aiid  Darius  records  his  infliction  of  this  punish- 
ment on  the  rebels  Phraortes  and  Sitrantachmes  (Behistun  Inscription,  col.  ii.  pars. 
13,  14).  In  modern  times  it  has  been  practised  by  the  Sepoys  in  the  mutiny  of  1857, 
as  well  as  by  Laud  and  the  Star  Chamber, 


8TOHY  OF  THE  SEVEN  CONSPIRATORS.  r,G3 

one  clared  to  say  any  thing-  concerning  Gomates  the  Mac^nan 
until  I  arrived.  Then  I  prayed  to  Ornuizd  :  Orinazd  brouoht 
help  to  me.  On  the  tenth  day  of  the  month  Bagayadfsh, 
then  it  was.tclth  imj  faithful  men,\  slew  that  Gomates  the 
Magian,  and  those  who  Avere  his  chief  followers.  The  fort 
named  Sictachotes,  in  the  district  of  Media  called  Nisa^a, 
there  I  slew  him.''  I  dispossessed  him  of  the  empire.  By 
the  grace  of  Ormazd  I  became  king :  Ormazd  granted  me  the 
sceptre.'"^ 

The  important  part  taken  by  these  "  faithful  men  "  is  rec- 
ognized by  a  special  paragraph  in  the  concluding  part  of  the 
inscription  :  "  Says  Darius  the  king— These  are  the  men  who 
alone  were  there,  when  I  slew  Gomates  the  Magian,  who 
was  called  Bardes;"  and  he  adds  the  names  of  six,  all  Per- 
sians —  Vidcfrana,  Utana,  Gaubaruva,  Vidarna,  Bagahahh- 
sha,  Ardumcmishf''  corresponding  precisely,  Avith  one  ex- 
ception, to  the  names  of  the  six  conspirators  as  given  by 
Herodotus  (Darius  himself  being  the  ^Q\e\\ih)—Intciphemes, 
(Hams,  Gohryas,  Hydarnes,  Megahyzus  and  (not  Ardomanel 
but)  Aspathines:''  The  slight  discrepancy,  however,  is  one 
of  those  which  rather  confirm  than  invalidate  testimony,  by 
showing  its  independence;  and  the  mistake  is  easily  ac- 
counted for,  since  Aspathines  actually  appears  as  the  quiver- 
bearer  of  Darius  in  the  inscription  "on  that  king's  tomb  at 
Kaksh-i-Riistam.  ''^ 

§  13.  In  the  face  of  so  striking  an  agreement,  there  is  little 
need  to  discuss  the  minor  question,  whether  the  conspiracy 
was  set  on  foot  by  Darius,  and  whether  his  claim  to  the 
crown  was  at  once  admitted.  Herodotus  describes  the  plot 
as  concocted  by  Otanes ;  but  he  agrees  with  the  inscription, 
that  nothmg  was  actually  done  till  Darius  arrived  at  Susa,'' 
whither  he  is  made  to  say  that  he  had  hastened,  with  the  in- 
tent of  killing  the  Magian;  and  even  then  Darius  forces  the 
other  conspirators  into  action  against  their  will.'"     Heeren 

^4  Herodotus  places  this  event  at  Susa. 

"  Behistun  luscriplioii,  col.  i.  par.  13. 

'«  Behistuu  luscriptiou,  col.  iv.  pair.  IS. 

^;  The  identity  of  Otmus  and  Gohryas  with  Utana  and  Gaxiharma  is  obvions:  that 
of  J/e5rff&!/2«s  with  Brtr/obwfc/is/ta  has  been  explained  already  (chap.  XXV  §1  note)-  and 
on  the  same  principle  of  nasalization,  Vidafnma  becomes  Intaphernes  (just  as  Kabxr- 
jiya  becomes  Cambijses) ;  but  Hydarne.^  is  formed  from  Vidarna,  like  Hystaspes  Ov)m 
lishtasp.  We  have  omitted  the  fathers'  names  for  brevity,  but  one  requires  notice  = 
t.obryas  was  the  son  of  Mardonius  (Mardnmya),  and  the  father  of  the  celebrated  Mar- 
douius.  It  IS  remarkable  that  Intajyhernes,  who  stands  first  in  the  inscription  ap 
pears  in  ^schylus  (who  calls  h\m  Artajjhrmes)  n^  the  actual  slayer  of  the  Mr-i.rn 
and  he  seems  even  to  be  regarded  as  king  before  Darius  (^sch  "Per^  "  781-3)  ^Thc 
story  of  his  execution  by  Darius  looks  very  much  like  the  removal  of  a  dan-erous 
Tival,  wbo  had  presumed  upon  his  indispensable  services.     (Herod  iii  118)      "^ 

"  Ctesias  has  only  one  name  right— Hydaines— besides  Darius  himself. ' 

"Herod,  iii.  70.  «oibu|.c.7i. 


564  CAMBY8ES  AND  THE  MAGIAN  USURPATION. 

and  Niebuhr  suppose,  on  good  grounds,  that  the  conspirators  " 
were  the  heads  of  the  seven  Persian  clans,  or  families,  and 
that  they  met  in  secret  conclave  to  take  measures  for  the 
deliverance  of  Persia.  In  such  a  body  there  could  be  no 
question  of  the  right  of  Darius,  now  that  the  male  line  of 
Cyrus  was  extinct  ;^^  and  the  other  six  would  naturally  rank 
as  "his  faithful  men,"  or  dutiful  confederates.  The  sign 
which,  according  to  Herodotus,  determined  the  choice,  may 
easily  have  been  contrived  so  as  to  gjive  the  sanction  of  an 

•  •  •       1  82 

omen  to  an  existmg  right. 

There  is  no  improbability  in  the  statement  that  the  six, 
while  they  had  yet  the  power  to  do  so,  exacted  a  price  for 
the  recognition  of  tlieir  leader's  claim.  Whether  as  a  new 
grant,  or  as  a  confirmation  of  old  rights,  they  obtained  the 
following  privileges :  It  was  to  be  free  to  each,  whenever 
he  pleased,  to  enter  the  palace  unannounced,  unless  the 
king  were  in  the  company  of  one  of  his  wives  ;  and  the 
king  was  to  be  bound  to  marry  into  no  family  excepting 
those  of  the  conspirators.  Tiie  still  higher  privileges  said 
to  have  been  obtained  by  Otanes,  as  the  price  of  abstaining 
from  the  competition — the  freedom  of  his  race  forever,  and 
the  annual  present  of  a  Median  robe  and  other  gifts  of  hon- 
or (the  Kaftan) — may  have  been  granted  to  him  as  an 
Achaemenid.'^ 

§  14.  It  must  be  assumed  that  all  this  was  settled  before 
the  attack  was  made,  and  not,  as  Herodotus  represents,  after 
the  five  days  of  confusion  which  followed  its  success.  "It 
w^ould  have  been  madness  to  allow  an  interval  of  anarchy  ;"^* 
and  such  an  interval  seems  to  be  imagined  by  Herodotus 
only  to  introduce  that  set  debate  among  the  chieftains,  which 
has  long  been  recognized  as  a  j^urely  Greek  conception — one 
of  those  essays  in  which  the  ancient  historians  are  wont  to 
express  their  own  ideas,  or  rather,  perhaps,  those  agitated 
among  their  countiymen,  through  the  ])ersons  of  the  narra- 
tive. We  are  much  mistaken  if  there  be  not  a  dash  of  sly 
humor  in  the  sentence  —  "At  this  meeting  speeches  were 
made,  to  which  many  of  the  Greeks  give  no  credence,  hut 

**i  Ilystaspes  ( Vishtaspa,  i.e.,  "  the  possessor  of  horses  ")  was  grandson,  in  the  male 
line,  of  Ariaramnes,  who  was  the  second  son  of  Teispes,  and  younger  brother  of 
Cambyses,  the  great-grandfather  of  Cyrus.  Otanes  was  also  an  Achtemenid,  through 
Atossa,  the  daughter  of  Teispes,  a  descent  which  could  not  of  course  be  brought  into 
competition  with  that  of  Darius.  The  story  of  Cyrus's  dream  seems  to  recognize  the 
position  of  Darius  as  next  heir  to  the  crown  after  the  reigning  family  (Herod,  i.  209). 
We  may  .suppose  that  Hystaspes,  like  Cambyses  in  the  revolt  from  Astyages,  de- 
volved his  claim  upon  his  fon.  At  all  events,  he  was  still  alive  during  the  reign  of 
Darins,  and  commanded  in  the  war  with  the  rebel  Phraortes  (Behistun  Inscription, 
col.  ii.  par.  IC  ;  col.  iii.  par.  1),  Ctesias  has  a  curious  story  about  tbo  manner  of  his 
death.     ("Per.x.  Exc."  5  15.) 

62  Herod.  i:i.  SI,  fin.  ST.  "3  Herod,  iii.  S3,  84.  ^^  Ra'vli:ir.on. 


HALL  OF  A  HUNDRED  COLUMNS. 


)G5 


they  were  made  nevertheless'"^''— \X\':i\.  is,  they  ought  to  have 
been  made.  We  know  not  what  credit  to  attach  to  the 
story  tliat  Prexaspes  now  atoned  for  the  crime  of  having 
been  the  agent  in  the  murder  of  Smerdis,  by  sacrificing  his 
life  in  proclaiming  tlie  truth  to  the  people,  and  so  preparing 
them  for  what  followed.'' 

§  15.  In  the  execution  of  the  plot,  at  all  events,  Daruis 
took  the  lead.  He  gained  access  to  the  palace  (or  rather,  as 
appears  from  the  inscription,  to  the  fort  in  Media,  where  the 


to  ILill  ol  a  Huiid'ed  Culuiniis.     ^Per.vt'iJ..lis;.) 


Magian  had  shut  himself  up)  as  the  bearer  of  a  dispatch 
from  his  father  Hystaspes,  who  was  the  governor  of  Persia. 
The  six  "  faithful  men  "  rushed  in  with  him,  and  two  of  them 
were  wounded  in  the  desperate  conflict  which  ensued.     Tiie 

s5  Herod,  iii.  SO  (comp.  vi.  43,  where  we  seem  to  detect  the  like  humor).  Let  any 
cue  read  the  speeches  in  Herodotus— (and,  once  for  all,  it  is  the  object  of  our  manual 
to  encourage,  not  to  supersede,  such  readini^)-and  judge  for  himself.  Only  imagine 
a  Persian  noble  gravely  arguing— and  Herodotus  gravely  writing  down  his  argu- 
ment—for the  Greek  \aovoy.Ui  (c.  SO)  1  Surely  the  soul  of  Otanes  must,  in  that  case, 
have  passed  by  metempsychosis  into  the  person  of  the  great  living  historian  of 
Cireece  ! 

f**  Herod,  iii.  T.^>.  Ctesias  tells  the  story,  with  different  details,  of  a  certain  Ixabates, 
a  eunuch  who  hi-.d  been  in  the  confidence  of  Cambyses,  but  had  not  been  the  actual 
slayer  of  Smerdis. 


56G  CAMBYSES  AND  THE  MAGI  AN  USURPATION. 

Mnpjiaii  usurper  was  slain  by  the  hand  of  Darius,  liis  brother 
having  been  killed  before  him  ;  and  the  victors  rushed  out  to 
show  the  heads  of  the  two  impostors  to  the  people.  The  de- 
ception was  forthwith  avenged  by  a  general  massacre  of  the 
Magians,  w^hich  only  ended  with  the  fall  of  night ;  and  the 
event  was  commemorated  by  the  great  festival  called  Mago- 
phonia^  which  the  Persians  kept  as  the  strictest  in  all  the 
year,  when  no  Magian  might  stir  abroad,  during  the  whole 
day  of  the  feast,  on  pain  of  death." 

"  Here  for  once  "  (observes  Kawlinson)  "  Ctesias  and  our 
author  are  of  accord.  Both  speak  of  the  festival  as  continu- 
ing in  their  own  day.  It  is  certainly  strange  that,  after  the 
Magian  religion  was  combined  with  the  Persian,  and  while 
the  Magi  constituted  the  priest-caste  of  the  Persian  nation, 
this  custom  should  have  been  maintained.  If,  how^ever,  we 
remember  that  the  reign  of  the  Pseudo-Smerdis  was  not 
only  the  triumph  of  a  religion,  but  also  the  domination  for 
a  time  of  the  priests  over  the  warriors,  w^e  may  conceive  the 
possibility  of  such  a  custom  being  still  retained.  It  would 
be  a  perpetual  warning  to  the  priests  against  going  beyond 
the  line  of  their  own  functions,  and  trenching  on  the  civil 
power."  The  massacre  of  the  Magians  both  illustrates  and 
is  illustrated  by  that  of  the  Jews  planned  by  Haman,  and 
that  executed  by  the  Jews  upon  their  assailants  (Esther,  cc. 
iiL,  viii.,  ix.). 

e»  Herod,  iii.  79 ;  Ctes.  "  Pers.  Kzc."  §  15;, 


Tomb  of  Darius. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


CLIMAX   OF  THE    PERSIAN    EMPIRE. — DARIUS,  THE   SON  OP  HYS- 
TASPES. B.C.   521-486. 

§  1.  Reign  of  Dabius  I.,  son  of  Hystaspes.  His  titles  on  his  tomb.  His  Achaemenid 
descent.  His  marriages.  He  is  the  champion  of  the  legitimate  house,  and  of  the 
Zoroastrian  religion.  §  2.  Annals  of  the  first  period  of  his  reign,  in  the  Behistuu 
Inscription.  5  3.  Summary  of  the  rebellions  during  his  first  five  years.  Provinces 
of  the  empire  at  his  accession.  §  4.  Probable  religious  element'in  the  rebellions. 
§  5.  Revolts  of  Susiana  and  Babylonia.  Siege  and  capture  of  Babylon.  Its  second 
revolt  and  severe  punishment.  §  G.  General  rebellion  of  the  central  and  eastern 
provinces.  Second  revolt  of  Susiana.  Combined  revolt  of  Media,  Armenia,  and 
Assyria.  The  pretender  Phraortes  in  Media.  Campaigns  in  Armenia.  §  7.  Da- 
rius defeats  Phraortes  and  recovers  Media.  Revolt  of  Sagartia  put  down.  Hys- 
taspes recovers  Parthia  and  Hyrcania.  Margiana  and  Bactria  quieted.  §  S.  Re- 
volt of  Persia  under  a  second  pseudo-Smerdis— involving  that  of  Arachotia— put 
down  and  punished.  §  9.  New  revolts  quelled  in  Babylonia,  Susiana,  and  Sacia. 
§  10.  Punishment  of  the  satraps  of  Lydia  and  Egypt.  §  11.  New  conquests  con- 
templated. Atossa  andDemocedes.  Spies  sent  to  Greece.  §  12.  Conquest  of  the 
Punjab.  Voyage  of  Scylax  down  the  Indus.  Resources  of  India.  §  13.  The 
Scythian  expedition  of  Darias.  §  14.  Thrace  and  Macedonia  conquered  by  Mega- 
bazus.  §  15.  The  Ionian  revolt  and  the  invasion  of  Greece.  Battle  of  Marathon. 
Epoch  in  history  formed  by  the  Greek  wars.  §  10.  Revolt  of  Egypt.  Death  of 
Darius. 

§  1.  Darius  I.,'  the  son  of  Hystaspes,  is  rightly  regarded 

^  The  name,  in  old  Persian  Dar!)avu.sh  (closely  represented  in  the  Old  Testament 
by  Daryavesh),  comes  probably  from  the  root  dar,  "  to  hold,"  wliich  may  answer  to 


508  CLIMAX  OF  THE  PEHSIAN  EMPIRE. 

as  the  second  founder  of  the  Persian  empire.  His  reign  is 
dated  from  the  first  day  of  the  year  answering  to  B.C.  521  ; 
and  it  lasted  thirty-six  years,  to  Dec.  23,  b.c.  486.  He  was 
scarcely  twenty  years  of  age  when  Cyrus,  in  a  dream,  is  said 
to  have  seen  him,  with  wings  upon  his  shoulders,  overshad- 
ovvdng  Asia  with  the  one  wing,  and  Europe  with  the  other 
(b.c.  530).^  He  would,  therefore,  be  in  his  twenty-eighth  year 
at  his  accession,  and  in  his  sixty-fourth  when  he  died.  His 
descent  has  already  been  described.  In  the  only  example  of 
an  epitaph  inscribed  by  a  Persian  king  upon  his  own  tomb, 
he  calls  himself:  "Darius,  the  Great  King,  the  King  of 
kings;  the  King  of  ail  inhabited  countries;  the  King  of  this 
great  earth,  far  and  near;  the  son  of  Hystaspes,  an  Achse- 
menian  ;  a  Persian,  the  son  of  a  Persian  ;  an  Aryan,  of  Aryan 
descent.^ 

Upon  his  accession,  he  connected  himself  with  the  elder 
branch  of  the  Achsemenids  by  marrying  Atossa  and  Artys- 
tone,  the  two  surviving  daughters  of  Cyrus:  the  former 
came  to  him  with  the  harem  of  Gomates ;  the  latter  was 
still  a  virgin.  He  also  married  Parmys,  the  daughter  of 
Smerdis,  son  of  Cyrus,  and  connected  himself  with  the  third 
Achaemenid  branch  by  marrying  the  daughter  of  Otanes.* 

Throughout  the  Behistun  Inscription  Darius  represents 
himself  as  the  hereditary  champion  of  the  Achiemenids, 
against  Gomates  and  all  other  rebels  :  "  The  empire,  of  which 
Gomates  the  Magian  dispossessed  Cambyses — that  empire, 
from  the  olden  time,  had  been  in  our  family.''''^  "As  it  was 
before,  so  I  arranged  it,  by  the  grace  of  Ormazd,  so  that 
Gomates  the  Magian  should  not  suxjersede  our  famihjP^  It 
is  "  by  the  grace  of  Ormazd  "  that  he  does  every  thing.  His 
epitaph  begins  with  this  sentence :  "  The  great  god  Ormazd, 
he  gave  this  earth,  he  gave  that  heaven,  he  gave  life  to  man- 
kind ;  he  made  Darius  king,  as  well  the  king  of  the  people 

Herodotus's  interpretation  (vi.  OS,  tpfe/ji?,  "  tlie  restrainer,"  fr.  eVp^u,  rather  than 
"  the  doer,"  fr.  rt.  f  p7)-    Other  Greek  writers  interpret  it  (ppovi^xo's  and  noXefuKo^. 

2  Herod,  i,  209.  C!e^jias  makes  Darius  live  seventy-two  years  and  reign  thirty-one 
("Pers.Exc."§  19). 

3  Naksh-i-Rustam  Inscription,  par.  2.  The  transhition  of  this  inscription,  hy  Sir 
Henry  Eawlinson,  will  be  fonnd  in  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  Appendix  to  book  vii., 
note  A.  For  a  full  description  of  the  tomb  of  Darius,  and  of  the  others  at  Xaksh-i- 
Rustam,  between  Persepolis  and  Pasargadse,  as  well  as  of  the  Persian  royal  tombs  in 
general,  see  Rawlinson's  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  i v.  pp.  ISS,  290,  etc.  We  are  told  by 
Ctesias  that  Darius  constructed  his  own  sepulchre  while  his  father  and  mother  were 
still  living  (Ctes.  "Pers.  Exc."  §  15). 

''-  He  had  previously  married  a  daughter  of  Gobryas  (vii.  2) ;  and  he  also  married 
Phratagune,  the  daughter  of  his  brother  Artames. 

*>  Behistun  Inscription,  col.  i.  par.  12. 

«  Ibid.  col.  i.  par.  14.  We  hardly  need  contrast  this  with  the  Herodotean  jjictiire  of 
the  conspirators  first  deciding  on  a  monarchy,  and  then  competing  for  the  crown  by 
an  appeal  to  an  omen. 


DARIUS  AND  THE  BEHISTUN  INSCRIPTION.  5G9 

as  the  lawgiver  of  the  people  f  and  in  the  same  spirit  it 
closes:  "That  which  has  been  done,  all  of  it  I  have  accom- 
plished by  the  grace  of  Ormazd.  Oi-mazd  brought  help  to  rae, 
so  that  I  accomplished  the  work.  May  Ormazd  protect  from 
injury  me  and  my  house,  and  this  province !  That  I  commit 
to  Ormazd — that  may  Ormazd  accomplish  for  me  !  O  peo- 
ple !  the  law  of  Ormazd  —  that  having  returned  to  you,  let 
it  not  perish.     Beware  lest  ye  abandon  the  true  doctrine  !"** 

§  2.  This  restoration  of  the  Zoroastrian  worship,  and  the 
•putting  down  of  several  rebellions,  are  the  matters  recorded 
in  the  great  trilingual  inscription  at  Behistun,  which  Sir 
Henry  Rawlinson  dates,  from  internal  evidence,  in  the  sixth 
year  of  Darius  (b.c.  516).  The  king  expressly  says  that 
much  had  been  done  by  him  besides  that  was  not  recorded 
in  this  tablet;^  and  what  he  has  recorded  he  himself  sums 
lip,  in  the  conquest  and  capture  of  nine  "kings,"  leaders  of 
rebellions,  and  the  winning  of  nineteen  battles.'"  His  treat- 
ment of  the  defeated  kings  sternly  illustrates  the  profession 
— "He  who  has  labored  ibr  my  family,  him  well  cherished  I 
have  cherished ;  he  who  has  been  hostile  to  me,  him  well  de- 
stroyed I  have  destroyed."^'  All  the  rebel  kings,  except  one 
who  was  killed  by  his  own  followers,  were  put  to  death 
when  captured,  three  at  least  by  crucifixion  ;  and  two  of 
these  were  first  exposed  at  the  gates  of  the  king's  palace, 
after  their  ears  and  noses  had  been  cut  off. 

§  3.  A  comparison  of  the  summary  of  these  revolts  with 
the  list  of  provinces  over  wdiich  Darius  became  king  shows 
the  formidable  extent  of  the  spirit  of  disaffection.  Such  a 
result  always  followed  a  change  of  government  in  the  loose- 
ly-organized Oriental  empires,  especially  in  the  form  of  at- 
tempts to  revive  the  native  dynasties,  as  was  now  the  case  in 
Babylonia,  Media,  Armenia,  and  other  provinces ;  and  even 

"  Naksh-i-Eustam  Inscriptiou,  par.  1.  s  ii^jd^  paj._  5^  c_ 

»  Ibid.  col.  iv.  par.  8.  Probably  the  most  important  of  the  acts  omitted  is  the  edict 
issued  in  his  s ecoud  year  (it.c.  520)  for  the  resumption  of  the  building  of  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem  (Ezra  iv.  5,  2-1 ;  v. ;  vi.),  which  the  Magian  had  interrupted.  Besides  its 
sound  policy,  this  act  may  be  viewed  as  a  part  of  the  restoration  of  the  religious  in- 
stitutions annulled  by  the  usurper  ;  and  the  conduct  both  of  Cyrus  and  Darius  seems 
to  show  the  sympathy  of  those  zealous  Zoroastrians  for  the  pure  monotheism  of  the 
Jews. 

1"  Ibid.  par.  2.  All  the  battles  recorded  are,  of  course,  victories,  as  in  some  national 
monuments  of  later  days.  All  the  rebel  leaders  are  "kings,"  a  dignity  which  en- 
hances the  glory  of  their  defeat  and  capture :  so  that  we  must  be  cautious  of  infer, 
ring  the  complete  establishment  of  their  royal  authority  in  the  rebellious  provinces. 
The  record  carefully  distinguishes  between  the  campaigns  conducted  by  Darius  in 
person  and  those  committed  to  his  generals,  who  receive  due  honor  by  the  mention 
of  their  names.  But,  at  the  same  time,  all  their  acts  are  ascribed  to  Darius.  As  one 
example  out  of  many:  when  the  satrap  Vibanus  defeats  the  Arachosian  rebel,  we 
read,  "There  he  took  him,  etc.  Then  the  province  submitted  to  vie.  This  is  what 
was  done  by  me  in  Arachotia." 

11  Ibid.  par.  3.    Observe  the  intensive  repetition,  as  in  Hebrew. 


570  CLIMAX  OF   rUE  PERSIAN  EMPIEE. 

Persia  was  ready  to  rise  again  at  the  name  of  a  son  of  Cy- 
rus. The  empire  of  whicli  Darius  became  king  embraced, 
as  he  says,  the  following  provinces:  " Persia,  Susiana,  Baby- 
lonia, Assyria,  Arabia,'^  Egypt;  those  which  are  of  the  sea 
(the  islands),  Saparda,"  lo^iia.  Media,  Armenia,  Cappadocia, 
Parthia,  Zarangia,  Aria,  Chorasmia,  Bactria,  Sogdiana,  Gan- 
daria,  the  Sacae,  Sattagydia,  Arachotia,  and  JViecia:  in  all 
twenty-three  provinces.'"* 

§  4.  Of  these,  he  had  to  quell  revolts,  during  his  first  six 
years,  in  Persia,  Susiana,  Babylonia,  Assyria,  Media,  Arme- 
nia, Parthia,  Sagartia,  Arachotia,  and  Sacia  (besides  Margi- 
ana,  which  seems  to  be  reckoned  as  belonging  to  Bactria). 
All  the  central  pi-ovinces  constituting  the  original  empire, 
from  the  mountains  of  Armenia  to  the  head  of  the  Persian 
Gulf,  as  well  as  several  of  those  of  the  Iranian  table-land, 
had  to  be  reconquered.  The  only  important  provinces 
wanting  to  complete  the  list  are  Lydia  and  Egypt;  and 
even  in  them,  as  we  learn  from  Herodotus,  the  satraps  seized 
the  opportunity  of  these  troubles  to  assume  an  insolent 
air  of  independence,  which  only  stopped  short  of  rebellion 
through  the  swift  vengeance  taken  on  them  by  Darius," 
The  king's  constant  reiteration  of  what  he  had  done  to  sup- 
press "  lying,"  and  his  adjuration  of  his  successors  to  destroy 
it  everywhere,  indicate  that  most  of  these  rebellions  werje  con- 
nected with  religion.  There  can,  especially,  be  little  doubt 
that  Magism  wa"s  at  the  bottom  of  the  great  Median  revolt. 

§  5.  The  first  of  the  insurrections,  however,  in  Susiana  and 
Babylonia,  were  simply  movements  for  national  independ- 
ence, taking  advantage  of  the  dynastic  troubles  in  Persia. 
"During  all  the  time  that  the  Magus  was  king,  and  while  the 
seven  were  conspiring,  the  Babylonians  had  profited  by  the 
troubles,  and  had  made  themselves  ready  against  a  siege. "'^ 

12  Herodotus  expressly  excepts  Arabia,  which  he  says  had  a  friendly  league  with 
Persia  (iii.  88). 

1!*  Lydia  seems  to  be  included  under  this  name. 

14  Behistun  Inscription,  col.  i.  par.  0.  It  is  worth  while  to  compare  this  with  the 
final  list,  in  the  Kaksh-i-Riistavi  epitaph,  of  the  countries  "  which  I  have  acquired  he- 
sides  Persia  :  Media,  Susiana,  Parthia,  Aria,  Bactria,  Sogdiana,  Chorasmia,  Zarangia, 
Arachotia,  Sattagydia,  Gandaria,  India,  the  Sacae  Amyrgii,  the  Sacan  bowmen.  Baby- 
lonia, Assyria,  Arabia,  Egypt,  Armenia,  Saparda,  Ionia,  the  Sacee  beyond  the  sea  (?.  e., 
Scythians  north  of  the  Euxine),  the  lonians  u-hn  ivear  helmets  (European  Greeks),  the 
Budians,  the  Cossceaiis,  the  :Masians,  and  the  Characeni  (?)."  The  additions  to  the 
fonner  list  are  denoted  by  italics. 

i»  Herod,  iii.  126 ;  iv.  ICG.  Herodotus  seems  too  much  occupied  with  his  main  sub- 
ject (the  Persian  invasion  of  Greece)  to  notice  the  rebellions  recorded  in  the  inscrip- 
tion, except  the  great  Median  revolt,  and  (apparently  the  two  confused  togeUier)  of 
Babylonia,  which  belong  naturally  to  his  account  of  those  countries.  From  the  ac- 
cession of  Darius  he  passes  on  at  once  to  the  constitution  of  the  satrapies  (iii.  81)); 
and  he  only  glances  incidentally  at  "the  troubles  of  the  season"  (iii.  126). 

16  Herod,  iii.  150.  Besides  its  romantic  details  (such  as  the  self-mutilation  of  Zo- 
pyrus,  in  order  to  execute  his  plot  for  betraying  the  city),  there  are  difficulties  iu 


REVOLTS  OF  SUSIANA  AND  BABYLONIA.  571 

In  Siisiaiia  Atriiies  declared  himself  king,  calling  himself 
Tmants^  that  is,  the  old  royal  name,  UitDuan  ;  Avhile  in  Bab- 
ylonia a  certain  Nidintabelns  assumed  the  crown,  as  being 
iN^ebuchadnezzar  [JSJ'abukudrachara)^  son  of  Nabonidus ;  and 
the  whole  state  went  over  to  him.  Atrines  was  taken  pris- 
oner by  a  force  sent  against  liim,  and  was  put  to  death  by 
Darius.  The  king  marched  in  person  against  the  Babyloni- 
ans, who  held  the  Tigris  with  an  army  and  vessels,  Darius 
forced  the  passage,'^  and  gained  a  second  battle,  on  his  march 
towards  Babylon,  at  Zazana,  on  the  Euphrates.'* 

In  his  brief  official  style,  Darius  adds  that  he  pursued  the 

f)retender,  who  had  fled  with  his  faithful  horsemen  to  Baby- 
on,  took  the  city,  and  slew  Nidintabelus  there.^"  But  it 
appears  from  Herodotus  that  the  Babylonians  made  a  long 
and  desperate  resistance.  They  had  reduced  the  mouths  to 
be  fed  by  strangling  all  the  females,  except  their  mothers, 
and  one  other  woman  for  each  household ;  and  these  M'ere 
employed  in  making  bread.  Contemptuously  confident,  as 
in  the  time  of  Cyrus,  in  the  strength  of  their  defenses,  they 
were  also  watchful  enough  to  baftle  the  means  by  which  the 
city  had  then  been  taken ;  and  for  twenty  months^"  they 
held  out  against  the  whole  jjower  of  the  empire,  which  Darius 
had  drawn  together  for  the  siege.^'  Under  the  story  of  the 
stratagem  of  Zopyrus  there  may  perhaps  lurk  the  fact  of  a 
treacherous  admission  of  the  Persian  army.  The  capture 
of  the  city  was  followed  by  that  of  the  Temple  of  Belus, 
W' here  some  of  the  insurgents  had  found  refuge  for  a  time." 
The  story  of  the  vengeance  taken  by  Darius  seems  better 

identifyiug  the  story  of  Herodotus  Avith  either  of  the  two  revolts  of  the  inscription. 
Ctesias  ascribes  the  siege  to  Xerxes,  and  tells  the  story  of  Zopyrus  difterently  ("Pers. 
Exc."  §  22).  Herodotus  also  seems  to  allude  to  a  capture  of  Babylon  (or  at  all  events 
a  hostile  visit)  by  Xerxes  (i.  1S3). 

1^  Behistun  luscription,  col.  i.  par.  lG-19. 

*«  December,  probably,  of  b.c.  520.  The  events  are  dated  by  the  Persian  months, 
but  the  years  are  not  given.  Those  conversant  with  the  Persian  calendar,  however, 
have  been  able,  by  following  the  order  of  the  mouths,  to  make  out  the  years  with 
fiiir  probability.  This  is,  iu  fact,  the  internal  evidence  which  determines  the  period 
embraced  by  the  inscription.  '*•  Ibid.  col.  ii.  par.  1. 

20  Probably  Jan.  u.o.  519,  to  Sept.  ij.o.  51S. 

21  Herod,  iii.  151, 15S.  This  siege  appears  to  be  that  mentioned  first  in  the  inscrip' 
tion,  from  the  circumstance  that  it  was  conducted  by  Darius  in  person.  Read  chap- 
ters 151-lGO  for  the  romantic  but  very  improbable  story  of  the  stratagem  by  which 
Zopyrus  gained  the  contideuce  of  the  Babylonians  in  ord«-  to  betray  the  city,  of 
which  we  have  the  counterpart  in  Roman  history  (Liv.  i.  54  ;  Ovid.  Fast.  ii.  C91,  etc.), 
and  the  origin  of  which  is  traced  by  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  to  a  certain  standard  Ori- 
ental tale,  applied,  in  different  ages,  by  the  Persian  bards  and  traditiouists  to  Firnz 
and  the  Hiyathelah,  by  Abu  Rihau  to  Kanishka  and  the  Indians,  and  by  the  historians 
of  Cashmere  to  their  famous  king,  Lalitadilya  (note  to  Behistun  Inscription,  p.  xvi. ; 
Rawlinson's  Herod.,  note  ad  loc).  Zopyrus  was  for  many  years  satrap  of  Babylonia, 
as  the  reward  (according  to  Herodotus)  of  his  self-devotion,  which  Ctesias  ascribes 
to  his  son  Megabyzus,  who  was  one  of  Xerxes's  six  great  generals  (Herod,  vii.  82), 
and  afterwards  commanded  the  Persians  in  Egypt  (iii.  IGO). 

*2  Comp.  Herod,  iii.  15S  with  i.  1S3. 


572  CLIMAX  OF  THE  PERSIAN  EMPIRE. 

suited  to  the  repression  of  the  second  revolt  of  Babylon, 
some  three  years  later,  when  a  certain  Aracus,  an  Armenian 
resident  of  Babylonia,  again  personated  Nebuchadnezzar, 
son  of  Nabonidus,  and  was  defeated  and  taken  by  the  gen- 
eral Intaphres.  Darius  would  naturally  be  the  more  in- 
censed at  the  opportunity  taken  for  this  second  revolt,  when 
he  was  occupied  with  the  formidable  rebellions  of  Media 
and  Persia.^'  On  the  first  occasion  he  only  mentions  the 
execution  of  the  rebel  king  Nidintabelus ;"  but  on  the  sec- 
ond the  record  — "I  gave  orders  that  they  should  crucify 
both  Aracus  and  the  chief  men  who  were  with  him""— 
agrees  Avith  the  account  of  Herodotus,  that  nearly  3000  of 
the  leading  citizens  were  selected  for  crucifixion/"  The 
statement  that  Darius  destroyed  the  wall  and  tore  dowm 
the  gates,  which  had  not  been  done  by  Cyrus,  is  probably 
to  be  accepted  in  a  modified  sense ;  for  parts  of  the  enor- 
mous walls  were  standing  long  after. ^^ 

§  6.  The  occupation  of  Darius  in  Babylonia  with  this  long 
and  critical  war  was  seized  as  the  opportunity  for  a  gen- 
eral revolt  of  the  central,  northern,  and  eastern  provinces. 
"  While  I  Avas  at  Babylon,  these  are  the  countries  which  re- 
volted a^rainst  me  :  Persia,  Susiana,  Media,  Assyria,  Armenia, 
Parthia,^Margiana,  Sattagydia,  Sacia.'"'  Susiana,  wdiose  in- 
domitable spirit  of  independence  we  have  seen  under  the 
Assyrian  empire,  rose  under  a  Persian  named  Martes  (J/c«'- 
tiya),  who  gave  himself  out  as  Imanes  (Jma?mA),"of  the  old 
royal  line  of  Susiana.  But  Darius  no  sooner  turned  towards 
Susiana  than  the  people  themselves  put  the  pretender  to 
death. 

The  most  serious  of  all  these  troubles  was  the  revolt — ap- 
parently in  concert — of  Media,  Assyria,  and  Armenia,  draw- 
ing after  them  some  of  the  eastern  Iranian  provinces.  The 
insurrection  of  the  Medes  w^as  a  movement  to  recover  their 
independence  and  supremacy  under  Phraortes  (Fravartish)^ 
who^assumed  the  name  of  "Xathrites  (K/ishathrita)'"  of  the 
race  of  Cyaxares :"  and  Armenia,  with  Assyria  as  a  helper, 

23  Behistuu  Inscription,  col.  iii.  par.  13.  ^4  ibid.  col.  ii.  par.  1. 

25  Ibid.  col.  iii.  par.  14,  in  the  Scythic  version.  ^6  Herod.  Iii.  159. 

^■^  Herod,  iii.  159.     See  Rawlinson's  note. 

2«  Behistun  Inscription,  col.  ii.  par.  2.  This  is  a  summarij,  not  necessarily  implying 
that  all  these  provinces  rose  at  once,  nor  that  they  are  named  in  the  order  of  their 
rising.  It  should  be  observed,  too,  in  reading  the  inscription,  that  it  is  by  no  means 
in  exact  chronological  order.  Consecutive  paragraphs  often  refer  to  simultaneous 
events;  and  a  later  paragraph  sometimes  takes  up  events  antecedent  to  those  in 
former  paragraphs. 

29  Evidently  the  old  royal  name  Umman,wh\ch  often  occurs  in  the  Assyrian  rec- 
ords. .         , 

30  Probably  meaning  "ouiperor,  from  KImhtram,  "empire."  Sir  H.  Rawlmaous 
"Vocab." 


DARIUS  DEFEATS  PIIRAORTES.  573 

seems  to  have  struck  for  its  old  independent  alliance  with 
Media.  Before  Darius  was  ready  to  leave  Babylon,  the  pre- 
tender was  recognized  as  king  throughout  all  Media  ;  atid 
Darius  thinks  it  worthy  of  special  record,  that  "the  army  of 
Persians  and  Medes  that  was  Avith  nie,  that  remained  faith- 
ful  to  me."  Darius  sent  Hydarnes,  one  of  his  six  "faithful 
men,"  with  the  truly  imperial  order — "  Go  forth  and  smite 
that  Median  state,  which  does  not  call  itself  mine."^^  Of 
course  Hydai-nes  did  so — according  to  the  inscription ;  but 
the  sequel  shows  that  "he  waited  for  (Darius's)  arrival  in 
Media,"  by  no  means  as  a  complete  victor. 

Another  army,  dispatched  against  Armenia,  under  an  Ar- 
menian named  Dadarses,  gained  in  like  manner  three  vic- 
tories,^^ and  he  also  waited  for  Darius,  but  in  such  a  position 
that  the  Armenians  were  able  to  make  a  descent  upon  As- 
syria. Here  they  were  encountered  by  a  second  army,  which 
Darius  had  detached  for  the  Armenian  war,  under  Vomises, 
a  Persian  ;  who  defeated  them,  first  in  Assyria  and  after- 
wards in  Armenia.  Vomises  also  waited  in  Ar.menia  till 
Darius  arrived  in  Media.^* 

§  7.  At  length,  apparently  in  the  summer  of  b.c.  518,  the 
king  marched  from  Babylon  into  Media.  Phraortes  march- 
ed to  meet  him,  and  gave  battle  at  a  place  called  Kudrus, 
where  the  rebel's  utter  defeat  made  Darius  master  of  Ecba- 
tana.  Phraortes  fled,  with  his  horsemen,  as  far  as  Phages, 
probably  hoping  to  make  head  in  Partliia  and  Hyrcania, 
which  had  risen  in  his  cause  ;  but  a  force  sent  by  Darius 
took  him  prisoner,  and  brought  him  back  to  Ecbatana. 
Here,  mutilated  of  his  nose,  ears,  and  tongue,  he  was  kept 
chained  at  the  palace-door  long  enough  for  "  all  the  kingdom 
to  know  to  him" — a  precaution  against  future  personation — 
and  Anally  crucified.  His  chief  followers  were  put  to  death 
in  the  citadel  of  Ecbatana.^' 

The  same  punivshment  of  mutilation,  exposure  at  the  palace- 
gates,  and  crucifixion,  was  inflicted  on  a  Sagartian  named 
Sitrantachmes,^"  who,  after  the  example  of  Phraortes,  had 

31  Behistnn  Inscription,  col.  ii.  par.  C. 

32  May  to  October,  probablj-  b.c.  519.  2'  January  and  May,  ij.c.  518. 
^*  Behistun  Inscription,  col.  ii.  par.  13.     Professor  Rawlinsou  observes  that,  "  So 

far  as  any  substratum  of  historical  truth  is  to  be  discerned  in  the  Book  of  Judith,  the 
allusion  would  be  to  this  rebelliou,  its  suppression,  and  its  further  consequ'ences.  Ar- 
phaxad,  who  dw-elt  at  Ecbatana,  and  was  taken  at  Rhages,  represents  Xathrites, 
whose  real  name  was  Phraortes  ;  Nabuchodonosor  is  Darius.  The  notes  of  time  (iv. 
3  and  5)  suit  this  period."  ("Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iv.  p.  410,  note.)  It  seems  per- 
fectly clear  that  Herodotus  alludes  to  this  Median  revolt  in  the  passage  (i.  130) :  "Af- 
terwards the  Medes  repented  of  their  submission,  and  revolted  from  Darins,  but  rcere 
defeated  in  battle,  and  again  reduced  to  subjecliou."  (See  Rawlinsou's  note  ad  loe., 
and  Grote's  "Greece,"  vol.  iv.  p.  304,  note.) 
35  "The  strong  leopard^"'  evidently  a  Turanian  name. 


574  CLIMAX  OF  THE  PERSIAN  EMPIRE. 

claimed  to  be  "  the  king  of  Sagartia,  of  the  race  of  Cyax- 
ares.'"^  He  was  executed  at  Arbela,  whither  we  may  sup- 
pose that  Darius  liad  advanced  on  his  way  to  Parthia  and 
Hyrcania,  which  liad  embraced  the  cause  of  Phraortes. 

"  Ilystaspes,  my  father" — says  the  inscription^' — "was  in 
Partliia  (as  governor) :  the  people  revolted  and  forsook  him  ;" 
and  they  seem  to  have  invaded  Media  in  support  of  Phraortes, 
for  it  is  there  that  Hystaspes  is  said  to  have  defeated  them.^* 
Reinforced  by  Darius,  who  had  now  advanced  as  far  as 
Rhages,  Hystaspes  gained  a  second  and  decisive  battle  in 
Parthia,  and  the  province  was  recovered/'"  The  revolt  of 
Margiana,  under  a  native  leader,  Phraates— a  name  long  af- 
terwards famous  in  the  line  of  Parthian  kings — was  subdued 
by  Dadarses,  the  satrap  of  Bactria/" 

§  8.  While  Darius  was  thus  engaged  in  the  north-eastern 
provinces,  another  Pseudo-Smerdis,  named  Yeisdates,  arose 
in  Persia  itself,  and  the  fondness  of  the  Persians  for  the  house 
of  Cyrus,  or  jealousy  towards  Darius,  gained  the  pretender 
the  crown:  "Then  the  Persian  people  w^ho  were  at  home,  be- 
ing at  a  distance  (from  me),  revolted  from  me  :  they  went  over 
to  that  Veisdates  :  he  became  king  of  Persia  y'^^  But  again  the 
Persian  and  Median  army  remained  faithful  to  Darius  ;  and 
he  seems  to  have  sent  forward  the  main  body  of  them,  under 
Artabardes,*^  a  Persian,  while  he  followed  with  his  own  select 
force  of  Persians.  After  an  obstinate  conflict,  in  w  hich  Ar- 
tabardes  gained  two  victories,"  Veisdates  was  taken,  with 
his  chief  adherents,  and  Darius  crucified  them  in  Persia.** 

The  province  of  Arachotia,  into  which  the  pretender  had 
sent  an  army,  was  successfully  defended,  or  perhaps  rather  re- 
gained, by  its  satrap  Vibanus  {Vlvanci)^\\\\o  took  the  insur- 
gent leader  prisoner  and  slew  him,  with  his  chief  adherents." 

§  9.  This  Persian  insurrection  created  an  opportunity  for 

36  Behistim  luscr.,  col.  ii.  par.  14.  ^7  jbid.  par,  16,  Scythic  version. 

3**  April,  I5.C.  51T.  39  jniy^  y,.q.  517 ;  ibid.  col.  iii.  pars.  1,  2. 

*"  October,  u.o.  517 ;  ibid.  pars.  3,  4.  Whether  Darius  himself  proceeded  from  Rha- 
ges into  Parthia  and  Bactria  can  not  be  determined  from  the  customary  phrase: 
"This  is  what  was  done  h]i  mc  in  Bactria ;"  but  the  phrase  in  the  next  paragraph— 
"  the  other  Persian  forces  accompanied  me  to  Media  "—implies  that  he  had  advanced 
beyond  that  province. 

*' Beh.  Inscr.  par.  5.  The  phrase — "he  rose  np  a  second  ?tme"— pr()l)ably  refers 
back  to  the  first  personation  of  Smerdis  by  Gimiates;  and  it  may  allude  to  a  similar 
religious  element  in  the  insurrection.  "It  is  possible  that  the  second  Pseudo-Smer- 
dis, like  the  first,  favored  Magism.  There  was  undoubtedly  a  party  among  the  Per- 
sians themselves  to  whom  the  Zoroastrian  zeal  of  Darius  was  distasteful."  (Rawlin- 
son,  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iv.  p.  412,  note.) 

<2  lu  Persian  Artavardii/a,  "very  celebrated." 

<3  May  and  July,  b.c.  517.  **  Beh.  Inscr.  pars.  5-S. 

*^  April,  B.C.  51G ;  ibid.  pars.  9-12.  Though  all  the  three  battles  are  claimed  as  vic- 
tories, it  looks  very  much  as  if  a  first  success  of  the  insurgent  leader  in  Arachotia 
were  veiled  under  the  commission  of  the  Pseudo-Smerdis — "  Go  forth  and  smite  Vi- 
bauus,  and  the  state  which  acknowledges  king  Dnrius"  (par.  9). 


QUELLI^'G  OF  XEW  llEVOLTS.  r,7r» 

tiic  second  revolt  of  Babylon,  under  the  Armenian  Aracns, 
tlie  snppression  and  punishment  of  which  has  been  related 
above  :  the  officer  who  put  it  down  was  a  Mede,  named  Tn- 
taphres.  This  is  the  last  of  tlie  revolts  recorded  in  the  first 
three  colunnis  of  the  Beliistun  Inscription  :  the  fourtli  is  a 
summary,  the  tone  of  its  linal  Avords  marking  the  conclusion 
of  tlie  record.  A  fifth  column,  added  as  a  kind  of  supple- 
ment, mentions  a  third  revolt  of  Susiana,  which  was  put 
down  by  Gobryas ;  and  one  of  Sacia,  which  was  suppressed 
by  Darius  himself 

Such  are  the  contents  of  this  invaluable  official  document. 

§  10.  The  cessation  of  these  pressing  dangers  at  the  heart 
of  the  empire  left  Darius  at  libecty  to  deal  with  the  insolent 
assumptions  of  the  satraps  ofLydia  and  Egypt.  Orcetes,  the 
governor  of  Sardis,  who,  during  the  last  illness  of  Cambyses, 
had  dared  to  put  to  death  his  master's  ally,  Polycrates  of 
Samos,^^  not  only  abstained  from  aiding  Darius  against  the 
Magian,*'  but  took  advantage  of"  the  troubles  of  the  season  " 
to  slay  his  private  enemy,  Mitrobates,  tlie  satrap  of  Dascy- 
lium,  and  his  son,  and  to  add  his  satrapy  of  Phrygia  to  those 
of  Lydia  and  Ionia.  He  kept  a  thousand  Persians  as  his 
body-guard,  and  when  Darius  sent  him  a  mandate  of  recall, 
he  caused  the  courier  to  be  waylaid  on  his  return,  and  nei- 
ther man  nor  horse  was  heard  of  again."  Not  wishing,  in 
the  unsettled  state  of  the  empire,  to  make  war  on  so  strong 
a  vassal,  Darius  appealed  to  the  chief  of  the  I'ersians  to  ac- 
complish the  affair  by  skill  without  force  or  tumult.  One, 
chosen  by  lot  from  among  thirty  who  offered  themselves,  set 
out  for  Sardis  with  a  budget  of  dispatches  sealed  with  the 
king's  signet.  Delivering  them  one  by  one  to  the  royal  sec- 
retary in  the  satrap's  fuU  court,  he  tested  the  temper  of  the 
guards  by  the  reverence  they  showed  for  the  king's  letters; 
and  then  he  handed  the  two  decisive  mandates  to  the  secre- 
tary, who  read — "  Persians,  king  Darius  forbids  you  to  guard 

46  Herod,  iii.  120-12.5;  comp.  c.  44.  The  lomaptic  and  tragic  story  of  Polycrates 
belongs  to  the  history  of  Gieecc.  T!ie  legend  of  his  friendship  with  Amasis,  and  his 
vain  sacrifice  to  avert  the  fate  threatened  by  his  uninterrupted  good-fortune  (Herod, 
iii.  40-43),  forms  the  theme  of  one  of  Schiller's  finest  ballads— "The  Ring  of  Polyc- 
rates." 

4'  The  words  of  Herodotus  (iii.  12C)— "During  all  the  time  that  the  Magian  sat 
upon  the  throne  Orcetes  remained  at  Sardis,  and  brought  no  help  to  the  Persians, 
whom  the  Medea  had  robbed  of  the  sovcreigntij" — form  the  sole  authority  for  making 
the  Magian  usurpation  a  Median  revolt.  After  the  clear  account  given  in  the  Behis- 
tUQ  Inscription,  it  is  enough  to  say  that,  if  Herodotus  meant  this,  he  made  a  mistake. 

**•  Herod,  iii.  12G.  The  "  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border  "  furnish?s  a  parallel  in 
the  fate  of  the  messenger  sent  by  the  king  to  warn  Lord  Soulis: 

"By  treacherous  sleight  they  seized  the  knight 
Before  he  rode  or  ran  ; 
And  through  the  keystone  of  the  arch 
They  plunged  him,  horse  and  man." 


57G  CLIMAX  OF  THE  TEKSIAN  EMrillE. 

OroBtes  ;"  mid  the  soldiers  laid  down  their  spears.  "King 
Darius  conimaiids  the  Persians  who  are  in  Sardis  to  kill 
Orcetes ;"  and  the  guards  drew  their  swords  and  slew  him 
on  tlie  spot."  Thus  eai'ly  was  the  principle  established, 
whicli  in  later  times  has  been  embodied  in  tlie  fatal  missive 
of  the  bowstring.  The  punishment  of  Aryandes,  the  gov- 
ernor of  Egypt,  with  death,  for  daring  to  issue  a  silver  coin- 
age of  his  own  in  imitation  of  the  king's  gold,  is  referred  by 
jierodotus  to  a  later  period.^" 

§11.  Having  thus  restored  the  empire,  Darius  pursued 
new  military  expeditions  and  conquests  in  the  true  spirit  of 
its  founder.^'  To  the  energy  of  youth  was  added  the  fear 
that  quiet  might  breed  new  revolts ;  and  by  such  motives, 
if  we  may  believe  Herodotus,  he  was  urged  by  Queen  Atossa 
— at  the  instigation  of  the  Greek  physician,  Democedes^ — to 
the  conquest  of  Greece  ;  while  he  himself  was  minded  to  con- 
struct a  bridge  which  should  join  Asia  to  Europe,  and  so  to 
carry  war  into  Scythia.^^  It  seems  to  have  been  according 
to  an  Oriental  idea  of  right,  and  not  as  a  mere  pretext,  that 
he  claimed  to  punish  the  Scythians  for  their  invasion  of 
Media  in  the  time  of  Cyaxares.^^  So  he  contented  himself, 
for  the  present,  with  sending  spies  to  Greece  under  the  guid- 
ance of  Democedes,^*and  with  the  reduction  of  Samos.^^ 

§  12.  The  Scythian  expedition,  however,  appears  to  have 
been  preceded  by  the  extension  of  the  empire  eastward  from 
the  mountains  of  Afghanistan — the  limit  reached  by  Cyrus 
— over  the  valley  of  the  Indus. ^"^     The  process  of  this  con- 

49  Herod,  iii.  127, 12S. 

^  Herod,  iv.  16(3.  Some  extant  medals  are  supposed  to  belong  to  this  "Aryaiidic  " 
.silver  coinage.  (See -Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson's  note  to  Herod,  ad  loc,  and  Kawliusou, 
"Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iv.  p.  414,  note.)  In  connection  with  this  story  Herodotus 
mentions  the  extreme  purity  of  the  r/old  coinage  of  Darius,  which  Aryandes  imitated 
iu  equally  pure  silver.  The  gold  "stater  of  Darius"  or  "Daric"  was  a  celebrated 
coin;  and  there  were  also  silver  Darics.  (See  "Diet,  of  Antiq.".s.  v.;  and  Rawlin- 
son's  note  to  Herod,  vii.  28.)  ^^  See  chap.  xxv.  5  5, 

52  Herod,  iii.  134.  ^^  Herod,  iv.  1. 

5*  Herod,  iii.  135-13S.  On  the  amount  of  credit  due  to  this  story,  which  Herodotus 
doubtlessly  derived  from  the  descendants  of  Democedes,  compare  Rawlinsou,  note, 
ad  loc.  and  "  Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iv.  435 ;  Grote,  "  Hist,  of  Greece,"  vol,  iv.  pp.  347 
-351 ;  and  Dahlmann,  "Life  of  Herod.""  vii.  §  4. 

65  Herod,  iii.  130-149.  The  statement  that  this  was  "the  first  city^  Greek  or  bar. 
barian,  that  Darius  conquered,"  if  of  any  weight,  must  refer  to  neio  conquests.  He- 
rodotus  places  the  reduction  of  Samos  before  the  siege  of  Babylon,  referring  proba- 
bly to  the  second  Babylonian  insurrection. 

66  "The  approximate  date  of  the  Indian  expedition  is  gathered  from  a  comparison 
of  the  three  lists  of  Persian  provinces  contained  in  the  inseriptions  of  Darius.  In  the 
earliest,  that  of  Behistun,  India  does  not  appear  at  all.  It  was  not,  therefore,  con- 
quered by  15.0.  516.  In  the  second,  that  of  Persepolis,  India  appears  a  solitarij  addi- 
tion to  the  earlier  list.  In  the  third,  that  of  Naksh-i-Rustam,  India  is  mentioned,  to- 
gether with  a  number  of  new  provinces,  among  which  is  Scythia  heijond  the  sea.  We 
see  by  this  that  the  Indian  preceded  the  Scythian  expedition.  If  that  took  place  m.o. 
.5ns.  the  Indian  must  have  fallen  between  li.o.  515  and  b.c.  509,"  (Rawlinsou,  "Five 
Monarchies,"  vol.  iv.,  note  o*i  pp.  433,  434.) 


CONQUEST  OF  THE  PUNJAB.  577 

quest  is  only  mentioned  by  Herodotus  incidentally,  and,  as 
if  its  motive  were  geographical  curiosity  respecting  the 
course  of  the  Indus  and  the  crocodiles,  which  were  found  in 
no  other  river,  save  the  Nile."  His  account  would  seem,  in- 
deed, to  imply  that  the  Persians  had  already  sufficient  power 
on  the  banks  of  the  Indus  to  effect  a  voyage  down  it  in  safe- 
ty. The  voyage  was  conducted  by  a  Greek  navigator,  Scy- 
lax  of  Caryanda,  on  the  Carian  coast,  who,  starting  from  a 
city  called  Caspatyrus,  sailed  down  the  Indus  to  its  mouth, 
crossed  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  reached  the  head  of  the  Red 
Sea  after  a  voyage  of  thirty  months.  "After  this  voyage 
vas  completed,  Darius  conquered  the  Indians,  and  made  use 
of  the  sea  in  those  parts.""**  The  part  of  India  thus  added 
to  the  empire,  including  the  Punjab  and  apparently  Scinde, 
yielded  a  tribute  exceeding  that  of  any  other  pro^■ince,  name- 
ly, 360  talents  of  gold-dust,^"  and  added  a  bod)^  of  brave  sol- 
diers to  the  army.  These  troops  from  the  farthest  East — 
beyond  which  all  was  believed  to  be  an  uninhabited  desert 
of  sand*^" — appeared  in  the  army  of  Xerxes  in  their  cotton 
dresses,  with  their  bows  of  cane  and  arrows  of  cane  ti]iped 
with  iron,  and  so  met  the  Greeks  on  the  field  of  Plata3a/' 

§  13.  The  Scythian  Expedition  of  Darius  occupies  the 
greater  part  of  the  Fourth  Book  of  Herodotus,  whose  curious 
accounts  of  the  people  fivrnish  matter  rather  for  the  disqui- 
sitions of  the  ethnologist  than  for  the  nari'ative  of  the  histo- 
rian. The  great  result  of  the  expedition,  in  which  the  king 
and  his  army  narrowly  escaped  destruction,  was  the  gaining 
of  a  permanent  footing  in  Europe  by  the  conquest  of  Thrace 
and  the  submission  of  Macedonia.  Enough  has  been  said 
above  of  the  ethnic  character  of  the  Scythic  tribes,  who  led 

5'  Herod,  iv.  44. 

5s  Herod,  iv.  44.  The  last  phrase  is  connected  with  the  argument  of  the  whole  pas- 
sage—that Asia,  like  Africa,  was  surrounded  by  the  sea.  The  position  of  Caspatyru.s 
(comp.  Herod,  iii.  102)  is  much  disputed:  but  it  seems  to  have  been  quite  on  the 
northern  part  of  the  course  of  the  Indus  through  the  Punjab,  or  perhaps  on  one  of 
its  tributaries.  Respecting  the  spurious  Periplu^  of  Scylax,  and  the  fragments  of  the 
genuine  work,  see  the  "Diet,  of  Greek  and  Rom.  Blog."  s.  v.  The  voyage  of  Scylax 
was  repeated  by  Ncarchus,  the  admiral  of  Alexander  the  Great,  except  that  he  re- 
turned home  up  the  Persian,  instead  of  the  Arabian,  Gulf.  *''  Herod,  iii.  04. 

60  Herod,  iii.  9S ;  iv.  40.  This  seems  to  refer  to  the  great  saudy  tract  which  extends 
north  of  the  Himalaya  for  2000  miles.  "  The  India  of  Herodotus  is  the  true  ancient 
India  (the  Hapta  Hendu  of  the  Vendidad),  the  region  about  the  Upp-er  Indus,  best 
known  to  us  at  present  under  the  name  of  the  Punjab.  Herodotus  knows  nothing 
of  the  great  southern  peninsula."     (Rawlinson's  note,  ad  Inc.) 

81  Herod,  vii.  65 ;  viii.  113  ;  ix.  .01.  The  student  should  read  the  curious  account  i)f 
the  Indians  in  Herodotus  (iii.  97-lOG).  He  marks  the  limited  extent  of  the  conquests 
of  Darius  by  speaking  of  certain  tribes  of  Indians  whose  "ccuuiry  is  a  long  way 
from  Persia  towards  tiic  south;  nor  had  kimj  Darius  ever  anij  authority  over  them''' 
(c.  101).  The  notion  of  some  writers,  that  the  conquests  of  Darius  extended  to  the 
valley  of  the  Ganges,  arises  from  a  confusion  of  the  Gandarians  of  Herodotus  and 
the  inscriptions  with  the  Gangaridce  of  lat-er  writers.  The  former,  as  well  as  the 
Satiagydianft,  belong  to  Afghanistan. 

9.T 


o7S  CLIMAX  OF  THE  PERSIAN  EMriKE. 

ii  life  partly  agricultural,  but  chiefly  nomad,  in  tbe  great 
stej^pes  of  Southern  Russia,  beyond  the  Euxine  and  tbePalus 
MiBOtis  {fSea  of  Azov).  We  have  stated  the  alleged  motive 
of  Darius  for  attempting  their  subjugation.  The  idea  that, 
while  contemplating  the  invasion  of  Greece,  he  felt  the  im- 
portance of  securing  his  communications  through  Thrace 
ao-ainst  inroads  from  beyond  the  Danube,  seems  rather  far- 
ted ched. 

It  was  probably  in  b.c.  508''"  tliat  Darius,  having  collected 
a  fleet  of  600  ships  fi-om  the  Greeks  of  Asia,  and  an  army  of 
700,000  or  800,000  men  from  all  the  nations  of  his  empire, 
crossed  the  Hellespont  by  a  bridge  of  boats,  and  marched  to 
the  Danube,  conquering  on  his  way  the  Thracians  within, 
and  the  Getic  beyond,  the  Great  Balkan.  The  Danube  was 
crossed  by  a  bridge  formed  of  the  vessels  of  the  lonians,  just 
above  the  apex  of  its  Delta.  The  confusion  in  the  geogra])hy 
of  Herodotus  makes  it  as  difticult  as  it  is  unprofitable  to 
trace  the  direction  and  extent  of  the  march,  Avhich  Herodo- 
tus carries  beyond  the  Tana'is  {Do?i),  and  probably  as  far 
north  as  50°  lat.  The  Scythians  retreated  before  Darius, 
avoiding  a  pitched  battle,  and  using  every  stratagem  to  de- 
tain the  Persians  in  the  counti-y  till  they  should  perish  from 
famine.  When  Darius  seemed  inextricably  involved,  a  her- 
ald arrived  in  his  camp  with  a  f^trange  present  from  the 
Scythian  princes — a  bird,  a  mouse,  a  frog,  and  five  arrows. 
The  king  saw  in  this  a  surrender,  signified  by  the  symbols 
of  earth,  water,' the  means  of  motion,  and  the  weapons  of 
war:  but  Gobryas,  the  former  conspirator,  gave  a  truer  in- 
terpretation— '^  Unless,  Persians,  ye  can  turn  into  birds  and 
fly  up  into  the  sky,  or  make  yourselves  frogs  and  take  refuge 
in  the  fens,  ye  will  never  make  escape  from  this  land,  but 
die  pierced  by  our  arrows.'"^  Darius  saw  that  it  was  full 
time  to  use  the  surer  means  of  escape  supplied  by  his  own 
military  genius.  Leaving  his  sick  behind,  with  the  camp- 
fires  -lighted  and  the  asses  tethered,  to  make  the  enemy  be- 
lieve that  he  was  still  in  their  front,  he  retreated  in  the  night. 

The  pursuing  Scythians  missed  his  line  of  march,  and  came 
first  to  the  place  where  the  Ionian  shi])s  bi-idged  the  Danube. 
Failing  to  persuade  the  Greek  generals  to  break  by  the  same 
act  botli  the  l)ridge  and  the  yoke  of  Darius,"' they  marched 
back  to  encounter  the  Persian  army,      pjut  their  own  previ- 

62  Cliutow.  «3  Herod,  iv.  131, 132. 

6*  The  inteiosting  accnnut  of  the  debate  amon.rr  the  chiefs  of  Ionia  and  the  Helles- 
pont—in which  Mii.TiATiEs,  the  tyrant  of  the  Chersonesup,  supported  the  Scythian 
proposal,  and  Histijens  of  Miletus  procured  its  rejection — belongs  to  the  history  cf 
Greece  (Herod,  iv.  136-139).  For  the  discussion  of  its  genuineness  see  Thirhvall  (vol 
ii.  p.  486)  and  Grote  (vol.  iv.  p.  308). 


SCYTHIAN  EXPEDITION  OF  DAKIUS.  579 

ons  destruction  of  the  wells  led  them  into  a  different  route; 
and  Darius  got  sate,  but  with  difficulty,  to  the  Danube.  In 
the  darkness  of  night,  the  army  was  struck  with  terror  at 
the  supposed  desertion  of  the  lonians,  who  had  withdrawn 
the  nearest  ships,  at  once  to  prevent  an  attack  from  the 
Scythians  and  make  them  believe  that  the  bridge  was  broken. 
But  a  cei-tain  Egyptian,  who  had  a  louder  voice  than  any 
man  in  the  world,  shouted  across  the  gap  to  Histiffius,  the 
Milesian  genei-al :  the  bridge  was  restored,  and  the  army 
passed  to  the  southern  bank."^  The  contrast  between  the 
adventures  of  Darius  and  Napoleon  in  Russia  is  one  of  the 
most  striking  parallels  in  history. 

§  1  i.  The  Hellespont  was  crossed  by  means  of  the  fleet 
with  which  the  strait  had  been  guarded  by  Megabazus,  or, 
more  probably,  Megabyzus;  and  the  second  opportunity  was 
barred  against  a  lising  of  the  Greek  colonies.  Darius  knew 
how  to  discern  between  the  policy  of  Histiieus  and  the  loy- 
alty of  Megabazus;  for,  being  asked,  as  he  broke  a  pome- 
granate, "what  he  would  like  to  have  in  as  great  plenty  as 
the  seeds  of  the  pomegranate?"  he  answered,  " Had  I  as 
many  men  like  Megabazus  as  there  are  seeds  here,  it  would 
please  me  better  than  to  be  lord  of  Greece."  On  this  enter- 
prise his  mind  was  now  set,  and  to  prepare  the  way,  he  left 
Megabazus  in  Europe  with  80,000  troops  to  complete  the  re- 
duction of  all  Thrace."' 

After  effecting,  beyond  this  commission,  the  reduction  of 
Macedonia  to  a  vassal  kingdom,  Megabazus  rejoined  Darius 
at  Sardis  (b.c.  506)  ;  and  the  king  returned  to  his  capital  to 
gloss  over  his  failure  by  adding  to  the  list  of  his  subjects,  on 
his  tomb,  "the  Scythians  beyond  the  Sea.""  It  is  very  un- 
likely that  he  renounced  his  designs  on  Greece ;  but  he 
seems  to  have  enjoyed  some  years  of  repose  at  Susa,  which 
v/as  henceforth  the  chief  capital  of  the  Persian  Empire. 

§  15.  How  that  repose  was  broken  by  the  Ionian  Revolt, 
in  the  first  year  of  the  fifth  century  b.c. — the  epoch  of  the 
great  struggle  which  transferred  the  dominion  of  the  world 
from  the  despotism  of  the  East  to  the  free  spirit  of  the  West 
— is  written  in  the  pages  of  Greek  history.  From  the  repulse 
of  the  army  of  the  first  Darius  at  Marathon,^®  to  the  day 
when  the  victor  of  Issus  and  Arbela  threw  his  cloak  in  pity 
over  the  corpse  of  Darius  Codomannus,'"  the  chief  interest  of 

65  Herod,  iv.  140,  141. 

6*5  Herod,  iv.  143.  The  account  (which  occupies  the  remainder  of  the  Fourth  Book 
of  Herodotus)  of  the  temporary  reduction  of  Cyreuaica,  which  Darius  annexed  to  tha 
patrapy  of  Egypt,  belongs  to  the  history  of  the  Greek  colonies.  The  Persian  yoke 
was  thrown  off  at  the  time  of  the  great  Egyptian  revolt. 

«^  luscriptioi'  at  Naksh-i-Kustam.  ^'s'^  September,  n.c.  400.  6"  r.c.  330. 


580  CLIMAX  OF  THE  PERSlAx^  EMPIRE. 

Persian  history  centres  in  lier  relations  towards  Greece.  The 
"Persian  Wars"  mark  the  epoch  when  Oriental  civilization 
had  prepared  the  harvest  which  European  liberty  was  to 
reap ;  and  the  great  events  of  general  history,  even  when 
acted  in  the  East,  are  henceforth  to  be  looked  at  from  the 
West. 

§  16.  In  fact,  though  the  Persian  Empire  survived  the 
battle  of  Marathon  for  160  years,  and  even  dictated  terms 
of  peace  to  the  rival  Hellenic  republics,'"  the  collision  with 
Greece  gave  it  its  death-blow  from  the  very  hand  which  had 
founded  and  organized  it  anew.  After  devoting  three  years 
to  collecting  all  the  resources  of  his  empire,  in  order  to 
avenge  in  person  the  disaster  of  his  generals  at  Marathon, 
Darius  found  his  enterprise  interrupted  by  the  revolt  of 
Egypt  (b.c.  487),  and  he  died  at  the  end  of  the  following 
yeaV  (Dec.  23,  B.C.  486),  having,  as  required  by  the  Persian 
law,  appointed  his  son  Xerxes  as  his  successor.'' 

^»  By  the  peace  of  Autalcidas,  nuclei-  Artaxerxes  Mnemon,  u.c.  3ST. 

'1  For  the  grounds  on  which  Xerxes?,  the  eldest  son  of  Atossa,  was  preferred  to  his 
older  half-brother  Artabazaues,  the  eldest  son  of  the  daughter  of  Gobryas,  see  Herod, 
vii.  2,  3.  His  real  claim  seems  to  have  consisted  in  his  being  the  grandson  of  Cyrus. 
As  it  was  a  Persian  law  that  the  king  must  not  go  out  of  the  country  on  a  military 
expedition  without  designating  a  successor  (comp.  Herod,  i.  20S),  and  as  Xerxes  was 
a  mere  boy  at  the  time  of  the  Scythian  expedition,  Artabazanes  would  naturally  be 
appointed  then;  but,  when  the  contemplated  invasion  of  Greece  rendered  a  new  des- 
ignation necessary,  the  all-powerful  influence  of  Atossa  (Herod.  I.e.  3,  fin.)  seems  to 
have  procured  it  for  her  son  Xerxe.s.  As  Darius  did  not  marry  Atossa  till  after  his 
accessi<m  in  is.o.  521  (Herod.  I.  c  and  iii.  SS),  Xerxes  could  not  be  more  than  35  at  his 
father's  death. 


Mound  of  Siisa. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  DECLIXE  AXD  FALL  OF  THE   PERSIAN   EMPIRE, XERXES  \, 

TO  DARIUS   IIL,  B.C.  486-330. 

§  1.  Rciirn  of  Xkrxks  T.  The  Greek  wars.  Revolt  of  Babylon.  Assassiuatlon  of 
Xerxe.«.  Continued  disorders  in  the  royal  house.  §  2.  Usurpation  of  Aktauanus. 
Accession  of  Aiuaxkuxks  L  Longimanus.  §  3.  Rebellion  of  Eyypt  nnder  Inanis 
and  Amyrtieus.  Second  Athenian  expedition  to  Egypt  and  Cyprus.  Peace  be- 
tween Persia  and  Greece.  §  4.  Revolts  of  Megr.byzns  and  Zopyrus.  Death  of 
Artaxerxes.  Commissions  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  §  5.  Short  Reigns  of  Xf.rxks 
II.  and  SoGiUANUs.  §  6.  Daiuus  II.  Xoiiius.  His  wife  Parysatis,  and  his  sons, 
Arsaces  (Artaxerxes)  and  Cyrus.  Claim  of  Cyrus.  §  7.  Cruelties  of  Parysatis. 
Satrapial  rebellions.  Tissaphernes  and  the  Greeks.  Egypt  recovers  her  inde- 
pendence. §  S.  Accession  of  Aktaxeuxf.s  II.  Mne.mon.  Expedition  and  Death  of 
"  Cyrus  the  Younger."  Death  of  Tissaphernes.  Agesilaiis.  Peace  of  Antalcidas. 
§  9.  Revolt  of  Evagoras  in  Cyprus.  War  with  the  Cadusii.  Failure  of  the  attempt 
to  recover  Egypt.  §  10.  Horrible  scenes  in  the  royal  house.  Death  and  character 
of  Artaxerxes.  §  11.  Ochls,  or  Artaxerxes  III.  His  cruel  nature.  Murder  of  the 
royal  princes.  His  ministers,  Bagoas  and  Mentor.  §12.  Rebellion  of  Artabazus. 
§  i?>.  Failure  of  the  first  attack  on  Egypt.  Revolts  of  Cyprus  and  Phoenicia  sub- 
dued. Fate  of  Sidon.  §  U.  Final  conquest  of  Egypt.  §  15.  Threats  of  invasion 
from  Greece.  Battle  of  Chaeronea.  ^Murders  of  Ochus  and  of  Philip.  §  10.  Daki- 
rs  III.  ConoMANNus.  His  character.  §  IT.  Punishment  of  Bagoas.  Alexander's 
conquest  of  the  Persian  Empire.  §  IS.  Reasons  for  its  rapidity  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  Persian  Empire.  §  19.  Satraps.  Checks  on  them.  Judges.  §  20.  Ab- 
solute power  of  the  king. 

§  1.  Xerxes  I.'  (b.c.  486-465)  is  said  to  have  been  averse 
to  renewing  tlie  Greek  war;  but  tlio  reconquest  of  Egypt, 

1  In  Old  Persian  Khshayarahd,  and  in  Hebrew  Achashverosh  or  Ahcmierus  (in  the 
Book  of  Esther;  see  "Diet,  of  the  Bible,". s.  v.).  The  etymology  is  disputed.  Sir  H. 
Rawlinson  derives  it  from  Klishaija,  "king"  (a  supposed  shorter  form  of  Khshwja- 
thiija,  whence  shah  in  modern  Persian),  and  arsha  (Sanscrit,  rt»-.sft//a),  "venerable;" 
but  Benfrey  and  Oppert  make  fl/.s/.rt  =::  "eye,"  and  render  the  name  "King  Seer,"  or 
"Ruling  Eye."  Rawlinson,  Appendix  to  Herod,  vi.  note  A.  The  epoch  of  the  no- 
cession  of  Xerxes  is  Dec.  2o,  u.o.  480:  but  his  reign  is  sometimes  reckoned  from  the 
first  day  of  ]j.c.4S5. 


582        DECLINE  ANJ>  EALL  OF  THE  J^EllSIAN  EMPIRE. 

which  he  eifectccl  in  person  in  liis  second  year,  and  the  pep 
suasions  of  Mardonius  and  of  the  exiled  Pisistratidae  of 
Athens,  led  liini  on  to  the  enterprise  winch  ended  at  Salamis, 
Plata?a,  and  Mycale.^  The  Greek  historians  differ  as  to  wheth- 
er it  was  before  or  after  his  return  from  Greece,  that  Xerxes 
provoked  by  his  acts  of  impiety  a  new  revolt  of  Babylon, 
which  was  put  down  by  Megabyzus,  the  son  of  Zopyrus,  when 
the  Temple  of  Belus  and  other  shrines  were  plundered  of  their 
most  sacred  objects.^ 

While  the  disastrous  issue  of  the  attempt  against  Greece 
stripped  Persia  of  her  European  provinces,  and  of  the  strength 
of  all  the  rest,  and  rolled  back  the  tide  of  war  to  the  sliores 
of  Asia  Minor,  Xerxes  retired  to  his  seraglio;  and  the  Book 
of  Esther  furnishes  an  interesting  picture  of  the  domestic 
and  political  intrigues  of  his  court  at  Susa.  The  Jewish 
queen  must  not  be  confounded  with  Amestris,  the  chief  wife 
of  Xerxes,  Avhose  savage  and  jealous  temper  caused  horrible 
scenes  of  license  and  barbarity;  till  the  king  was  murdered 
in  his  bed-chamber  by  Artabanus,  the  chief  of  his  guard,  and 
the  eunuch  Aspamitres,  his  chamberlain*  (b.c.  465).  He  left 
the  empire  exhausted  and  depopulated;  and  Iiom  his  reign 
began  "  those  internal  disorders  of  the  seraglio  which  made 
the  court  during  more  than  a  hundred  and  forty  years  the 
perpetual  scene  of  intrigues,  assassinations,  executions,  and 
conspiracies."^ 

§  2.  The  conspirator  Artabanus  is  represented  by  some 
writers  as  having  seized  the  throne  and  reigned  for  seven 
months;"  but  his  rule  rather  seems  to  have  been  exercised 
in  the  name  of  Artaxerxes  (the  youngest  of  the  three  sons 
of  Xerxes),  whom  he  induced  to  murder  his  eldest  brother 
Darius ;  the  second  brother,  Hystaspes,  being  absent  in  his 
satrapy  of  Bactria.^ 

At  the  end  of  the  seven  months,  Artabanus  and  Aspamitres 
were  both  put  to  death  by  the  young  prince,  who  reigned  for 
40  years  as  Artaxerxes  I.,  and  is  surnamed  by  the  Greeks 

2  Herod,  vii.  1-7.  The  account  of  the  army  and  navy  of  Xerxes  in  Herodotus  (vii. 
61-99)  gives  a  very  instructive  view  of  the  several  nations  which  composed  the  Per- 
sian empire  at  this  time.  For  the  whole  series  of  Persian  wars,  see  the  histories  of 
Greece. 

3  Herod,  i.  183;  Cte?.  "Pers.  Exc."  §§  21,  22;  Arrian,  "Exp.  Alex."  vii.  IT;  Straho, 
xvi.  1,  §  5  :  ^lian,  "  Var.  Hi^t."  xiii.  3. 

4  Herod,  ix.  109-118  ;  Diod.  Sic.  xi.  C9  ;  Pint.  "  Themist."  c.  27. 
s  Rawlinsou,  "Five  Monarchic?,"  vol.  iv.  p.  4S3. 

6  Enseb.  "  Chrou."  pt.  ii.  p.  33s  ;  Syncell.  p.  1G2,  C. 

'  The  authorities  for  the  ensuing:  period  are  chiefly  Ctcsias,  Avhose  vallie  increas-e.s 
as  we  approach  his  own  time,  Dlodorus  Siculus,  Plutarch,  and  Justin,  with  some  pas- 
sages in  Herodotus  and  Thucydides.  It  does  not  seem  necessary  (except  on  impor- 
tant points)  to  give  the  special  references,  which  will  be  found  for  the  most  part  in 
Rawlinson's  "Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iv.  chap.  vii. 


ARTAXERXES  I.  LONGIMANUS.  583 

"the Long-handed "  (Mat^puxeip), Longimaxus  (Dec.  7,  b.c.  485, 
to  Dec.  1 7,  B.C.  425).*  Hystaspes,  meanwhile,  set  up  his  claim 
to  t]ie  crown,  but  was  defeated  by  Artaxerxes,  and  Bactria 
submitted. 

§  3.  Five  years  later  a  ibrmidable  rebellion  broke  out  in 
Egypt,  under  Inarus,  a  Libyan,  and  Amyrta3us,  an  Egyptian. 
The  satrap,  Acha?nienes,  was  killed  in  battle,  and  his  army 
shut  up  in  3Iemphis,  which  the  Egyptians  captured  with  the 
aid  of  an  Atlienian  fleet,  except  the  old  citadel,  called  "  White 
Wall.""  The  whole  levy  of  the  empire  was  now  called  out 
and  sent  to  Egypt  under  Megabyzus,  who  gained  a  great 
battle,  retook  Mempliis,  destroyed  the  Athenian  force,  and 
crushed  tlie  revolt,  except  in  the  marshes  of  tlie  Delta,  where 
Amyrtffius  fouiul  refuge,  while  Inarus  was  carried  prisoner  to 
Persia,  and  tliere  crucifled  (b.c.  455). 

Six  years  later  a  second  attempt  of  the  Athenians,  under 
Cinion,  to  succor  Egypt  and  take  Cyprus,  led  to  the  twofold 
victory  of  Anaxierates,  by  sea  and  land,  at  Salamis,  in  Cy- 
prus ;  and  Artaxerxes  is  said  to  have  been  glad  to  accept  a 
peace  which,  while  leaving  him  in  undisturbed  possession  of 
Cyprus  and  Egypt,  secured  the  independence  of  the  Greek 
colonies  of  Asia  Minor  (b.c.  449).'"  Whether  or  not  tliis 
treaty  was  actually  concluded,  such  Avas  practically  the  state 
of  things  at  the  end  of  the  first  series  of  wars  between  Persia 
and  Greece,  after  a  duration  of  just  half  a  century  from  tlie 
Ionian  revolt  in  b.c.  500. 

§  4.  This  event  was  soon  followed  by  the  revolt  of  Mega- 
byzus in  Syria,  on  the  ground  that  his  promise  of  life  to 
Inarus  had' been  violated  by  the  king.  His  successful  re- 
sistance, and  his  final  reconciliation  to  Artaxerxes  on  easy 
terms,  furnished  other  satraps  with  a  dangerous  precedent, 
which  his  son  Zopyrus  attempted  to  follow  in  Lycia  and 
Caria  towards  the  close  of  this  reign  ;  but  the  rebellion  was 
frustrated  by  the  firm  loyalty  of  the  Caunians.  Artaxerxes 
is  memorable  in  Jewish  history  as  the  king  who  gave  Ezra 
and  Xehemiah  their  commissions. '^ 

§  5.  The  intrigues  of  tli^e  harem,  which  were  ever  tending 

«  The  reason  alleged  for  the  uickuame  is  that  his  right  hand  was  longer  than  his 
left  (Pint.  "Artax.").  Herodotus  (vi.  9S),  taking  the  name  as  Xerxes  with  the  intensive 
prefix  Arta,exp\iims  Xerxes  as  "warrior"  (up.'/tor),  aud  .4rtoacrx-es  "great  warrior" 
(/it7a?  utiijioi).  But  the  second  element  is  not  the  same.  Artaxerxes  is  in  Old  Per- 
sian Artakhshatra,  where  the  second  element  is  the  Zend  Khshatra  and  Sanscrit 
Kshatra,  "king"  or  "warrior."  Khshatram  occurs  frequently  in  the  Behistiin  In- 
scription for  "  crown  "  or  "  empire."    (Sir  H.  Rawliuson's  "  Vocab.") 

9  Thucyd.  i.  lOS  ;  comp.  Ilerod.  iii.  13,  91. 

10  On  the  disputed  queslion  of  the  genuineness  of  this  treaty,  seeThirlwall  (vol.  uL 
pp.  37,  38)  and  Grote  (vol.  iv.  pp.  85-00). 

"  u.c,  45S  and  444.     See  "  Student's  Old  Testament  History,"  chap,  xxvii. 


r>84        JJECLINE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  PERSIAN  EMPIRE. 

to  the  destruction  of  the  royal  house,  broke  out  in  full  force 
on  the  death  of  Artaxerxes  Longimanus.  The  only  legiti- 
mate heir  among  his  eighteen  sons,  Xerxes  II.,  was  mur> 
dered  in  his  drunkenness,  after  a  reign  of  only  forty-five  days, 
by  his  half-brother  Sogdiaxus,  or  Secydianus.  Another  half- 
brother,  Ochus,''^  the  satrap  of  Hyrcania,  whose  claim  to  the 
crown  was  strengthened  by  his  marriage  with  his  aunt 
Parysatis.  the  daughter  of  Xerxes  I,  declared  war  against 
the  usurper,  and  was  joined  by  the  satraps  of  Egypt  and  Ar. 
menia,  and  by  the  commander  of  the  royal  cavalry.  Seeing 
the  contest  hopeless,  Sogdianus  surrendered,  and  was  put  to 
death,  after  a  reign  of  six  months  and  a  half  Ochus  as- 
sumed with  the  crown  the  name  of  Darius,  to  which  the 
Xjreeks  added  the  appellation  o^  JSfothus  (bastard). 

§  6.  Darius  II.  Xothus  (b.c.  424-405),  his  wife  Parysatis, 
and  their  two  sons,  Artaxerxes  and  Cyrus,  are  names  familiar 
to  our  earliest  Greek  studies,  in  the  first  words  of  Xenophon's 
"Anabasis."'^  Artaxerxes,  whose  proper  name,  before  lie  suc- 
ceeded to  the  crown,  was  Arsaces,''^  was  born  before,  but 
Cyrus  after,  his  father's  accession  to  the  throne.  The  name 
of  the  younger  prince  seems  to  show  the  desire,  which  we 
liave  seen  several  times  before  in  cases  of  irregular  succes- 
sion, to  strengthen  the  reigning  house  by  reviving  the  mem- 
ory of  the  founder  of  the  dynasty  ;  and  the  claim  of  "  royal 
birth"  had  already  been  urged  in  the  case  of  Xerxes  I.'^ 
The  childhood  of  Cyrus,  liowever,  postponed  all  question  of 
the  succession  till  the  last  illness  of  Darius. 

§  7.  Meanwhile  the  king  abandoned  himself  to  the  inflr- 
ence  of  three  favorite  eunuchs,  and  of  his  wife,  who  surpassed 
her  mother  Amestris  in  wickedness  and  cruelty.  The  reign 
was  marked  by  one  series  of  rebellions,  which  pushed  on  the 
empire  towards  its  fate.  The  king's  full  brother,  Arsites, 
whose  revolt,  at  first  successful,  was  frustrated  by  the  cor- 
ruption of  his  Greek  mercenaries,  capitulated,  and  was  per- 
fidiously put  to  death  at  the  instigation  of  Parysatis;  and 
Pissuthnes,  the  satrap  of  Lydia,  was  betrayed  by  the  like 
bribery,  and  executed  in  violation  of  the  promise  of  Tissa- 

12  This  name,  which  was  also  borne  by  the  next  king  but  one,  is  interpreted  by 
Bnpp  "good -tempered;"  but  Oppert  sees  in  it  the  Zeud  vohu,  "rich."  In  the 
"  Chrouicon  "  of  Eusebius,  Darius  II.  is  called  Darius  Ochus. 

J3  There  were  two  other  sons  of  Darius  and  Parysatis,  Ostanes  and  Oxendras  lor 
Oxathres),  and  two  dausrhters,  Amestris  and  Artossa. 

'■1  This  name,  afterwards  made  famous  by  the  Parthian  dynasty  of  the  Arsacidce,^ 
appears  before  as  that  of  a  Persian  killed  in  the  expedition  of  Xerxes  (.Esch.  "  Pers." 
957).  It  is  derived  from  arsa  or  arsha  (Sanscr.  arshya),  "venerable,"  with  the  suffix 
flc,  which  is  probably  Scythic,  haviug  the  force  of  the  definite  article.  (Rawlinson, 
Appendix  to  Herod,  vi.  note  A :  see  also  above,  p.  128,  note.) 

15  Herod,  vii.  2,  3. 


ARTAXEHXES  II.  MXEMOX.  585 

pbenies,  who  was  rewarded  with  the  satrapy  (b.c.  414).'" 
The  policy  of  this  crafty  satrap  in  playing  off  the  Greek 
states  against  each  other  gave  the  empire  a  new  lease  of  life  ; 
and  the  revolt  which  broke  out  at  its  heart,  in  Media,  was 
suppressed.''  The  rebellion  of  Terituchmes,  the  king's  son- 
in-law,  illustrates  the  horrible  state  of  the  court  and  the  un- 
bounded appetite  of  Parysatis  for  cruelty.'®  But  the  great- 
est blow  that  befell  Darius  was  the  complete  loss  of  Egypt, 
which  regained  its  independence,  and  maintained  it  for  an- 
other half-century.'^ 

§  8.  Amidst  these  troubles  Darius  died,  having  for  once  re- 
sisted the  desire  of  Parysatis,  that  he  would  confer  the  suc- 
cession on  his  younger  son,  whom  he  had  made  satrap  of 
Lydia,  Phrygia,  and  Cappadocia,  and  commander  of  the 
western  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  The  elder  son  succeeded  to 
the  throne  by  the  name  of  Aetaxerxes  II.,  surnamed  in 
Greek  Mxemox,  from  his  retentive  memory,  and  held  it  for 
the  long  period  of  forty-six  years  (b.c.  405-359).  How  his 
reign  was  almost  cut  short  at  its  beginning  by  the  rebellion, 
to  which  Cyrus  was  urged  by  his  own  ambition  and  the  en- 
mity of  Tissaphernes,  is  fully  related  in  Greek  history,  of 
which  the  part  played  by  Xenophon  and  the  "  Ten  Thou- 
sand" makes  the  campaign  an  essential  chapter."" 

The  fall  of  Cyrus  at  Cunaxa  gave  his  coveted  satrapy  to 
Tissaphernes  (b.c.  401) ;  but  the  crafty  satrap  was  at  last  sac- 
rificed to  the  revenge  of  Parysatis  for  the  death  of  Cyrus, 
just  as  Agesilaiis  seemed  about  to  rescue  the  Asiatic  Greeks 
from  bondage  (b.c.  396).^'  The  jealousy  of  tlie  other  Greek 
states  towards  Sparta  delivered  Persia  from  this  pressing- 
danger ;  but  Sparta  took  revenge  for  the  recall  of  Agesilaiis 
and  the  alliance  of  Athens  with  the  common  enemy,  by  en- 
abling Persia  to  dictate  the  disgraceful  peace  of  Antalcidas, 
whicii  restored  the  Greek  colonies  to  the  empire  (b.c.  387)." 

§  9.  The  proud  position  in  which  Artaxerxes  thus  ap- 
peared, as  the  arbiter  of  Greece,  threw  a  false  lustre  over  his 
utter  weakness  wherever  his  authority  was  withstood.     Evag- 

i«  On  the  important  relations  of  Tissaphernes,  Pharnabazus,  and  Cyrus  to  the 
Greeks,  and  how  the  aid  given  by  the  latter  to  Sparta  decided  the  event  of  the  Pelo- 
ponuesian  War,  tee  the  histories  of  Greec^^. 

17  B.C.  409,  403  ;  Xen.  "  Hellen."  i.  2,  §  10.  i8  ctes.  "Pers.  Exc."  55  52-~57. 

19  B.C.  411-3(51,  under  the  28th,  29th,  and  30th  dynasties.  This  is  according  to  Euse- 
bius,  who  places  the  revolt  in  n.o.  411,  under  Aniyrt?eus,  to  whom  Mauetho  assigns  a 
reign  of  six  years,  forming  the  28th  dynasty.  But  it  seems  more  probable  that  the 
revolt  was  begun  in  the  last  year  of  Darius  (u.o.  405)  by  Xepherites  (Xcfaorot),  the 
head  of  Manetho's  29th  dynasty,  of  Mendesians  (Rawlinsou's  "Herodotus,"  vol.  ii.  p. 
342,  note  (0),  2d  edition).  "  The'cartoon  at  SaTs,  which  was  at  first  thought  to  contain 
the  name  of  Artv/rtcet'.s,  is  now  read  Bocchnris. 

20  "Student's  History  of  Greece,"  chap,  xxxvi. 

21  Ibid.  chap,  xxxvii.  22  i\^\{\,  chap,  xxxviii. 

26* 


586        DECLINE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  PERSIAN  EMPIRE. 

oras,  the  Greek  tyrant  of  Sniamis  in  Cyprus,  in  alliance 
v/ith  the  kings  of  Kgypt  and  Caria,  maintained  a  powerful 
fleet,  took  Tyre,  and  when  at  last  defeated  and  shut  up  in 
Salamis  by  the  naval  power  of  Persia,  and  compelled  to  sur- 
render after  a  six  years'  siege,  he  obtained  a  confirmation  in 
his  government  as  a  tributary  king  (b.c.  380  or  379).  Tiri- 
bazus,  the  same  general  who  defeated  Evagoras,  exti'icated 
the  king  from  a  threatened  disaster  in  a  campaign  which 
Artaxerxes  made  in  person  against  the  Cadusii,  on  the  south 
shore  of  the  Caspian. 

A  mighty  effort  to  recover  Egypt,  Avith  the  aid  of  an  Athe- 
nian fleet  under  Iphicrates,  miscarried  through  the  delays  of 
the  Persian  general  Pharnabazus  (b.c.  375);  and  some  years 
later,  Tachos,  king  of  Egypt,  assumed  the  oftensive  in  Syria 
and  Phoenicia,  with  the  aid  of  Agesilaiis  and  a  fleet  under 
Chabrias ;  but  the  rise  of  two  pretenders  called  him  back  to 
defend  his  throne.  This  attempt  had  been  encouraged  by  a 
general  rising,  after  various  separate  revolts  of  the  satraps 
and  native  princes  of  Asia  Minor  and  Phoenicia,  which  Per- 
sia, unable  to  subdue,  frustrated  by  bribing  Orontes,  the  sa- 
trap of  Phrygia,  to  desert  the  common  cause. 

§  10.  To  this  confusion  in  his  empire  were  added  domestic 
horrors,  which  brought  the  long  reign  of  Artaxerxes  to  a 
most  tragic  end.  His  mother  Parysatis,  w^ho  might  well 
have  been  called  "she-wolf  of  Persia,"  and  whose  evil  influ- 
ence long  survived  her,  had  poisoned  his  first  wufe,  Statira, 
whom  he  fondly  loved.  After  a  short  banishment  to  Baby- 
lon, Parysatis  was  recalled  to  Susa  by  the  weak  good-natured 
king ;  and  she  used  her  restoi'ed  influence  to  promote  his 
marriage  with  his  daughter  Atossa.  Such  incestuous  con- 
nections are  usually  attended  by  fatal  family  intrigues.  The 
new  queen  leagued  with  Ochus,  the  youngest  son  of  Arta- 
xerxes and  Statira,  to  get  rid  of  the  two  brothers  w'ho  stood 
between  him  anf],the  succession*.  Darius,  the  eldest,  w^as  per- 
suaded to  conspire  against  his  father,  and  was  executed  for 
his  treason.  Ariaspes,  the  second,  was  induced  to  commit 
suicide  by  the  suggestion  that  he  had  oftended  his  father 
A  dreaded  rival  still  remained  in  Arsames,  the  king's  favor- 
ite bastard ;  and  he  was  removed  by  assassination.  His 
death  plunged  Artaxerxes  into  an  illness  of  which  he  died, 
at  the  age  of  ninety-four.^^  His  character  is  drawm  as  mild, 
afl*able,  and  kind  ;  but  his  weakness  hastened  the  dissolution 
of  the  empire:  its  aggrandizement  by  his  policy  towards  the 
Greeks  was  only  permitted  by  their  disunion. 

§  11.  Ochus,  who  is  less  known  by  his  assumed  name  of 

2-  Pint.  "Artax."  30. 


OCHUS  OR  ARTAXERXES  III.  o8V 

Artaxerxes  III.,  presents  the  greatest  contrast  to  his  father, 
by  the  ''  cruelty  and  blood-thirstiness "  in  Avhich  "  he  sur- 
passed all  the  other  Persian  kings."**  Having  added  the 
last  climax  to  the  domestic  horrors  of  the  court  by  murder- 
ing all  the  royal  princes  within  his  reaclr^ — a  yjrecedent  so 
often  followed  by  modern  kings  of  Persia — he  made  a  vigor- 
ous use  of  the  [)Ower  thus  secured,  during  liis  reign  of  twen 
ty-one  years  (b.c.  359-338).  Much  of  his  success  must  doubt- 
less be  ascribed  to  liis  able  and  unscrupulous  minister,  the 
eunuch  Bagoas,  and  to  the  Rhodian  general  Mentor  ;  but  that 
Ochus  was  a  puppet  in  their  hands  is  disproved  by  the  ihoi- 
dental  statements  of  the  very  writers  who  make  that  represen- 
tation.^^ Thus  Bagoas  is  subjected  to  the  censure  of  Ochus, 
and  finds  it  necessary  at  last  to  remove  him  by  assassination. 

§  12.  The  first  important  event  in  the  reign  of  Ochus  was 
the  rebellion  of  Artabiizus,  the  satrap  of  Western  Asia  Minor, 
supported  first  by  the  Athenians,  and  afterwards  bytheThe- 
bans.  The  wife  of  Artabazus  was  the  sister  of  two  Rhodian 
brothers.  Mentor  and  Memnon,  who  play  a  conspicuous  part 
in  the  closing  drama  of  the  Persian  Enipii'e,  After  a  long 
resistance  to  tlie  neighboring  satraps,  Artabazus  and  Mem- 
non fled  for  refuge  to  Philip,  king  of  Macedonia,  who  re- 
ceived them  in  his  character  of  the  destined  avenger  of  the 
invasions  of  Darius  and  Xerxes."''  Mentor  found  a  new  field 
for  his  hostility  to  Persia  in  the  service  of  Nectanebo  II.,  the 
last  king  of  Egypt,  who  by  the  aid  of  Agesilaiis  had  wrested 
the  throne  from  his  uncle  Tachos. 

§  13.  Ochus  had  set  his  heart  upon  recovering  that  coun- 
try to  the  crown  of  Persia.  Perhaps  while  Asia  Minor  was 
still  in  revolt,  he  marched  in  person  against  Egypt,  but  was 
repulsed  by  the  Greek  mercenaries  of  Nectanebo."  Upon 
this  Phoenicia  and  Cyprus  rebelled,  and  formed  a  league  with 
Egypt;  and  Nectanebo  sent  Mentor  with  4000  Greek  mer- 
cenaries to  the  aid  of  Sidon,  which  led  the  Phoenician  revolt. 
Cyprus  was  reduced  by  Idi-ieus,  the  prince  of  Caria,  under 
whom  Phocion,  the  Athenian,  served  with  a  mercenary  force.^" 

24  Pint.  "Artax."rtrf/n. 

25  Justin  (x.  C),  though  iu  a  somewhat  rhetorical  way,  represents  the  massacre  as 
Including  even  the  princesses  of  the  royal  house.  26  Chiefly  Diocloriis. 

2'  This  was  about  jj.c.  353,  or  perhnps  a  little  later. 

21^  The  chronology  here  is  obscure,  and  Diodorus  evidently  misplaces  ihe  events. 
It  seems  that  the  lirst  attack  and  repulse  of  Ochus  occurred  in  b.c.  351,  the  revolts  of 
Phoenicia  and  Cyprus  in  n.c.  350,  and  the  second  and  successful  invasion  of  Eizypt  iu 
15.0.  34G.  (See  Grote,  "  Hist,  of  Greece,"  vol.  viii.  p.  173,  ed.  of  1SG2 ;  and  liawliuson's 
"Five  Monarchies,"  vol.  iv.  p.  535.) 

29  The  very  interesting  questions  respecting  the  policy  of  the  different  parties  at 
Athens,  and  throughout  Greece,  between  their  old  Asiatic  enemy  and  the  new  ty- 
rant, who  was  preparing  to  avenge  them  upon  Persia  at  the  price  of  first  extinguish- 
ing Greek  liberty,  belong  to  the  history  of  Greece. 


588         DECLINE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  PERSIAN  EMPIRE. 

Tenncs,  king-  of  Sidon,  with  the  aid  of  Mentor,  defeated  the 
satraps  of  Syria  and  Cilicia;  but  wheii  Ochus  advanced 
against  him  with  an  army  of  300,000  foot  and  30,000  horse, 
the  king  tui-ned  traitor  to  his  people  without  saving  his  own 
life ;  and  the  Sidonians,  after  a  foretaste  of  the  cruelty  of 
Ochus  in  his  butchery  of  some  hundreds  of  the  citizens,  whom 
Tennes  had  betrayed  into  the  Persians'  hands,  chose  a  volun- 
tary  death  in  the  conflagration  of  theii'  own  city. 

The  ruins  of  Sidon  were  sold  to  a  company  of  adventurers, 
who  hoped  to  find  quantities  of  gold  ancl  silver  in  the  ashes ; 
but  Ochus  gained  a  greater  treasure  in  the  transfer  of  Men- 
tor's services  to  Persia.  To  Mentor's  4000  Greeks  were  add- 
ed 6000  from  the  Ionian  cities,  3000  from  Argos,  and  1000 
from  Thebes.  These  14,000  auxiliaries  were  placed  under 
three  Greek  generals,  and  the  330,000  Asiatics  under  tliree 
Persians,  for  the  conquest  of  Egypt.  Tiie  chief  command 
was  shared  between  Bagoas  and  Mentor. 

§  14.  Nectanebo's  army  numbered  scarcely  a  third  of  tliis 
immense  force,  but  his  Greek  auxiliaries  were  one-third  more 
than  those  of  Ochus  — 20,000  out  of  his  whole  100,000: 
20,000  were  Libyans,  and  60,000  were  native  Egyptians 
fighting  for  their  country.  His  powerful  navy  occupied  the 
Nile  and  the  canals ;  and  these  waters  formed,  w^th  the  vast 
number  of  fortified  towns,  a  strong  system  of  internal  de- 
fense. But  Nectanebo.was  no  match  for  a  general  like  Men- 
tor. At  once  rash  and  timid,  he  lost  his  outer  line  of  de- 
fense, and  then  fell  back  on  Memphis.  The  jealousies  be- 
tween Egyptians  and  Greeks  paralyzed  the  defense  of  the 
fortified  towns,  which  fell  one  after  another.  When  the  in- 
vaders approached  Memphis,  Xectanebo  fled  to  Ethiopia  ; 
and  thus  disgracefully  ended  the  last  native  dynasty  of 
Egypt.  In  his  triumphal  progress  through  the  country, 
Ochus  imitated  the  outrages  of  Cambyses  against  the  na- 
tional religion  ;  destroying  the  temples,  carrying  ofl*  the  sa- 
cred books,  and,  according  to  one  doubtful  statement,  stab- 
bing the  Apis.  "The  re-conquest  of  Egypt" — ]Mr.  Grote 
observes  —  "must  have  been  one  of  the  most  im};ressivQ 
events  of  the  age."^° 

§  Ito.  But  far  more  impressive  events  were  in  preparation 
from  the  growing  power  of  Philip  of  Macedon;  nor  was  Per- 
sia insensible  to  the  danger.  Ochus,  or  the  able  ministers, 
Bagoas  and  Mentor,  who  governed  in  his  name,  sent  letters 
of  warning  to  the  satraps  of  Western  Asia  Minor  ;  and  it  ap- 
pears, from  a  subsequent  allusion,^^  that  a  force  was  even 

30  "  Hist,  of  Greece,"  vol.  viii.  p.  173. 

31  lu  the  letter  of  Alexander  to  Darius  Coclomaniuis  (Avriau,  "Exp.  Alex."  ii.  14). 


DARIUS  Iir.  CODOMANNUS.  r*Sd 

dispatched  into  Thrace  to  aid  Cersobleptes  against  Philip. 
All  speculation  on  the  change  which  might  have  been  made 
in  the  course  of  history,  if  Greece  and  Persia  had  combined 
against  the  common  enemy,  was  set  at  rest  by  the  Battle  of 
Chceronea^  which  was  fought  just  after  Ochus  had  been  poi- 
soned by  Bagoas  (b.c.  338). 

The  minister,  who  had  been  urged  to  this  crime  by  the 
king's  unbridled  cruelty,  and  doubtless  by  fear  for  his  own 
safety,  murdered  also  the  other  sons  of  Ochus  excej^t  the 
youngest,  Arses,^^  whom  he  set  upon  the  throne."  But,  as 
the  young  king  began  to  feel  his  power,  he  was  heard  to 
utter  threats  against  the  exterminator  of  his  father's  house  ; 
and  Bagoas  murdered  him,  witli  his  infant  children,  in  the 
third  year  of  his  reign  (b.c.  336).  The  vengeance  due  to  so 
many  crimes  was  already  on  the  way,  and  was  hastened  by 
another  murder,  which  seemed  likely  to  postpone  it.  Philip, 
appointed  after  the  battle  of  Cluei-onea  generab  of  all  the 
Greeks  for  the  war  with  Persia,  had  completed  his  prepara- 
tions, and  had  sent  over  a  body  of  troops  under  Parmenio  to 
rouse  the  Asiatic  Greeks,  when  he  was  assassinated  at  his 
daughter's  wedding  festival  at  ^ga?,  shoitly  after  the  death 
of  Arses  (July,  b.c.  336). 

§  16.  Meanwhile  Bagoas  had  raised  to  the  doubly  danger- 
ous eminence  of  the  Persian  throne  his  friend  Codomannus, 
who  assumed  the  name  of  Darius,  and  is  known  in  history 
ds  DxVRius  III.  CoDOMANXus,  the  last  king  of  Persia  (b.c. 
336-330).  There  seems  no  sufficient  reason  for  the  doubts 
thrown  upon  his  princely  birth  f*  and  his  bravery  in  the  war 
against  the  Cadusii,  when  he  killed  a  gigantic  warrior  in  sin- 
gle combat,  had  been  rewarded  by  Ochus  with  the  satrapy 
of  Armenia.  But  his  flight  from  Issus  and  Arbela  proved 
the  lack  of  that  higher  courage  which  can  uphold,  or  perish 
beneathj  a  falling  cause  ;  and  his  few  acts  of  good  general- 
ship are  Insufficient  to  i-everse  the  censure  passed  by  Arrian 
on  his  whole  military  career.^^  His  tall  and  singularly  beau- 
tiful person,  and  his  amiable  disposition,  befitted  the  hero  of 
one  of  the  most  tragic  catastrophes  in  the  drama  of  man's 
history. 

§  17.  Scarcely  had  his  reign  begun,  when  Bagoas  was  de- 

32  The  Persian  uame  is  arsha,  "venerable,"  which  appears  as  the  first  syllable  in 
Arsaces.     Other  forms  of  the  uame  are  Narses  and  Oarses. 

S3  One  brother  appears  to  have  escaped ;  for  Arrian  calls  Bisthaues,  who  informed 
Alexander  of  the  flight  of  Darius  Codomannus  fromEcbatana,  a  son  of  Ochus  ("Exp. 
Alex."iii.l9). 

34  Strabo  says  that  Darius  was  not  of  the  royal  house,  and  one  story  made  him  a 
mere  courier  (Plut.  "  Vit.  Alex."  c.  18) ;  but  fiiodorus  states  that  he  was  the  son  of 
Arsanies,  and  grandson  of  Ostancs,  the  brother  of  Artaxerxes  Muemon,  and  that  his 
niothei-  Sisygambis  was  that  king's  daughter  (Diod.  xvii.  5).  ^5  Arrian,  iii.  22. 


590        DECLINE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  PERSIAN  EMPIRE. 

tected  ill  another  plot  to  remove  the  king  he  had  set  up; 
but  this  time  the  king-maker  and  king-slayer  was  compelled 
to  drink  the  poison  he  had  mixed  for  Codomannns.  While 
thus  ridding  himself  of  the  nearer  danger,  Darius  trusted 
that  fate  had  averted  the  greater  by  the  death  of  Philip  and 
the  difficulties  which  seemed  to  rise  up  round  Alexander. 
How  soon  he  was  undeceived,  and  hov/  "  the  great  Emathiaii 
conqueror  " — like  liis  prophetic  syniboP" — overran  the  Per- 
sian Empire  from  the  Hellespont  to  the  Indus,  and  from  the 
Oasis  of  Amnion  to  the  deserts  beyond  the  Jaxartes ;  and 
how,  in  the  midst  of  these  conquests,  Darius,  overthrown  in 
the  two  great  battles  of  Tssus  and  Arbela,  Avas  murdered  by 
the  treacherous  satraps  who  had  carried  him  away,  a  prisoner 
bound  with  golden  chains,  into  Hyrcania — all  this  is  related 
in  Greek  history.  The  story  of  the  Persian  Empire,  virtually 
ended  at  Arbela  in  the  autumn  of  B.C.  331,  closes  witli  the 
pathetic  scene  in  which  Alexander  threw  his  own  cloak  over 
the  body  of  Darius  (r.c.  330). 

§  18.  The  marvellous  rapidity  with  which  the  conqueroi 
led  liis  small  band  of  warriors  through  the  almost  unresist- 
ing body  of  the  Persian  Empire — "led  them  as  a  boat  cuts 
through  the  waves,  or  an  eagle  cleaves  the  air" — demands 
another  explanation  over  and  above  the  genius  of  Alexander, 
the  disciplined  valor  of  his  phalanx,  and  the  resistless  shock 
of  his  "Companions,"  or  the  decrepitude  of  Persia.  The  or 
ganization  of  the  empire  under  the  first  Darius — though 
probably  the  best  that  could  have  been  devised  for  such  a 
conglomerate  of  Asiatic  nations — prepared  for  its  collapse 
under  Codomannus. 

§  19.  The  Persivx  Empike  presents  the  chief  type  of  that 
form  of  government  which  we  still  see  in  Turkey — a  jjower 
whose  dominions  are  not  far  from  corresponding  to  those  of 
the  Great  King  west  of  the  table-land  of  Iran — and  in  mod- 
ern Persia,  which  answers  very  nearly  to  ancient  Media  and 
Persia  Proper,  with  part  of  Iran.  The  many  nations  which 
dwelt  from  the  Indus  to  the  Ister,  and  from  the  Sea  of  Aral 
to  the  shores  of  the  Greater  Syrtis,  retained  their  own  lan- 
guages, laws,  manners,  and  religion.  In  some  lands  the  na- 
tive princes  held  the  honor,  and  part  of  the  power,  of  royalty. 
The  cities  of  Asia  Minor  administered  their  own  internal 

"''^  Dauiel  viii.  5-7.  "And  as  I  was  considering,  behold  a  h"-rioat  came  from  the 
west  on  tlie  face  of  the  whole  earth,  and  touched  not  the  ground"— a  striking  image 
of  the  rapidity  of  Alexander's  conquest— "and  he  came  to  the  ram  that  had  two 
horns,  which  I  had  seen  standing  before  the  riA'er,  and  ran  unto  him  in  the  fury  of 
his  power.  And  1  saw  him  come  close  unto  the  ram,  and  he  was  moved  with  choler 
against  him,  and  smote  the  ram,  and  Wake  liis  two  horns :  and  there  ivas  no  power  in 
tlie  ram  to  staml  before  hun,  hut  he  cast  him  down  to  the  grouiul,  and  stmnjied  vpon  him: 
and  there  was  uone  tha"  coiild  deliver  the  ram  out  of  his  hand." 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  PERSIAN  EMPIRE.  591 

government;  but  the  tyrants  who  rose  to  power  in  them 
were  generally  favorable  to  Persia.  Tiie  old  boundaries  of 
the  nations  marked  out  for  the  most  part  the  new  provinces, 
or  Satrcqnes^^''  as  they  were  called  from  the  officer  who  ruled 
each  as  the  royal  lieutenant.  When  the  levy  of  the  empire 
was  called  out,  the  soldiers  of  eacli  satrapy  appeared  in  their 
own  national  equipment.  But  this  was  only  when  a  great 
effort  was  required :  the  ordinary  defense  and  restraint  of 
the  provinces  were  committed  to  garrisons  of  Persian  and 
Median  soldiers. 

That  sentiment  of  common  nationality  and  religion,  which 
makes  the  great  majoiity  of  the  subjects  of  "Holy  Russia" 
look  to  the  Czar  as  a  father,  was  unknown  in  such  an  empire 
as  Persia.  The  sovereign  was  equally  supreme  and  irrespon- 
sible; but  it  was  as  the  owner  of  the  whole  territory,  and  the 
absolute  master  of  its  inhabitants.  In  theory,  the  king  dele- 
gated as  much  of  his  authority  as  he  pleased  to  the  satrap, 
whom  he  appointed  from  any  nation  or  rank,  and  degraded 
or  put  to  death  at  his  will.  A  check  was  provided  on  the 
power  of  the  satrap  by  placing  the  command  of  the  forces 
in  separate  hands ;  while,  sometimes  at  least,  the  command- 
ants of  garrisons  were  independent  of  both.  The  satrap, 
I'iowever,  was  often  the  military  commander,  especially  in  the 
frontier  provinces. 

Tlie  administration  of  justice,  too,  was  committed  to  offi- 
cers independent  of  the  satraps — the  Royal  Judr/es.  They 
wei-e  appointed  by  the  king,  who  called  them  most  rigorous- 
ly to  account  for  any  corruption  in  their  office.  Cambyses 
had  one  such  offender  put  to  death  and  fiayed,  and  his  skin 
made  a  covering  for  the  judgment-seat.^®  The  proverbial 
unchangeableness  of  the  Medo-Persian  laws  must  have  add- 
ed no  small  security  against  judicial  oppression ;  but  inge- 
nuity could  reconcile  the  literal  adherence  to  this  rule  with 
its  2:)ractical  evasion.  We  have  seen  how  the  royal  judges 
(like  those  of  other  countries  in  more  recent  times)  discov- 
ered a  sort  of  "  dispensing  power"  to  gratify  the  illegal 
desires  of  Cambyses ;  and  under  Xerxes,  the  decree  for  the 
massacre    of  the  Jews,  which  could  not  be   recalled,  was 

37  u  rpjjg  word  liatrap—m  Persian  Khshatrapd  or  Khshatrapdta  (Spiegel)— is  older 
than  the  satrapial  organization  of  Darius ;  for  it  is  used  twice  in  the  Behistun  In- 
scription to  denote  the  governor  of  a  province.  Indeed  the  fair  inference  seems  to 
be  that  this  sort  of  vice-regal  government  was  introduced  from  the  beginning  of  the 
empire,  and  perfected  by  Darius.  The  derivation  of  the  word  is  much  disputed  ;  but 
Sir  H.  Rawlinson  argues  that,  as  Khshatram  is  used  throughout  the  inscriptions  for 
'crown  '  or  'empire,'  we  can  scarcely  be  mistaken  in  regarding  Khshatrapd  as  formed 
of  the  two  roots  Khshatram  and  pn.  The  latter  signifies  in  Sanscrit '  to  preserve,  up- 
hold,' whence  it  appears  that  a  Satrap  is  'one  who  upholds  the  crown.'"  (Rawlin- 
sou's  "  Herodotus,"  note  to  i.  192.)  se  Herod,  v.  25. 


592      j)Kc;line  and  fall  of  the  perslvn  empire. 

niillifiecl  bv  another  autliorizing  them   to   slav   tlieir  assail 
ai-its.^'^ 

In  reference  to  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  satrap's 
functions,  and  the  one  most  tempting  to  provincial  tyranny, 
it  was  some  safeguard  to  the  people  that  each  province  was 
assessed  to  a  regular  amount  of  tribute,  and  not  expected, 
as  in  the  modern  Persian  and  Turkish  kingdoms,  to  furnish 
whatever  the  governor  can  extort.  The  satrap  might  indeed 
levy  for  his  own  use  as  much  as  his  power  or  prudence  per- 
mitted ;  but  there  was  a  check  upon  his  extortion  in  tlie  in- 
terest which  the  king  had  in  preventing  the  impoverishment 
of  the  provinces. 

All  these  checks,  however,  could  not  prevent  gross  abuse 
of  the  enormous  power  intrusted  to  the  satraps  ;  and  there 
are  glaring  cases,  not  only  of  extortion,  but  even  of  personal 
outrage  ui)on  Persians  of  the  highest  rank.  So  long,  in  fact, 
as  tlie  province  was  orderly  and  flourishing,  the  tribute  reg- 
ularly remitted,  and  no  suspicion  of  the  satrap's  fidelity  ex- 
cited by  liis  own  conduct  or  by  the  machinations  of  his  ri- 
vals, he  enjoyed  the  state  and  much  of  the  power  of  an  in- 
dependent sovereign.  This  seems  to  have  been  especially 
the  case  in  the  satrapies  of  Asia  Minor,  which,  besides  being 
remote  from  the  capital,  were  involved  in  the  restless  activi- 
ties of  Greek  politics.  Here  we  find  embassies  received  and 
sent,  and  alliances  and  wars  made,  not  only  without  refer- 
ence to  the  king,  but  by  the  ditterent  satraps  taking  difter- 
ent  sides.  Each  enlisted  his  own  body  of  Greek  mercena- 
ries, with  whose  aid  they  made  war  upon  one  another. 

Such  a  system  involved  the  constant  danger  of  rebellion ; 
and  various  means  w^ere  taken  to  guard  against  the  risk. 
The  satrapies  were  assigned,  as  far  as  possible,  to  members 
of  the  royal  family,  and  to  nobles  connected  with  it  by  mar- 
riage. Watch  was  kept  upon  the  satrap  by  a  "  Royal  Sec- 
retary," who  reported  all  his  proceedings  to  the  king,  and 
received  dispatches  and  edicts  from  the  capital,  by  means 
of  "  posts  on  horseback,  and  riders  on  mules,  camels,  and 
young  dromedaries.""  Sometimes,  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
case  of  Orcetes,  the  Secretary  Avas  the  organ  of  a  royal  de- 
cree for  the  satrap's  deposition,  or  even  his  death.  Xeno- 
phon  tells  us  that  special  commissioners,  also,  were  sent 
every  year  to  make  inquiries  into  the  condition  of  each  sa- 
trapy. 

Ul^on  the  whole,  these  precautions  seem  not  to  have  been 

3»  Esther  viii.  On  the  identity  of  Xcroces  with  the  A  hasmms  of  this  book,  and  the 
clear  distinction  between  Esther  and  Amestris,  see  the  "Student's  Old  Testament 
Hist."  chap,  xxvii.  §  4.  4°  Esther  viii.  10. 


ABSOLUTE  POWER  OF  THE  KING.  rm 

ineffective.  Excluding  the  rebellions  against  the  new  pow- 
er of  Darius,  and  tlie  revolts  which  were  purely  national- 
such  as  those  of  Babylonia  and  Egypt — the  attempt  of  the 
younger  Cyrus  is  almost  tlie  only  case  of  dangerous  rebel- 
lion; and  this  was  a  question  of  succession  to  the  throne,  not 
of  provincial  revolt.  In  process  of  time,  however,  some  of  the 
more  distant  or  less  accessible  provinces  seem  to  have  fallen 
off  quietly  from  the  empire,  which  was  certainly  of  less  ex= 
tent  under  the  last  Darius  than  nnder  the  first. 

§  20.  The  position  of  the  Great  King,  as  the  Greeks  called 
him,  differed  in  no  material  respect  from  that  of  an  Asiatic 
despot  at  the  present  day,  such  as  the  Shah  of  modern  Per- 
sia. We  have  already  had  occasion  to  describe  the  state  in 
which  he  held  his  court,  in  the  spring  at  Susa,  in  the  summer 
at  Ecbatana,  and  in  the  winter  at  Babylon ;  as  well  as  at 
Persepolis,  which  several  kings  adorned  with  splendid  pal- 
aces. He  appears  to  have  i^overned  without  a  council,  ex- 
cept when  of  his  mere  motion  he  summoned  the  nobles  to 
aid  him  with  their  advice,  M'hich  even  then  he  was  nnder  no 
obligation  to  follow.  If  his  courtiers  ventured  to  appeal  to 
the  unchanging  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  the  royal 
judges  were  ready  to  declare  that  the  first  of  those  laws, 
and  one  which  overrode  all  othei-s,  was  that  the  king  micrh; 
do  whatever  he  pleased.  The  only  effective  check  on  liis 
despotism  was  uAsassination,  the  fate's  of  Xerxes  I.,  Xerxes  IL, 
and  Ochus. 


Grand  Range  of  Lebniion. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    PTTCEXTriA. 


PART  I.— TO  THE  TIME  OF  TYRE'S  SUPREMACY. 

§  1.  Importauce  of  PhcenicJa  in  history.  §  2.  Due  to  its  geographical  position.  Ex- 
tent of  Phoenicia  at  various  times.  §  3.  Resources  of  the  country.  Its  rivers. 
Great  coast  road  and  passes.  Security  of  the  position.  §  4.  Climate  of  Phoenicia. 
§  5.  Its  vegetable  products.  §  C.  Lebanon  and  its  forests.  The  Cedars.  Wild 
beasts.  Minerals.  Fisheries.  The  "Tyrian  purple."  §  7.  Puientoia  not  a  na- 
tive name.  Origin  of  the  people.  Want  of  a  native  history.  §  8,  Phoenician 
states  included  in  the  Biblical  genealogy  of  Canaan,  son  of  Ham.  Boundaries  of 
the  Canaanites.  §9.  Geographical  sense  of  Canaan  =  the  later  Palestine.  More 
specific  sense  of  Canaamtca,  the  lowland  tribes.  Reason  for  the  distinction. 
The  Phceniciaus  the  chief  remnant  of  the  Canaanites.  They  called  their  land  Ca- 
mmn  an  J  themselves  Canaanites.  §  10.  The  Canaanites  were  immigrants,  not  long 
before  the  time  of  Abraham.  Earlier  populations— the  Rephaim,  etc.  5  11.  Re- 
markable Egyptian  testimony  of  the  time  of  the  Xllth  Dynasty.  Palestine  then 
peopled  by  tlie  Semite  Aamn.  §  12.  Phoenician  traditions  of  their  migration  from 
the  Persian  Gulf.  Testimony  of  ancient  writers.  Confirmatory  evidence.  Le- 
gend of  their  expulsion  by  the  Cnshite  kings  of  Nimrod's  race.  §  13.  Branches 
of  the  Migration.  The  Hyksos  in  Egypt.  Their  return  supposed  to  have  brought 
Egyptian  civilization  and  alphabetic  writing  into  Palestine  and  Phoenicia,  and  so 
to  Europe.  §  14.  The  Canaanites  a  dark  race.  Language  of  tlie  Phoenicians  Se- 
mitic. Affinity  with  Hebrew,  the  "language  of  Canaan."  §  15.  Claim  of  Tvrb 
to  a  remote  antiquity:  nnsustained  by  proof.     Higher  antiquity  of  SniON.     Phos- 


DE8C11IPTI0N  OF  PHCENICIA.  595 

nicia  origiually  the  territory  of  Sidon.  Its  maritime  importance  in  the  patriarchal 
a<i;e.  Probable  origin  from  a  tishery.  Meaning  uf  ihe  name.  Sidonian  art  and 
Phoenician  commerce  in  Homer.  Situation  of  Sidon.  §  1(5.  The  other  Canaanite 
settlements  on  the  Phoenician  coast.  The  Arkite.  Area.  Simron  or  Orthosia. 
The  Sinite.  Sinna.  Gebal  or  Bybhts.  BEuvTrs.  The  Arvadite  and  Zamarite. 
Aradus:  Autaradus  and  Marathus.  Simyua.  Hamatii  or  Epiphania.  Kintrdom 
of  Hamath.  Its  relations  to  Syria,  Israel,  and  Assyria.  Tyre,  Its  relations  to 
Sidon.  The  island  city  and  Palaetyrus  on  the  main-land.  The  threefold  colony  of 
Tripolis.  Eecapitulatiou  of  the  Phoenician  cities.  §  17.  Sidonian  and  Tyrian 
periods  of  Pikenician  History,  llelations  to  Egypt:  under  the  Hyksos,  and  the 
Thebaus.  Stelae  of  Rameses  II.  Egyptian  narrative  of  a  journey  in  Phoenicia, 
The  Sidonians  and  Sinites  enjoying  prosperity  as  subject-allies  of  Egypt.  §  18. 
Supremacy  of  Sidon  in  Phoenicia  — except  over  Gebal  (Byblus).  Height  of  her 
commercial  prosperity.  Her  colonies.  Extent  of  her  commerce.  Colonies  of 
Byblus.  §  19.  Decline  of  Sidon's  maritime  power.  Growth  of  Greek  maritime 
adventure.  Stories  of  Phoenician  settlements  in  Greece  and  Africa.  Letters  car- 
ried to  Greece.  Cadmus.  Phoenicia  not  conquered  by  the  Israelites.  Sidon  taken 
by  the  Philistines  under  the  lead  of  Ascalon.  Supremacy  of  Tyre.  The  people 
still  called  Sidonians.  §  20.  The  Phoenician  League  under  the  supremacy  of  Tyre. 
Constitution  of  the  cities.  Isolation  of  Aradus.  Naval  and  military  forces  of 
Tyre.  Her  distant  voyages  to  the  West.  Settlements  in  Africa,  Spain,  Sardinia, 
and  Sicily. 

§  1.  One  of  the  smallest  provinces  of  the  Persian  Empire 
demands  our  special  notice,  from  its  very  ancient  civilization, 
its  extensive  colonizing  energy,  and  the  vast  development  of 
its  commerce,  which  on  the  one  side  enriched  the  great  empires 
of  Asia,  and,  on  the  other,  carried  the  civilization  of  Asia  to 
the  shores  of  Europe ;  and,  lastly,  from  the  part  played  in 
history  by  its  great  colony  of  Carthage.  In  the  oldest  Bib- 
lical records,  and  in  the  earliest  monuments  of  Assyria,  Ph(E- 
NiciA  appears  as  the  seat  of  trade ;  the  mythical  history  of 
Greece  looks  to  that  shore  for  her  earliest  civilization  ;  and, 
whatever  may  be  the  value  of  those  legends,  whether  Cad- 
mus ever  lived  or  not,  the  very  forms  of  tlie  letters  in  which 
we  now  write  attest  the  truth  of  the  tradition  that  they 
were  brought  from  Phoenicia. 

§  2.  The  very  position  of  the  region  determined  its  rela* 
tions  to  the  continent  of  which  it  formed  a  part,  and  to  the 
shores  to  which  it  looked  out  westward  across  the  Mediter- 
ranean. Phoenicia  is  nothing  more  than  a  narrow  strip  of 
coast,  partly  level  and  partly  hilly,  a  sort  of  shelf  or  "  rivie- 
ra,"  among  the  foot-hills  of  the  great  chain  of  Lebanon,  the 
projecting  headlands  of  which,'with  the  detached  islands, 
form  some  excellent  harbors.  The  narrowness  of  the  slip  of 
coast,  and  the  height  of  the  continuous  chain  by  which  it  is 
pent  in,  distinguish  the  coast  of  Phoenicia  fi'om  that  of  Syria 
to  the  north  and  that  of  Palestine  to  the  south. 

The  average  width  of  the  undulating  plain  between  the 
sea  and  the  mountains  is  only  about  a  mile,  increasing  at  Si- 
don to  two  miles,  and  near  Tyre  to  five ;  the  whole  breadth 
of  the  land,  inclusive  of  the  slopes  of  Lebanon,  nowhere  ex- 
ceeds twenty  miles,  the   average  being  about  twelve.     Its 


59G  THE  III^^TOKY  OF  riKENlClA. 

nrttiiral  lenoth,  as  determined  by  the  chain  of  Lebanon,  would 
be  from  the  break  between  that  chain  and  Mount  Bargyhis, 
below  35°  N.  lat.— whei-e  the  valley  o{  Ilamath  (or  of  Eme- 
sa)  forms  an  opening  to  the  Syrian  Desert  and  C«le-Syria— 
as  far  south  as  the  mouth  of  the  Leontes  and  Tyre.  The 
northern  limit  is  usually  fixed  at  the  island  of  Aradus  and 
tlie  city  of  Antaradus,  nearly  opposite  on  the  main-land ;  the 
southern  at  the  "  White  Cape  "  (From.  Album,  Bas  el  Abidd), 
about  six  miles  south  of  Tyre.  This  coast  line  is  about  120 
miles  in  length.  Originally,  however,  the  name  of  Phoenicia 
denoted  a  much  smaller  portion  of  the  coast,  the  territory 
of  Sidon  and  Tyre,  from  the  river  Bostrenus  {Nahr-el-Auly), 
two  miles  north  of  Sidon,  to  the  Mas  el  Abiad,  a  length  of 
only  twenty-eight  miles.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  Josephus 
describes  Phoenicia  as  "the  great  plain  of  Sidon.'"  On  the 
other  hand,  the  southern  limit  is  often  carried  as  far  as 
Mount  Carmel ;  for  Acco  (afterwards  Ptolemais,  and  the 
modern  St.  Jean  d) Acre)  was  an  old  Phoenician  settlement. 
Nay,  the  name  is  sometimes  applied,  as  by  Herodotus,''  to 
the  wdiole,  or  nearly  the  whole,  of  the  eastern  sea-board  of  the 
Mediterranean,  from  the  bay  of  Myriandrus  down  to  Carmel 
at  least,  and  perhaps  to  Gaza. 

§  3.  This  narrow  region  had  abundant  resources  wdthin 
itself,  besides  its  advantageous  position  for  commerce.  Its 
varied  surface  is  watered  by  the  numerous  streams,  short 
but  copious,  wdiich  run  down  across  it  from  Lebanon  to  the 
sea,  and  some  of  these  have  interesting  associations.  The 
larsjest  of  them  is  the  river  now^  called  ^Mihr-el-Kasimieh  or 
Nahr-el-Litany,  and  supposed  to  be  the  ancient  Leontes, 
which  drains  the  great  valley  of  Cade-Syria  ("  Hollow  Syria") 
between  the  two  ranges  of  Lebanon,  and  falls  into  the  sea 
north  of  Tyre.  At  the  northern  part  of  the  country  in  like 
manner,  though  on  a  much  smaller  scale,  the  valley  between 
Mounts  Bargylus  and  Lebanon  is  drained  by  the  "Great 
River"  {Xahr-el-Keblr),l\\e  ancient  Eleutherus,  wdiich  falls 
into  the  large  bay  between  Aradus  and  Tripolis.  Of  the 
rivers  having  their  sources  on  the  western  slope  of  Lebanon, 
the  most  important  is  the  Bostrenus  (JVahr-el-Aidi/),  which 
watered  the  plain  of  Sidon.  Proceeding  to  the  north,  across 
the  Tamyras  {Mchr-el-Damur)  and  the^Magoras  N'ahr-Bey- 
rut)  just  beyond  Berytus,  we  come  to  the  Lycus  (JSFahr-el- 
Kelb),  famous  for  the  stekt^,  or  sculptured  tablets,  of  Rameses 
H.  (or,  as  the  Greeks  said,  Sesostris),  and  of  several  Assyrian 
kings,  on  the  face  of  the  rocks  Avhich  overhang  its  stream. 
A  more  poetical  celebrity  belongs  to  the  stream  just  south 

'  Joseph.  "  Aut."  V.  3,  §  1.  ""  vii.  SD :  iv.  3S  :  iii.  4. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  PHCENICIA.  597 

of  Bybliis,  from  the  legend  (derived  perhaps  from  the  blood- 
red  color  of  the  water  in  flood-time)  which  gave  the  river 
its  name  of  Adonis  {N^ahr-Ibrahim)^  and  as  the  seat  of  the 
elemental  worship  of  Thammuz — 

"Whose  aunual  wound  in  Lebanon  allured 
The  Syrian  damsels  to  lament  his  fate 
In  amorous  ditties  all  a  summer's  day ; 
While  smooth  Adonis  from  his  native  rock 
Ran  purple  to  the  sea,  supposed  with  blood 
Of  Thammuz  yearly  wounded." 

The  last  river  deserving  to  be  mentioned  (for  the  lesser 
streams  and  mountain  torrents  are  innumerable)  is  that  of 
Tripolis  (the  JVcihr-Kadisha,  or  "Holy  River"),  which  has 
its  chief  source  just  opposite  that  of  the  Orontes  on  the  other 
slope  of  Lebanon. 

A  coast  road  was  carried  across  these  rivers  by  many 
bridges,  and  over  the  intervening  promontories  by  means  of 
zigzags  or,  as  the  Greeks  called  them,  cUmaces  {stairs  or  lad- 
ders), the  most  remarkable  of  which  was  the  Climax  TyriO' 
rum^  across  the  White  Cape^  which  rises  to  the  height  of 
three  hundred  feet.  But  in  earlier  times  the  valleys  must 
have  been  severed  in  a  way  which  goes  far  to  account  for 
the  independence  of  the  original  states  among  themselves. 
Their  general  freedom  from  war,  though  too  weak  to  resist 
subjection,  and  the  efibrts  which  they  repeatedly  made  to 
throw  off  a  foreign  yoke,  were  due  in  a  great  measure  to  the 
fact  that  their  land  lay  out  of  the  great  highways  trodden 
by  the  Oriental  armies.  The  military  road  from  Egypt  to 
the  Euphrates  struck  inland  from  the  maritime  plain'of  Pal- 
estine south  of  Damascus;  while  that  which  led  to  Hamath 
and  the  valley  of  the  Orontes— the  land  of  the  martial  Hit- 
tites— and  in  later  ages  to  Antioch,  passed  through  Co'le- 
Syria  behind  Lebanon,  the  great  rampart  which  severed  the 
Phoenician  coast  from  that  constantly  disputed  reo-ion  of 
Syria. 

§  4.  Lying  in  the  fairest  part  of  the  temperate  zone,  be- 
tween the  breezes  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  heights  of 
Lebanon,  which  are  snow-clad  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
year,  and  with  a  surface  varying  from  level  plains,  through 
undulating  hills,  to  high  and  rugged  mountains,  Phoenicia 
possesses  a  climate  and  production's  equally  remarkable  for 
excellence  and  diversity.  Its  exposure  to  the  west  gives  it 
a  high  temperature,  especially  on  the  sea-level.  At  Berytus 
(Beyrut)^  which  lies  just  in  the  middle  of  the  coast  and  at 
the  foot  of  the  highest  peak  of  Lebanon,  the  usual  summer 
heat  is  90°  of  Fahrenheit,  tlie  winter  rarely  below  50°.' 

3  Russegger,  quoted  by  Keurick,  "Phoenicia,"  p.  32. 


598  THE  HISTORY  OF  PHCENICIA. 

The  prevailing  winds  are  from  the  west,  north-west,  and 
south-west,  bringing  rain  in  the  winter,  and  violent  storms 
in  October  and  November,  from  the  very  quarter  (north- 
west) to  which  the  harbors  are  most  exposed.  The  win- 
ter rains  fill  in  November  and  December.  In  January  and 
February,  if  the  winter  be  at  all  severe,  these  rains  become 
snow,  and  there  is  frost  enough  to  cover  the  standing  waters 
with  a  thin  coat  of  ice,  but  not  to  harden  the  ground.  The 
wn'nter  rains  are  preceded  and  followed  by  lighter  showers, 
the  "  early  and  latter  rain  "  of  Scripture.  The  former,  about 
the  end  of  October,  prepare  the  soil  for  autumn  sowing;  the 
latter,  in  March,  bring  forward  the  crops,  which  ripen  in  the 
delightful  months  of  April  and  May. 

The  four  summer  months  are  rainless  and  almost  cloudless  ; 
with  winds  which  follow  the  daily  course  of  the  sun,  and  a 
land  breeze  in  the  evening  on  the  coast  and  about  three 
miles  out  to  sea.  The  violent  and  parching  east  wind  from 
the  desert  is  felt,  even  across  the  barrier  of  Lebanon,  from 
March  to  June,  and  the  south  wind,  which  blows  in  Maich, 
has  the  enervating  effect  of  a  sirocco.  When  the  heat  is  ex- 
cessive, a  few  hours' journey  affords  a  delightful  retreat  in 
the  coolness  and  verdure  of  Lebanon,  with  its  grand  and 
beautiful  scenery.  In  these  mountains  the  winter  is  severe 
from  November  to  March  ;  the  snow  usually  falling  heavily 
and  lying  deep.  The  summit  of  Lebanon  retains  the  snow 
during  the  summer  only  in  its  ravines,  giving  the  effect  (as 
Phocas  long  ago  observed)  of  white  wreaths  amidst  the  less 
brilliant  white  of  the  jagged  points  of  limestone  which  mask 
its  naked  ridge.*  Both  these  circumstances  may  have  con- 
tributed to  give  the  range  its  name  of  Lebanon.,  that  is, 
"White,"  the  Mount  Blcinc  of  Palestine.  In  the  higher 
chain  oi  Antilihanus  (which,  however,  is  quite  separate  from 
Phoenicia),  the  culminating  summit  of  Hermon,  10,000  feet 
high,  is  clad  with  perpetual  snow.  The  climate  is  usually 
healthy,  and  the  fevers  which  prevail  on  the  coast  in  the 
heat  of  summer  might  probably  be  prevented.  The  whole 
region  is  subject  to  earthquakes. 

§  5.  The  country  thus  described  must  needs  have  a  great 
abundance  and  variety  of  vegetable  products.  The  soil  is 
fertile,  although  now  generally  ill-cultivated.  In  the  rich 
gardens  and  orchards  about  Sidon  may  be  seen  oranges,  lem- 
ons, figs,  almonds,  plums,  apricots,  peaches,  pomegranates, 
pears,  and  bananas,  all  growing  luxuriantly,  and  forming  a 
forest  of  finely-tinted  foliage.  T}>e  fertile  lowlands  bore 
abundant  crops  of  corn  ;  and  the  olive,  vine,  and  fig-tree  were 

*  Jereminh  (xviii.  14)  speaks  cjf  "ihe  sdow  of  Lebanon." 


THE  FOKESTS  OF  LEBANON.  r,00 

proverbial  products  of  Phoenicia  as  well  as  of  Palestine, 
where  the  inhabitant  could  "  dip  his  feet  in  oil,"  and  "  sit  un- 
der his  own  vine  and  under  his  own  fig-tree."  The  former 
abundance  of  the  date-palm  is  attested,  as  some  think,  by  the 
very  name  of  Phcexicia,  which  is  the  Latin  form  of  the  Greek 
Phoenice  (Ootr/k//,  from  (poin^)-,  just  as  Brazil  is  named  from 
its  famous  wood.^     (Comp.  §  Q^Jin.) 

§  6.  All  readers  are  flimiliar  with  the  proverbial  fame  of 
the  forests  which  clothe  the  jagged  sides  of  Lebanon  and 
of  the  spurs  which  it  throws  out  to  form  the  bold  headlands 
of  the  coast.  "Lebanon  is  not  sufficient  to  burn,  nor  the 
beasts  thereof  for  a  burnt-offering."'^  The  average  height 
of  the  chain  of  Lebanon  is  from  6000  to  SOOO  feet,  and  the 
upper  line  of  vegetation  runs  along  at  about  6000  feet. 
The  forests  which  furnished  timber  not  only  for  the  Phoeni- 
cian navy,  but  for  the  Assyrian  palaces,  as  well  as  for  the 
temple  and  palaces  of  Solomon,  consist  of  pine,  fir,  cypress, 
and  evergreen  oak,  as  well  as  the  famous  "cedar  of  Lebanon." 
As  fixr  as  is  at  present  known,  the  cedar  of  Lebanon  is  con- 
fined to  one  valley  of  t'he  range,  that  of  the  Kadisha^  or  river 
of  Tripoli.  The  grove  stands  quite  alone  in  a  depression,  at 
the  upper  part  of  the  valley,  about  15  miles  from  the  sea,  and 
6172  feet  above  its  level,  beyond  the  elevation  reached  by  all 
the  other  trees  of  this  mountain  range.  There  are  about  400 
trees,  of  which  eleven  or  twelve  are  very  large  and  old,  fifty 
of  middle  size,  and  the  rest  younger  and  smaller.  The  older 
trees  have  each  several  trunks  and  spread  themselves  widely 
round,  but  most  of  the  others  are  cone-like  in  form,  and  do 
not  send  out  wide  lateral  branches.  They  are  still  regarded 
witli  as  great  reverenct^  as  in  ancient  times,  when  one  of 
them  was  affirmed  to  be  as  old  as  the  creation,'  or  at  least 
as  the  time  of  Abraham.® 

The  ravines  and  caverns  in  the  rugged  sides  of  the  lime- 
stone range  give  shelter  to  many  wifd  beasts— jackals,  hye- 
nas, wolves,  bears,  and  panthers.  "  The  beasts  thereof,"  men- 
tioned by  Isaiah,  must  have  been  cattle  fed  upon  the  lower 
hills.  Antilibanus,  which  is  now  more  thinly  peopled,  is 
more  abundantly  stocked  with  wild  beasts ;  and  it  was  the 

6  This  etymology  is  coufirmed  by  the  appearauce  of  the  palm-tree  as  an  emblem  on 
the  coins  of  Aradus,  Tyre,  and  Sidon.  The  palm  may  well  have  been  more  abundant 
in  Phoenicia  in  ancient  times  than  now.  It  is  still  found  at  various  places  along  the 
coast,  and  especially  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tyre.  The  name  also  of  the  Malum  Pu- 
nicum  (Punic  or  Phoenician  apple)  points  to  this  as  an  ancient  home  oi  the  pomegran- 
ate, the  native  name  of  which,  Rimmon,  is  frequent  in  the  geography  of  Palestine. 
The  pistachio  nut  is  another  characteristic  fruit  of  both  countries,  as  in  the  days  of 
Jacob  (Gen.  xliii.  11)  and  of  Pliny  ("H.  N."  xiii.  10). 

8  Isaiah  x1. 16;  Ix.  13  :  comp.  Ps.  Ixxii.  10  ;  IIos.  xiv.  5;  Zech.  xi.  1. 

■^  Joseph.  "  Bell.  Jud."  iv.  1>,  7.  «  Euscb.  "  Prrep.  Ev."  v.  9. 


GOO  THE  HISTORY  OF  PHa:NlCIA. 

scene  of  many  of  the  hunting  exploits  commemorated  in  the 
Assyrian  annals  and  sculptures. 

The  lower  formation  of  sandstone  contains  iron  ore  in  suf- 
ficient abundance  to  have  been  worked  in  some  parts,  v,  hen 
wood  was  njore  plentiful  than  now ;  but  PhaMiicia  appears 
to  haA^e  obtained  her  metals  chiefly  from  abroad.  Such  a 
coast,  of  course,  supplied  important  ^/^.sAer^'csy  and  a  very 
probable  etymology  derives  the  name  of  its  oldest  city,  Si- 
do)i,  from  its  being  a  fishing -station,  like  Beth-saida  (the 
"house  of  fish")  on  the  Lake  of  Galilee.  Most  famous  of  all 
was  the  fishery  for  the  7nurex,the  mollusk  which  supplied  the 
famous  "  Tyi'ian  purple,"  from  which,  indeed,  some  derive  the 
very  name  of  Phoenicia.  The  writings  of  the  Assyrian  kings 
often  mention  the  skins  of  sea-calves  which  they  obtained 
from  the  Phoenician  coast,  to  use  as  hangings  and  coverings 
in  their  palaces.  Nor,  in  this  connection,  ought  we  to  over- 
look the  worship  of  the  Fish-god,  which  prevailed  along  this 
whole  coast. 

§  7.  Whether  as  "the  land  of  the  date-palm"  or  as  "the 
land  of  purple,"  Phoenicia  is  known,  like  so  many  other  coun- 
tries of  the  ancient  and  modern  world,  by  a  foreign  appella- 
tion— an  appellation  which  recalls  its  primeval  connection 
with  Greece.  The  question  of  its  ancient  name  is  mixed  up 
with  another,  of  very  great  interest,  concerning  the  origin  of 
its  population.  It  must  be  observed  that  there  is  no  trust- 
worthy native  history  of  Phoenicia;  and,  in  place  of  such 
monuments  as  those  of  Egypt  and  Assyria,  Me  have  only  a 
few  lately  discovered  inscriptions.  We  are  dependent,  there- 
fore, on  the  traditions  preserved  by  the  ancient  writers,  com- 
pared and  tested  by  the  liglit  of  comparative  philology  and 
similar  methods  of  research." 

§  8.  The  Phoenicians,  though  regarded  by  the  ancients  as 
one  nation,  never  formed  a  complete  political  union.  From 
the  earliest  known  times,  eacli  city  was  a  separate  state: 
though  Sidon  at  one  period,  and  Tyre  at  another,  obtained 
supremacy  over  the  rest.  In  the  ethnic  table  of  Genesis  x., 
we  are  told  that  ^''Canaan  begat  Sidon^  his  first-born,"  the 
oldest  and  long  the  most  important  of  the  Phoenician  states; 
and  among  the  other  Canaanites,  the  Arkite,  the  Sinite^  the 

9  The  "Phoeuician  History"  of  Sanciioni.vtiion  of  Berytns— once  regarded  as  an 
authority  even  higher  than  that  of  Manetho  for  Egypt  or  Berosns  for  Babylon— is 
now  generally  acknowledged  to  he  the  forgery  of  its  professed  Greek  translator, 
Philo  Byblius,  a  grammarian  of  the  2d  century  after  Christ.  It  is  even  i)robable 
that  "Sanchoniathon"  was  not  the  name  of  a  person,  but  the  tille  of  the  sacred 
books  of  the  Phoenicians,  San  Chmimth,  "the  entire  law  of  Chon,"  that  is,  the  god 
Bel,  whom  the  Greeks  called  the  Tyrian  Hercules.  The  existing  fragments,  there- 
fore, are  only  of  value  as  they  may  preserve  Phcenician  traditions,  the  worth  of  which 
must  be  tested  by  other  sources  of  information. 


BIBLICAL  GENEALOGY  OF  CANAAN.  CO! 

Arvadite^  the  Zenuirite,  and  the  Hamathite,  clearly  represent 
the  cities  of  Area,  Sinna,  Aradus,  Simyra,  and  Hamath  (the 
later  Epiphania)  ;  the  last  being  beyond  the  north  limit  of 
Phoenicia.  The  border  of  the  Canaanites  is  further  defined 
as  from  Sidon  (along  the  maritime  plain)  to  Gerar  and  Gaza, 
and  thence  to  the  lowlands  of  the  Jordan,  at  Sodom,  Go- 
morrah, Admah,  and  Zeboim,  as  far  as  Lasha"*  (probably  Cal- 
lirroe,  on  the  river  Zerka).  Since  Canaan  is  made  a  son  of 
Ham'^ — and  that  so  emphatically  as  to  be  the  special  inher- 
itor of  the  curse  which  marked  him  as  the  servant  of  Sheni'^ 
— it  follows  that  the  peoples  here  named  were  regarded  as 
belonging  to  the  Hamitic  race,  in  strong  contrast  with  the 
Semitic  Israelites,  to  whom  their  land  was  given  as  a  pos- 
session. Thus  far  there  is  evidence  of  a  Canaanite  and  Hanv 
ite  population  in  some  of  the  chief  cities  of  Phoenicia  ;  among 
which,  observe.  Tyre  is  not  yet  mentioned,  nor  does  its  name 
occur  in  Scripture  till  a  much  later  age. 

§  9.  As  a  geograpliical  term,  Canaan  denotes  the  whole 
land  promised  to  Abraham.  It  is  the  only  name  used  for 
that  land  in  the  book  of  Genesis ;  and  "the  land  of  Canaan" 
occurs  in  an  inscription  of  Menephtha,  the  Pharaoh  of  the 
Exodus.  In  the  ethnic  sense,  however,  the  peoples  of  the 
land  are  sometimes  included  under  the  general  name  of  Ca- 
naanites; but  that  term  sometimes  denotes  "a  special  por- 
tion of  the  population,  joined  with  Hittites  or  Ilethites,  Ajn- 
orites,  Girgasites,  Perizzites,  Hivites,  and  Jebusites,  but  dis- 
tinguished from  them."^^  It  is  so  used  in  the  Books  of  Num- 
bers and  Joshua ;  and  it  seems  to  be  in  this  sense  that  the 
borders  of  the  Canaanites  are  drawn  (in  the  passage  quoted 
above)  along  the  loiolands^  corresponding  with  the  most  prob- 
able etymology  of  the  name  Canaan.  Thus  there  were  east- 
ern and  western  Canaanites ;  the  former  in  the  low  valley  of 
the  Jordan  and  Dead  Sea,  the  latter  in  the  maritime  plain, 
which  a  prophet  expressly  names  as  "  Canaan^  the  land  of 
the  Philistines.  "'* 

The  tribes  thus  distinguished  are  all  alike  included,  in  Gen- 
esis X.,  among  the  sons  of  Canaan  and  the  race  of  Ham.  The 
special  application  of  the  name  of  Canaanites  may  be  ex- 
plained as  a  case  of  the  very  frequent  retention  of  an  old 
ethnic  name  in  those  parts  of  a  country  where  a  primitive 
population  has  held  its  ground.  After  the  Eastern  Canaan- 
ites of  the  Dead  Sea  valley  were  partly  destroyed  iu  the  ca- 
tastrophe of  the  "  cities  of  the  plain,"  and  jiartly  displaced 
by  successive  conquests ;  and  after  those  of  the  lower  mari- 

'«  Gen.  X.  15-19.  "  Gen.  x.  6.  12  Qen.  ix.  25,  26. 

'J  Kcurick,  "  Phoeuicia,"  p.  40.  '*  Zephauiah  ii.  5. 

26 


602  THE  HISTORY  OF  PHCENlUiA. 

time  plain  were  overpowered  by  the  Philistines;  those  of 
the  upper  maritime  plain,  from  Carmel  along  the  foot  of  Leb- 
anon, were  left  as  the  representatives  of  the  Canaanitish 
race.  Their  land  was,  indeed,  partly  included  within  the 
bounds  assigned  to  Israel — another  confirmation  of  their  be- 
ing regarded  as  Canaanites  ;  but  the  tribe  of  Asher,  to  whom 
Acco  and  the  territory  as  far  as  Sidon  were  allotted,  pve- 
ferred  the  "royal  dainties"  furnished  by  their  commerce, 
j^nd  failed  to  drive  them  out;  and  so  "the  Asherites  dwelt 
among  the  Canaanites,  the  inhabitants  of  the  land.'"'  Wg 
can  now  understand  the  consent  of  all  ancient  testimonies  to 
the  fact  that  the  Phoenicians  called  themselves,  in  their  own 
tongue,  by  the  name  of  Canaanites;'"  and  we  see  that  Lheir 
primeval  history  is  involved  in  that  of  the  whole  race  of 
Canaan. 

§  10.  In  the  earliest  history  of  the  chosen  race,  we  have 
distinct  evidence,  first,  of  the  fact  that  the  Canaanites  w^ere 
immigrants  into  tlie  land  of  Canaan,  and  further,  of  the  very 
time  when  they  made  their  entrance.  When  Abraham  re- 
turned from  his  sojourn  in  Egypt,  "  the  Canaanite  and  the 
Perizzite  dwelt  t/ien  in  the  land,""  a  statement  which  hardly 
need  have  been  made  had  they  been  long  settled  as  its  per- 
manent inhabitants.  There  are  allusions,  both  at  this  and 
later  times,  to  the  old  races  they  had  displaced,  under  the 
very  names  by  which  tradition  invests  primeval  and  extinct 
races  with  vague  attributes  of  stature,  strength,  and  violence. 

Such  were  the  Eephaiui,  a  name  which  the  Phoenicians  ap- 
plied to  the  "Manes"  of  the  dead,'*^  who  were  overpowered 
in  Bashan  by  the  Amorites;  the  Eniim,  or  "terrible  ones," 
in  tiie  land  afterwards  possessed  by  Moab;''-*  the  Zuzim,  in 
the  unknown  region  called  Ham  ;'^"  the  Zamzwnmhn,  \\\\o 
were  supplanted  by  the  children  of  Ammon.^'  West  of  the 
Jordan,  the  Anakim,  of  whom  the  Nephilim  were  a  branch, 
lield  their  ground  against  the  Hittites  in  the  southern  hills, 
about  the  city  of  Kirjath-Arba  (Hebron),  till  the  Israelites 
entered  the  land ;"  the  Avim  occupied  the  maritime  plain  as 
low  as  Gaza;"'  and  farther  to  the  south,  towards  Arabia  Pe- 
trtea,  were  the  Kenites,  Kenizzites,  and  Kadmonites^^  All 
these,  with  others,  doubtless,  whom  the  history  had  no  occa- 
sion to  mentiohi,  seem  to  have  been  included  under  the  gen- 
eral name  Q>i  Rephaim ;  whose  cliaractei-  as  a  nearly  extinct 
aboriginal  race  is  marked  by  the  twofold  application  of  the 

J'  Jud^s  i.  31,  32 ;  Joshua  xix.  24-30 ;  Gen.  xlix.  20  ;  Dent,  xxxiii,  24. 

J3  For  the  proofs  of  this,  see  Kenrick,  "Phoenicia,"  pp.  42,  43. 

"  Gen.  xiii,  7.  i«  Gen.  xiv.  5.  i'-*  Ibid.  20  i^id.  21  Deut.  ii.  20. 

22  Nnmb.  xiii.  22,  33  ;  Deut.  i.  2S  ;  xv.  13, 11 ;  Josh.  xi.  21,  xv.  13,  54. 

2»  Dent.  ii.  23.  24  Qen.  xv.  19 ;  Numb.  xxiv.  21 ;  1  Sara.  xv.  G  ;  xxvii.  la 


IMMIGRATION  OF  CANAANITES.  {>0a 

name,  on  the  one  hand,  to  siicn  remnants  of  them  as  survived 
in  the  south-west  of  Palestine  ;^^  on  the  other  to  the  spirits  of 
the  departed,  who  peopled  Sheol^  the  Hebrew  Hades.''''  As 
to  their  race,  the  opinion  which  seems  most  probable  is  that 
they  were  a  branch  of  the  Aramaean  Semites,  who  were  spi-ead 
over  the  highlands  on  both  sides  or  the  Euphrates.  They 
were  still  powerful  enough  in  the  time  of  Abraham  to  be  at- 
tacked by  Chedorlaomer;"  and  that  this  was  about  the  time 
of  the  entrance  of  the  Canaanites,  is  indicated  by  the  men- 
tion of  the  foundation  of  Hebron  (the  great  city  of  the  south- 
ern Hittites),  as  a  recent  event,  the  date  of  which  could  be 
precisely  assigned.^** 

§11.  The  indications  thus  gleaned  from  Scripture  have 
received  a  curious  confirmation  from  Egyptian  literature. 
"We  now  possess  a  document  of  undisputed  authority,  giv- 
ing a  date  below  which  we  must  necessarily  place  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Canaanites  in  Palestine.  This  document  is 
an  hieratic  papyrus,  now  in  the  Berlin  Museum,  translated 
in  great  part  by  M.  Cliabas,'"  containing  the  report  of  an 
Egyptian  officer,  sent  during  the  reign  of  Amenembe  I.,  of 
the  Xllth  dynasty,  into  the  countries  of  Edom  and  Tennu, 
situated  to  the  north,  towards  the  basin  of  the  Dead  Sea, 
both  countries  being  then  vassal  principalities  of  Egypt,  like 
the  kingdom  of  Gerar,  where  Abraham  and  Isaac  resided. 
His  mission  was  to  examine  into  the  state  of  these  two  coun- 
tries, and  also  to  report  the  situation  of  the  neighboring  na- 
tions, with  whom  Egypt  and  her  vassals  were  often  at'^var. 
In  his  report  there  is  no  trace  of  the  existence  of  Canaan- 
itish  tribes  in  Palestine.  The  only  inhabitants  of  the  whole 
countiy  are  the  Sati.,  some  remnants  of  whom  we  find  men- 
tioned during  the  XVHIth  dynasty,  as  also  are  the  remnants 
of  the  Rephaim  in  the  Book  of  Joshua.  Now  the  Sati,  on  all 
the  Egyptian  monuments  where  they  are  represented,  have 
a  perfectly  characterized  Semitic  type.  Othei-  texts,  also 
dated  under  the  old  empire  and  the  twelfth  dynasty,  ex- 
pressly state  that  the  only  neighbors  the  Egyptians  had  at 
this  time,  on  the  Syrian  side,  were  the  nation's  of  the  race  of 
the  Aamu—ih^t  is,  Semites,  whom  the  sons  of  Mizraim  ijen- 
erally  designated  by  this  name,  derived  from  the  Semitic 
word  a^i— that  is,  ^9e(9/j>^e.'"" 

§  12.  The  immigration  of  the  Canaanites  being  thus  estab- 

25  2  Sam.  V.  18  ;  xxi.  IS,  19 ;  1  Chrou.  xi.  15 ;  xx.  4 ;  Isa.  xvii.  5. 

26  Ps.  Ixxxviii.  10  ;  Pr.)v.  ii.  IS,  ix.  IS.  xxi.  16 ;  Is.  xxvii.  14, 19.  27  Qen,  xiv.  5. 
2«  Comp.  Gen.  xiii.  IS,  with  Numb.  xiii.  22.    On  the  connection  of  the  foundation 

of  Hebron  with  that  of  Zoan,  see  above,  ch.  vii.  §  2. 
29  "  Les  Papyrus  hiGratiqucs  de  Berlin."    Chalons,  1SG3. 
»«  Leuormaut,  "Histoire  Aucieune,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  247,  24S. 


501  THE  HISTORY  OF  PHCENICIA. 

lished,  we  can  scarcely  withhold  our  belief  from  the  Phoeni- 
cian traditions  of  the  quarter  whence  they  came — traditions 
uniformly  reported  by  the  classical  writers  from  the  time 
of  Herodotus  downward.  The  father  of  history  gives  both 
the  native  tradition  and  the  Persian  re])etition  of  it.  "  These 
Phoinicians,  «s  they  themselves  s«y,  anciently  dwelt  upon  the 
Erythrcmn  Sea;  and  crossing  over  thence  they  inhabit  the 
sea-coast  of  Syria ;  and  this  region  of  Syria,  and  the  whole 
as  far  as  Egypt,  is  called  Palestine.'"'  "  The  Persian  ac- 
count was  tTiat  the  Phoenicians,  coming  from  the  sea  called 
Erythra  to  this  sea" — that  is,  the  Mediterranean,  "  and  hav- 
ing settled  in  the  country  which  they  now  occupy,  imme- 
diately undertook  distant  voyages ;  and,  carrying  cargoes, 
both  of  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  goods,  visited,  among  other 
places,  Argos."^" 

The  "Erythr^an  Sea"  of  Herodotus  is  not  the  Red  Sea, 
which  he  calls  the  "Arabian  Gulf,"  but  the  sea  (into  which 
he  supposed  that  gulf  to  open  much  sooner  than  it  does) 
which  washed  the  shores  of  Arabia,  Babylonia,  and  Persia, 
and  of  which  the  Persian  Gulf  was  a  part.  The  latter — the 
same  quarter  from  which  the  Babylonian  legends  traced  their 
earliest  civilization — is  more  distinctly  marked  as  the  source 
of  the  migration  by  Strabo.  He  speaks  of  the  islands  of 
Tyre  and  Aradus  (the  Bahrein  Islands),  as  well  as  of  Dora 
— all  three  localities  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  with  names  found 
also  on  tlie  Phoenician  coast— as  having  temples  similar  to  the 
Phoenician  ;  and  he  adds,  "  if  we  may  believe  the  inhabitants, 
the  islands  and  the  town  of  the  same  name  in  PiiaMiicia  are 
their  own  colonies."^'  Pliny  and  Ptcl-my  mention  the  island 
of  7'ylus  (=Tyrus);  and  the  former  speaks  of  a  Canaan  in 
the  same  quarter.'*  Justin,  following  Trogus  Pompeius,  at- 
tempts to  assign  both  the  cause  and  the  course  of  the  migra- 
tion: "The  Tyrian  nation  was  founded  by  the  Phoenicians, 
Avho,  being  disturbed  by  an  earthquake,  and  leaving  their 
native  land,  settled  first  of  all  on  the  Assyrian  Zake''— 
which  can  hardly  mean  any  but  the  Dead  Sea  or  the  Lake 
of  Gennesareth— "  and  subsequently  on  the  shore  near  the 
sea,  founding  there  a  city  which  they  called  Sidon,  from^the 
abundance  offish;  for  the  Phoenicians  call  a  fish  Sidon.'''^" 

31  Herod,  vii.  89. 

32  Herod,  i.  2.  The  monuments  and  writings  of  E;^ypt  and  Assyria  give  ample  eYi° 
dence  of  the  commerce  of  the  Phoenicians  with  both. 

33  Strabo  xvi.  p.  770  :  comp.  i.  p.  42  ;  Steph.  Byz.  s.  v.  Ptol.  vi.  7. 

34  Pun.  "  H.  N."  vi.  28. 

35  Justin  xviii.  3,  §  2.  The  common  worship  of  the  fish-god,  Dagon,  on  the  shores 
of  the  Persian  Gulf  and  in  the  valleys  of  its  great  rivers,  as  well  as  on  the  coast  of 
Syria,  is  a  strong  contirmatory  argument.  The  maritime  habits  of  tlie  earliest  Pha3- 
nicians  tend  in  the  same  direction ;  but  these  may  have  been  acquircJ  in  their  new 
abode. 


MIGRATION  OF  THE  PHCENICIANS.  v,()ry 

The  Arabian  historians,  and  the  book  of  "  Nabathaean  Ag- 
riculture," which  belongs  in  its  present  form  to  the  early 
part  of  our  era,  preserves  a  Babylonian  tradition  that  the 
Phoenicians  were  expelled  in  consequence  of  a  quarrel  with 
the  Cushite  monarchs  of  Babylon  of  the  dynasty  of  Nimrod. 
This  tradition  falls  in  with  the  legends  of  the  Talmudists 
about  Abraham's  encounters  with  Nimrod.  We  have  seen 
more  trustworthy  evidence  that  the  migration  fell  about  the 
time  of  Abraham  ;  and  the  concurrence  points  to  some  com- 
mon cause,  which  set  in  motion  a  migration  from  Mesopota- 
mia to  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  We  can  not  stay 
to  trace  the  probable  route  by  which  the  movement  mio-ht 
have  been  effected,  which  is  marked  by  a  series  of  oases  from 
the  Lower  Euphrates  to  Damascus,  whence  the  road  lay  open 
to  every  part  of  Palestine. 

§  13.  There  is  another  coincidence,  too  interesting  to  be 
passed  over.  The  migration  of  a  race,  which  the  Book  of 
Genesis  represents  as  comprising  no  less  than  eleven  tribes,^* 
must  have  had  various  ramifications,  as  the  sacred  text  in  fxct 
affirms — "and  afterwards  were  the  families  of  the  Canaanites 
spread  abroad."  So,  while  "  Sidon,  the  first-born  of  Canaan," 
with  the  other  tribes  that  colonized  PhcBnicia,  passed  on  to 
their  secure  stations  on  the  coast  at  the  foot  of  Lebanon,  and 
other  tribes  settled  in  the  hills  and  valleys  of  Palestine,  it  is 
very  natural  that  others,  mingled  with  the  displaced  inhab- 
itants, should  pass  still  farther  onward  and  overflow  the  rich 
land  of  Egypt.  Arabian  traditions  confirm  the  view  stated 
in  the  proper  place,"  that  such  was  the  nature  of  the  inva- 
sions of  the  Hyksos  or  Shepherds,  whom  Manetho  expressly 
calls  Phcenicians^  that  is,  Canaanites.  It  now  appears  to  be 
highly  probable  that,  on  their  expulsion  from  Egypt,  they 
brought  with  them,  besides  other  elements  of  Egyptian  civ- 
ilization, a  mode  of  writing^  in  which  certain  hieratic  char- 
acters, adapted  to  their  own  language,  formed  the  alphahetie 
system.,  which  was  soon  adopted  throughout  Palestine,  and 
was  thence  carried  by  Phoenician  commerce  to  the  shores 
of  Europe. 

§  14.  It  appears  to  be  very  much,  if  not  chiefly,  by  the  test 
of  colo7\  that  the  ethnic  table  of  Genesis  x.  groups  the  chil- 
dren of  Ham  (i.  e.,  Cham,  "  the  swarthy").  By  this  test,  the 
Canaanites  of  Palestine  and  Phoenicia,  with  the  Syro-Phoeni- 
cians  and  other  dark  Syrians  farther  north,  would  be  distin- 
guished, on  the  one  hand,  from  the  lighter  immigrants  of  the 
Hebrew  race  from  Upper  Mesopotamia,  and,  on  the  other, 
from  the  "  White  Syrians "  of  Cappadocia.     And  this  dis- 

38  Gen.  X.  15-lS.  37  ggg  chap.  iv. 


({(M»  TUK  HIS'J'OKY  OF  PHCENICfA. 

tinction  confirms  their  migration  from  the  native  land  of  a 
dark  race,  such  as  Lower  Mesopotamia.^*  This  lielps  to  ex- 
plain, what  seems  at  first  sight  an  anomaly,  that  the  Phoeni- 
cians, whose  language  was  indubitably  Semitic,  are  classed 
as  a  Hamite  race.  We  have  seen,  from  the  first,  how  diffi- 
cult it  is  to  draw  any  perfectly  clear  distinction  between  the 
Hamites  and  the  Shemites ;  and  the  position  of  Canaan,  as 
Ham's  youngest  son,  in  the  ethnic  table,  seems  to  imply  that 
the  Canaanites  were  on  the  border-line  of  affinity  between 
the  races. 

That  the  Phoenician  language  was  distinctly  Semitic  is 
abundantly  proved  by  its  remaining  fragments  and  proper 
names,  both  in  Phoenicia  and  the  colonies,  es|)ecially  Car- 
thage. To  say  that  it  had  a  near  affinity  with  the  Hebrew, 
is  understating  the  case;  for  the  two  differed  merely  as 
dialects.  In  fact,  the  Hebrew  immigrants  from  Mesopota- 
mia, being  at  first  but  a  wandering  family  among  the  sur- 
rounding Canaanites,  adopted  the  language  of  their  new 
country  in  place  of  their  own  Syriac  tongue  ;  and  their 
speech  is  called  the  "  language  of  Canaan.'"''  The  most  re- 
cent discoveries  have  clearly  shown  that  the  language  of  the 
Cushite  (/.  e.,  Hamite)  races  of  Babylonia  and  southern  Ara- 
bia was  also  Semitic.  Indeed,  the  tendency  of  inquiry  is  to 
replace  the  linguistic  name  Semitic  by  Harnitic,  in  very  many 
cases. 

The  story  of  Sanchoniathon,  that  the  Phoenicians  were 
autochthons,  whose  race  was  deduced  from  Chaos,  through  a 
succession  of  gods,  to  Chxa,  the  first  Phoenician,  is  of  course  a 
baseless  assumption  of  national  pride.  "As  the  entire  prog- 
ress of  society  is,  according  to  this  account,  included  in  the 
history  of  a  single  country,  it  is  evident  that  the  whole  is 
fictitious,  like  the  fables  of  the  Greeks,  who  refer  all  art  and 
science  to  their  own  progenitors."^" 

§  15.  Equally  fictitious  is  the  claim  of  Tyre  to  a  very  high 
antiquity,  and  to  the  title  of  "  Mother  of  the  Phoenicians."" 
The  Tyrian  priests  of  Hercules  iMelcarth)  told  Herodotus 

38  On  the  allusions  lo  the  dark  races  of  the  Syrian  coast  in  Homer  and  other  classic 
authors,  who  find  Ethmpimis  on  the  Syrian  coast,  see  Kenrick,  "  Phoenicia,"  p.  51. 

3'  Isaiah  xix.  18.  The  use  of  Phoenician  (i.  e,,  Canaanite)  letters  in  the  oldest  He- 
brew writing  is,  pro  tanto,  an  argument  for  the  adoption  of  the  language,  though  not 
decisive  in  itself.  The  case  is  very  different  from  the  importation  of  the  letters  by 
Phoenician  commerce  to  the  comparatively  uncivilized  races  of  Europe,  whose  lan- 
guage was  already  fixed.  Of  the  latter  process  we  have  examples  in  the  adaptation 
of  the  Greek  alphabet  to  the  Mieso-Gothic  and  Russian  languages,  of  the  Roman  to 
the  languages  of  their  barbarian  Gubjects,  and  in  the  moulding  of  Polynesian  lan- 
guages into  a  written  form  by  modern  missionaries. 

4"  Kenrick,  "  Phoenicia,"  p.  53.  See  Ibid,  p,  56,  on  the  distincti(ni  between  the  Phae' 
nicians  and  Philistines.    The  former  practised  circumcision  (Herod,  ii.  104). 

*i  Meleager  of  Tyre,  in  the  "  Antho'  Graec."  vii.  428, 13. 


pkec:ei)ENce  of  sidon.  go? 

Uiat  the  temple  and  city  had  then  existed  2300  years,  which 
would  carry  back  their  building  to  about  2750  B.C.  Soiae 
modern  writers  see  in  the  close  approximation  to  the  time  of 
the  Third  (Chaldsean)  Dynasty  of  Berosus  another  mark  of 
the  traditional  date  of  the  great  Phoenician  migration,  with 
which  the  city  that  was  ultimately  supreme  would  naturally 
claim  to  be  coeval.  To  such  a  claim  the  want  of  any  monu- 
mental or  other  historical  evidence  is  fatal.  There  is  no  sign 
that  it  was  sustained  by  the  Phoenician  annals,  which  are 
quoted  by  Josephus,  Eusebius,  and  others.  Tyre  is  not  men- 
tioned in  Scripture  till  the  entrance  of  the  Israelites  into 
Canaan  ;"'  nor  does  the  name  occur  in  Homer,  though  he 
speaks  of  the  PHoenicians  in  general,  and  the  SidoniaiiS  in 
particular,  and  calls  Phoenicia  /Sidonia  ;*'  and  the  older  and 
higher  authority  of  Scripture  uses  "Sidonians"  and  "all  the 
Sidonians  "  for  the  Phoenicians  in  general." 

There  can,  in  fact,  be  little  doubt  that  this  name  truly  rep- 
resents the  original  Phoenicia  as  the  territory  of  Sidox,  its 
most  ancient  city.  As  such  we  have  seen  Sidon  named  in 
the  ethnic  table,  as  the  first-born  of  Canaan,  and  it  appears 
again  in  Genesis  in  the  dying  blessing  of  Jacob,  as  already 
famous  for  its  maritime  enterprise:  "Zebulun  shall  dwell 
at  the  haven  of  the  sea/  and  he  shall  be  for  an  haven  of 
ships;  and  his  border  shall  be  unto  Zidon.""  The  mari- 
time importance  here  promised  depends  wholly  on  the  prox- 
imity of  Sidon  ;  for  the  Jews  were  never  great  sailors,  nor  did 
Asher,  to  wdiom  this  coast  was  assigned,  ever  conquer  his 
inheritance  in  Phoenicia.  On  the  contrary,  the  Phoenicians 
planted  their  colony  of  Dora  above  10  miles  south  of  Carmel ; 
and  the  account  which  an  old  historian  gives  of  its  growth 
may  stand  for  the  supposed  origin  of  the  Phoenician  cities  in 
general.  "  The  rocky  nature  of  the  coast,  which  abounded 
with  the  purple-fish,  brought  the  Phoenicians  together  here. 
They  built  themselves  huts,  wdiich  they  surrounded  with  a 
fosse,  and,  as  their  industry  prospered,  they  hewed  stones 
from  the  rock,  surrounded  themselves  wuth  a  wall,  and  made 
their  harbor  safe  and  commodious."*^  Doubtless  this  de- 
scription is   more  from  imagination  than  from  knowledge; 

*"  Josh,  xix.  29  :  "  the  strong  city  Tyre." 

*3  Horn.  "  II."  r,  290,  ^|,',  743  ;  "  6d."  6  ,  G15,  v',  285,  o',  117  ;  Strab.  xvi.  p.  766. 

**  Josh.  xiii.  4,  G ;  Judges  xviii.  7 :  the  hitter  passage  clearly  testifies  to  the  su- 
premacy of  the  Zidouians  at  this  time,  as  well  as  to  their  prosperity;  "  they  dwelt 
careless,  quiet,  and  secure." 

*'  Gen.  xlix.  13.  The  form  Zidon,  usual  in  our  version  of  the  Old  Testament  (ex- 
cept in  Gen.  x.  15, 10),  represents  the  Phoenician  Tsidon,  which  becomes  in  Greek  Si- 
don, the  usual  form  ia  the  Apocrypha  and  New  Testament,  as  well  as  in  the  Greek 
fciAfl  Latin  author.*. 

•*  Claudius  JuliiiS;  "  Phcen.  Hist."  op.  Steph.  Byz.  .s.  v.  ::^wf}oi. 


008  THE  HISTOKY  OF  PlItKNICIA. 

but  tlie  very  name  of  Sidon  mnkes  it  probable  that  fishing 
industry  preceded  the  commerce  which  is  the  first  phase  of 
her  known  history."  It  is,  however,  worthy  of  notice  that 
in  Homer  there  is  a  constant  distinction  between  tlie  beauti- 
ful works  in  metal  and  embroidery  from  Sidon  and  the  JPhce- 
nician  commerce  which  brought  them  to  Greece  and  Troy, 
as  if  that  commerce  had  then  its  seat  at  other  cities.  In  the 
books  of  Joshua  and  Judges,  Sidon  has  the  epithet  of"  Great," 
or  "  The  Capital"  [Tsidon-Rabbah).  It  stood  in  33°  34'  N. 
lat.,  two  miles  south  of  the  Bostrenus,  in  the  most  fertile 
plain  of  Phoenicia,  which  is  .prolonged  eight  miles  southward 
to  Sarepta  (O.  T.  Zarephath).  The  city  was  built  on  the 
north-west  slope  of  a  small  promontory,  and  had  a  harbor 
formed  by  three  low  ridges  of  rock  on  which  massive  sub- 
structions are  still  seen. 

§  16.  The  settlements  of  "the  sons  of  Canaan,"  mentioned 
in  the  ethnic  table  of  Genesis,  in  connection  with  Sidon,  lie 
at  and  near  the  northern  part  of  the  Phoenician  coast,  and 
some  of  them  beyond  the  proper  limits  of  Phoenicia.  They 
are  the  Arkite,  Sinite,  Arvadite,  Zemarite,  and  HamatJiite.^^ 

Arca  (now  Tel-Arka),  also  called  "Area  in  Lebanon,"" 
stood  about  12  miles  north  of  Tripoli  and  2  or  2^  hours  from 
the  shore,  on  the  summit  of  a  northern  spur  of  Lebanon, 
which  here  sinks  abruptly  to  the  valley  of  the  Eleutherus. 
As  the  birthplace  of  Alexander  Severus,  it  obtained  the  name 
of  Cmsarea  Lihani;  and  it  was  famous  in  the  crusading  wars. 
Its  inland  sites  seem  to  have  caused  the  Arkite  cajiital  to  be 
transferred  to  Ortiiosia,  as  the  Greeks  called  the  port,  which 
appears  in  Assyrian  documents  by  the  name  of  Simron. 

The  Sinites,  also,  had  their  original  cities  in  the  mountain, 
namely  Sinna,  and  Aphek  {Afka),^"  the  chief  sanctuary  of 
Ashtoreth.  Their  capital,  however,  was  the  great  sea-port  of 
Gebal,  the  Byblus  of  the  Greek  writers  (now  Jehe'd),  north 
of  the  river  Adonis.^^  This  Avas  one  of  the  most  ancient  re- 
ligious cities  of  Phoenicia ;  the  burial-place  of  Adonis,  and 
the  seat  of  his  mysteries.  The  Gihlites,^'^  or  Byblians,'^  were 
famous  artificers,  and  aided  in  preparing  the  trees  and  stone- 
work for  the  Temple  of  Solomon.  They  founded  the  great 
city  of  Berytus,  i.  e.,  "  wells,"  or  "  cisterns"  (now  I^eyrUt)^ 
south  of  the  Lycus,  on  the  border  of  the  Sidonians. 

The  other  three  peoples  of  this  group  had  their  abodes 
north  of  the  Eleutherus ;  and  they  seem  in  the  oldest  times 

4^^  Comp.  Herod,  i.  3,  as  quoted  above. 

4s  Genesis  x.  17,  IS :  comp.  1  Chrou.  i.  15.  "»  Joseph.  "  Ant."  i.  0,  §  2. 

60  Josh.  xiii.  4,  xix.  5;  Judges  i.  31.    It  is  the  Aphaca  of  the  classical  geographers, 
who  mention  its  temple  of  Venus.  ^i  Psalm  Ixxxiii.  7  :  Ezek.  xxvii.  9. 

52  Josh.  xiii.  5.  ^3  i  Kings  v.  18,  in  the  Alex.  Codex  of  the  LXX. 


KINGDOM  OF  HAMATH.  609 

to  have  been  connected,  politically,  rather  with  Syria  than 
with  Phoenicia.  Accordingly,  the  Arvadite  and  Zemarlte 
appear  with  the  Hittites  of  the  Orontes  (on  which  Hamath 
stood),  in  the  great  wars  of  the  Pharaohs  of  the  XVIIIth 
and  XlXth  dynasties,  whose  monnments  make  no  mention 
of  Sid  on  among  the  confederates.  Aradus  was  in  later 
times  a  member  of  the  Phoenician  league,  its  king  being  a 
vassal  of  the  king  of  Sidon.  The  town  occupied  the  whole 
island  of  Ai-adus  {Ruad)^  b'^"S  i*'  ^^^  same  latitude  as  Citi- 
um,  the  southern  point  of  Cyprus.  It  was  surrounded  by  a 
wall,  serving  also  as  a  dike,  in  the  remains  of  which  are  stones 
of  five  and  six  yards  in  length.  It  possessed  on  the  main- 
land the  two  towns  of  Antaradus  {Tartus),  with  the  necrop- 
olis of  the  island  city,  and  Mai-athus  (Amrit),  the  site  of  some 
important  monuments  of  Phoenician  architecture.  Very  near 
to  them,  and  farther  inland,  was  Simyra  (Shumra),  the  chief 
city  of  the  Zemarites^  who  appear  never  to  have  joined  the 
Phcenician  league. 

Last  named,  because  at  the  extreme  north  of  the  Canaan- 
ite  settlements,  was  Hamath,  the  Epiphania  of  the  Greeks, 
which  still  retains  the  name  oi^ llama h,  and  has  a  population 
of  between  forty  and  fifty  thousand.  Lying  in  the  valley  of 
the  Orontes,  at  the  junction  of  all  the  routes  from  Antioch, 
Phoenicia,  and  Ccele-Syria,  on  the  one  side,  and  to  Damascus, 
Palmyra,  Northern  Syria,  and  Mesopotamia,  on  the  other, 
Hamath  was  a  great  centre  of  the  commerce  of  Phoenicia 
with  Syria,  Assyria,  and  Babylonia.  Its  situation  gave  it 
the  command  of  the  valley  of  the  Orontes,  from  the  defile  of 
Daphne  below  Antioch  to  the  water-shed  between  it  and  the 
Leontes.  This  valley,  which  includes  the  northern  half  of 
Coele-Syria,  appears  to  have  formed  the  region  and  (usually) 
the  kingdom  of  Hamath ;  and  the  water-shed  formed  "  the 
entrance  of  Hamath,"^*  which  was  the  northern  limit  of  the 
promised  land. 

The  political  connections  of  Hamath  appear  always  to 
have  been  with  Syria  rather  than  with  Phoenicia;  and  the 
Hamathites  formed  a  part  of  the  Hittite  confederacy,  with 
which  the  great  Theban  Pharaohs  made  war.  In  the  time 
of  David  it  was  the  seat  of  an  independent  kingdom,"  which 
sought  David's  protection  against  the  King  of  Zobah.  It 
was  included  in  the  kingdom  of  Solomon,  and  its  commercial 
importance,  especially  for  the  trafiic  by  way  of  Palmyra,  is 
attested  by  his  foundation  of  ''''Tadmor  in  the  wilderness, 
and  all  the  stoi-e-cities  which  he  built  in  Hamath."^''    On  the 

*>*  Numbers  xxxiv.  S ;  Josh.  xiii.  5,  etc.  '''•'  2  Sam.  viii.  9. 

56  2  Chron.  viii.  4:  comp.  1  Kings  ix.  17, 18. 
26* 


610  THE  HISTOllY  OF  PHOENICIA. 

disruption  of  Israel,  Hamath  seems  to  have  retained  its  inde' 
pendence.  In  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  of  the  time  of  Ahab 
(B.C.  900),  it  appears  as  a  separate  power  in  alliance  with 
tlie  Syrians  of  Damascus,  the  Hittites,  and  the  Phoenicians. 
About  three-quarters  of  a  century  later,  Jeroboam  II.  re* 
covered  Hamath;"  he  seems  to  have  dismantled  the  place, 
whence  the  prophet  Amos  couples  "  Hamath  tlie  Great "  with 
Gath,  as  an  instance  of  desolation. ^^  Its  importance  ceased 
with  its  conquest  by  Sargon,  who  transplanted  its  inhabit- 
ants to  Samaria. ^^  The  city  received  the  Greek  name  of 
Epiphcmia  from  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  These  notices  of  the 
Syrian  states  bordering  Phcenicia  on  the  north  are  important 
in  themselves,  and  serve  to  define  the  limits  of  Phoenicia. 

It  remains  to  speak  of  the  city  which  ultimately  acquired 
the  supremacy.  Tyrus  is  the  Greek  and  Latin  form  of  the 
Phoenician  and  Hebrew  Tsw\  or  Tzor  (that  is,  "a  rock"), 
now  softened  into  ASrtr.'^"  The  general  opinion  of  the  an- 
cients made  Tyre  a  colony  of  Sidon  ;''  and  it  certainly  lies 
within  the  original  territory  of  Sidon.  It  is  worthy  of  notice 
that,  in  Scripture,  the  Tyrians  are  sometimes  called  Zidoni- 
ans,  but  the  Zidonians  are  never  called  Tyrians.  The  usual 
mention  of  "  Tyre  and  Sidon,"  in  that  order,  belongs  to  a 
time  when  the  greater  importance  of  the  former  was  estab- 
lished ;  and  it  is^  reversed  at  the  period  of  Sidon's  supremacy 
under  the  Persians." 

Tyre  is  first  mentioned  in  Scripture  as  "  the  strong  city 
Tyre ;""  and  its  position  made  it  one  of  the  strongest  in  the 
world.  The  "  rock,"  from  which  it  had  its  name,  was  an  isl- 
and about  half  a  mile  from  the  shore  and  nearly  a  mile  in 
length,  in  lat.  3P.°  17'  K,  just  twenty  miles  south  of  Sidon. 
On  the  shore  of  the  main-land,  about  80  stadia  (three  geo- 
o^raphical  miles)  to  the  south,  there  stood  in  Greek  times  a 
city  called  "Old  Tyre"  (Pala3tyrus) ;  and  this  name  has 
caused  a  profitless  dispute  about  the  relative  antiquity  of 
the  two  cities.  As  early  as  the  time  of  Rameses  II.,  we  find 
a  clear  notice  both  of  the  island  city  of  Tyre  and  o{  Sarra,  on 
the  main-land,  a  little  farther  to  the  south. '^ 

fi^  2  Kings  xiv.  2S.  ^s  Amos  vi.  2.  ^^  2  Kings  xvii.  24 ;  xviii.  34 ;  xix.  13. 

«o  The  s"is  also  seen  in  one  of  the  forms  adopted  by  Latin  writers,  Sara  or  Sarra 
(Plant.  "True."  ii.  C,  58 ;  Vlrg.  " Georg."  ii.  500) ;  and  probably  in  the  name  Suria,  the 
Zand  being  named  from  its  commercial  capital.  The  form  with  the  T  comes  from,  or 
at  least  agrees  with,  the  Arj^maic  Tarn.  The  form  Sarra  is  also  found  in  an  Egyp- 
tian document  of  the  age  of  Rameses  II.,  as  the  name  of  the  city  on  the  main-land, 
the  Palchtyrus  of  the  Greeks.     (See  below,  §  IT.) 

«»  Strabo,  pp.  40,  75(5 ;  Justin  xviii.  3:  Virgil  more  than  once  calls  the  Tyrian  colony 
of  Carthage  "Sidonian,"  The  counter  claim  is  made  ou  a  coin  of  the  time  of  An- 
tiochus Epiphanes,  on  which  Tyre  calls  herself  "  Mother  of  the  Sidonians."  (Geseu. 
"  Mou.  Phoen."  i.  202 :  Keniick,  "  Phoenicia,"  p.  5S.)  ^'^  Ezra  iii,  7. 

*3  Josh.  xix.  29.  «*  See  the  Egyptian  document  quoted  below,  §  17. 


EARLIEST  HISTORY  OF  PHCENICIA.  OH 

It  is  impossible  to  decide  whether  the  island  was  first  oc- 
/jupied  as  the  citadel  and  docks  of  an  earfier  settlement  on 
the  coast;  but  it  is  quite  clear,  from  the  Scriptural  allusions 
and  from  other  evidence,  that  the  island  city  was  tlie  Tyre 
of  the  flourishing  period  down  to  xVlexander— the  "  rock," 
to  which  we  find  none  to  answer  on  the  main-land  site.  Its 
narrow  space  would,  of  course,  be  insufticient  when  its  popu- 
lation was  greatest,  and  "  Old  Tyre,"  whether  existing  pre- 
viously or  not,  would  be  occupied  as  a  suburb,  like  Antara- 
dus  and  Marathus  in  relation  to  Aradus.  What  more  has 
to  be  said  of  Tyre  will  appear  in  the  course  of  its  history. 

The  last  founded  of  the  great  Phoenician  cities  was  Tripo- 
Lis  {Tripoli  or  Tar(dndns\\X\Q  name  of  which  points  to  its 
origin.  It  was  not  only  a  common  foundation  of  the  three 
cities  of  Tyre,  Sidon,  and  Aradus;  but  the  respective  colonies 
formed  three  distinct  quarters  (which  the  old  geographer 
calls  cities)^^l  distances  of  a  stadium  (600  Greek"  feet),  each 
having  its  o\yn  wall,  though  united  in  a  common  govern- 
ment. The  city  occupied  a  splendid  site,  oji  a  promontoiy 
about  half  a  mile  broad,  jutting  out  about  a  mile  into  the 
sea,  in  34°  26'  N.  latitude.  The  harbor  is  sheltered  from  the 
violent  north-west  winds  by  a  chain  of  seven  small  islands, 
extending  ten  miles  out  to  sea.  The  city  stood  on  what  is 
now  called  the  "  Holy  River"  {El  Kaclisha),  m  one  of  whose 
upper  valleys  are  the  famous  cedars.  Among  its  remains  is 
an  aqueduct,  which  brings  dawn  the  water  from  Lebanon. 

To  sum  up.  The  chief  cities  of  Phoenicia,  in  their  order 
from  north  to  south,  were  these  ten:  Aradus,  Simyra,  Ortho- 
sia,  Tripolis,  Gebal  or  Byblus,  Berytus,  Sidon,  Sarepta,  Tyre, 
and  Acco  (afterwards  Ptolemais).  Their  varying  relations 
to  each  other,  as  members  of  the  Phoenician  confederacy,  will 
appear  from  the  ensuing  history. 

§  17.  The  whole  history  of  the  Phoenicians  may  be  divided, 
speaking  generally,  into  the  periods  of  Sidonian  and  Tyrian 
supremacy.  The  traditions  already  noticed  seem  to  place 
their  first  settlements  om  the  Syrian  coast  about  the  ai^e  of  * 
Abraham  and  the  Shtpberd  Kings  of  Eery pt."  Thei?  con- 
dition under  the  domination  of  the  great^Theban  kinirs  con- 
firms tbe  statement  of  Herodotus,  that  they  soon  bel^an  to 
apply  themselves  to  distant  voyages.  The'conquests'of  the 
XVIIIth  and  XlXth  dynasties  in  Syria  and  northern  Phoe- 
nicia are  attested  both  by  their  inscriptions  and  by  the  stelcB 
set  up  by  Ptameses  II.  at  the  JSTahr-el-Kelb,  and  at  Adlun, 
near  Tyre.     In  these  records  the  Sidonians  never  appear  as 

"  On  the  relations  between  Egypt  and  Phoenicia  in  the  age  of  the  Hyksos,  see 
chap.  iv.  §  22. 


612  TFIE  HISTORY  OF  PHCENICIA. 

enemies,  but  they  seem  to  have  purchased  peace  by  placing 
their  maritime  enterprise  and  manufactui-ing  industry  at  the 
service  of  the  Pharaohs,  The  tributes,  tlie  arts,  and  the 
riches  of  Phoenicia  are  often  mentioned  in  tlie  liieroglyphic 
inscriptions  of  this  age. 

We  possess  a  more  particular  account  of  Phoenicia  under 
the  great  Rameses,  and  consequently  in  ihe  age  before  the 
Exodus.  A  papyrus  in  the  British  Museum  contains  the 
description  of  an  imaginary  journey  made  into  Syria  by  an 
Egyptian  functionary,  at  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Kanieses 
II.,  after  the  conclusion  of  the  final  peace  with  the  Hittites.^® 
Though  only  a  work  of  fiction,  it  gives  us  an  idea  of  the 
state  of  the  country  at  the  period  when  it  was  written,  and 
on  this  account  is  of  great  historical  interest.  The  hero  is 
supposed  to  have  been  in  the  country  of  the  Hittites,  and  to 
have  travelled  as  far  as  Helbon,  the  present  Aleppo.  On  his 
return,  before  entering  Palestine,  which  he  does  by  way  of 
Hazor,  and  where  he  describes  the  Canaanitish  cities,  he  is 
supposed  to  pass  through  Phoenicia.  Tlie  narrative  describes, 
him  as  first  stopping  at  Gebal :  he  records  the  religious  hii- 
portance  of  the  city,  and  the  mysteries  celebrated  there;, 
he  then  visits  Berytus,  Sidon,Sarepta,  and  Avatha  (Adlun). 
He  is  then  supposed  to  arrive  at  "  Tyee  the  maritime,"  and 
describes  it  as  a  little  town  situated  on  a  rock  in  the  midst 
of  the  loaves.  "  They  carry  water  there  in  boats,"  says  he., 
"  and  it  is  very  rich  in  fish."  Close  to  Tyre,  a  little  farther 
south  on  the  main-land,  the  Egyptian  traveller  arrives  at  ^S'e- 
raa,  the  Sarra  of  classical  geographei^,  and  his  account  con- 
tains a  pun  on  the  name  of  Seraa  (in  the  Phoenician  lan- 
guage, "the  wasp"):  he  speaks  of  the  bad  lodgings  found 
there,  and  adds  "the  sting  is  very  sharp."  After  traversing 
this  part  of  the  country,  he  visits  Caicna  (now  JJm-el-Aica- 
mid)^  then  Achzib,  where  he  quits  the  sea-coast,  and  enters  the- 
mountain  region  to  reach  Hazor.  The  traveller  has  been  on 
Egyptian  ground  all  this  time,  travelling  Avith  as  much  free- 
'  dom  and  security  as  if  he  had  been  in  the  Nile  valley,  and 
even,  by  virtue  of  his  functions,  exercising  some  authority. 

"  From  these  statements,"  observes  M.  Lenormant,  "  it 
seems  to  ns  clearly  proved  that,  from  the  date  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  Egyptian  dominion  in  Syria,  the  Sidonians  and 
the  Sinites  of  Gebal  had  completely  separated  their  interests 
from  those  of  the  other  Canaanite  nations,  and  pursued  quite 
a  difierent  line  of  action.  Instead  of  seeking  to  recover  a  full 
independence,  they  became  perfectly  submissive  to  the  Pha- 

^^  Chiibas,  "Voyage  d'un  Eiryptieu."    Chiiloiis,  1S6G.     The  accouut  in  the  text  is 
from  Lenormant,  "  Histoire  Ancienne,"  vol.  ii.  p.  206. 


SIDON  AT  HER  ACME.  613 

raonic  supremacy,  and  remained  faithful  to  E^^ypt  under  all 
circumstances.  Doubtless  the  kings  of  Egypt,  Avhose  people 
were  neither  merchants  nor  seamen,  needed  and  used  the  serv- 
ices of  the  Phoenicians,  and  therefore  treated  them  with  more 
favor  than  other  nations  of  the  same  race,  and  granted  them 
great  privileges  in  order  to  secure  their  fidelity.  They  them- 
selves, with  true  mercantile  spirit,  preferred  to  reap  the  ma- 
terial advantages  arising  from  the  jDrotection  of  a  great  em- 
pire, rather  than  to  indulge  their  pride  by  an  empty  asser- 
tion  of  independence,  with  its  contingent  disadvantages  and 
dangers  from  foreign  invasion.  .  .  .  Trade  flourished  and 
was  profitable  ;  and,  contented  with  this  result,  the  Phoeni- 
cians submitted  to  a  state  of  vassalage  Avith  scarcely  any 
opposition,  provided  always  that  the  foreign  suzerain  did 
not  interfere  with  their  local  self-government,  and  permitted 
them  to  preserve  their  own  laws,  and  their  own  traditional 
worship,  manners,  and  customs."  It  is  just  at  this  period  of 
the  subjection  of  Phoenicia  to  Egypt  that  we  find  the  latter 
powerful  at  sea,  under  Thothmes  III.  and  other  Pharaohs ; 
and  the  inference  is  highly  probable  that  this  maritime  pow- 
er rested,  as  in  later  times,  on  the  command  of  the  Phoenician 
fleet." 

§  18.  The  policy  of  Egypt  towards  her  subject-states  made 
her  suzerainty  quite  compatible  with  the  existence  of  a  na- 
tive dynasty  of  Sidonian  kings,  w4io  themselves  exercised 
sovereignty  over  the  other  Phoenician  cities,  except  Gebal, 
which  had  its  own  kings.  The  highest  commercial  prosperi- 
ty  of  Sidon  belongs  to  this  very  period  of  the  supremacy 
of  the  Pharaohs.  She  carried  on  trade  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  Mediterranean,  the  Archipelago,  and  the  Black  Sea, 
where  no  rival  navy  as  yet  existed. 

During  this  period  the  Sidonians  seem  to  have  planted 
colonies  at  Citium  in  Cyprus,  at  Itatum  in  Crete,  and  along 
the  southern  shores  of  Asia  Minor,  where  we  have  seen  that 
a  large  part  of  the  Semitic  population  claimed  a  Phoenician 
origin.®**  In  the  south  of  the  ^gean,  they  formed  naval  sta- 
tions at  Rhodes,  Thera,  and  Cythera ;  and  the  famous  wor- 
ship of  Aphrodite  in  the  latter  island,  as  in  Crete,  was  at  first 
that  of  the  Phoenician  Ashtoreth.  In  the  Cyclades,  they 
may  be  traced  at  Antiparus,  Ins,  and  Syrus ;  and  to  them  is 
ascribed  the  first  working  of  the  silver  mines  of  Siphnus  and 
Cimolus,  and  of  the  gold  mines  of  Thasos,  where  Herodotus 
saw  the  remains  of  their  immense  works.®"  They  also  visited 
the  neighboring  shores  of  Thrace,  and  bartered  with  tlie  na- 
tives for  the  gold  of  Mount  Pangseus.     Enteiiiig  the  Euxine, 

«^  See  chap.  v.  §  13.  ««  Comp.  chap.  xxi.  §§  2,  3,  8.  <"'9  Herod,  vi.  47. 


614  THE  HISTORY  OF  THCENICIA. 

they  obtained  the  gold  washed  down  by  the  rivers  of  Col- 
chis ;  the  tin  of  the  Caucasus,  whicli  all  the  nations  of  that 
age  required  for  their  bronze  implements,  weapons,  and  ar- 
mor;'" iron  from  the  mines  worked  by  the  Chalybes,  and, 
it  seems,  steel  also  ;  besides  lead  and  silver.  For  these  and 
other  products  of  their  voyages,  which  extended  as  far  west 
along  the  shores  of  Europe  as  Epirus,  southern  Italy,  and 
Sicily,  they  found  markets  on  their  own  coast — whence  cara 
vans  traded  with  Syria  and  the  region  beyond  the  Euphrates 
—and  also  in  Egypt. 

Along  the  northern  coast  of  Libya,  they  pursued  their 
voyages  as  far  as  the  shore  about  Gajye  JBo)i  (the  Africa 
Proper  of  later  times) ;  and  there  they  founded  the  famous 
colony  of  Hippo  (that  is,  "a  walled  city"),  and  Cambe,  on 
the  site  afterwards  occupied  by  Carthage.  Berytus  shared 
with  Sidon  in  this  colonizing  work ;  but  Gebal  founded  its 
own  settlements,  some  of  which  Avere  perhaps  earlier  than 
those  of  Sidon,  as  Paphos  in  Cyprus,  and  Melos  in  the 
^gean. 

§  19.  The  attacks  from  the  sea,  which  we  have  seen  made 
from  the  north  and  west  upon  Egypt  and  the  Syrian  coast, 
under  Rameses  II.  and  his  successors,  seem  to  imply  a  de- 
cline of  the  maritime  power  of  Sidon  about  the  14th  century 
B.C.  It  appears  to  have  been  about  this  time  that  the  Pe- 
lasgo-Tyrrhenians  began  to  acquire  their  naval  supremacy 
in  the  Mediterranean,  while  commerce  was  assailed  by  that 
piracy  which  is  one  of  the  earliest  Greek  traditions."  The 
same  revolution  may  be  implied  in  the  two  fable&  of  the  Ai-^ 
gonautic  expedition  to  Colchis,  and  of  Greek  voyages  to  the 
lake  Triton^  at  the  bottom  of  the  Great  Syrtis — the  very 
shores  Avhich  formed  the  north-eastern  and  south-western 
limits  of  Phoenician  commerce. 

To  the  same  region  of  fable — at  least  so  far  as  our  present 
knowledge  extends — we  must  leave  the  settlements  said  to 
have  been  formed  on  the  shores  of  Greece  and  Africa  by  the 
redundant  population  of  Canaan,  which,  displaced  by  the 
Israelitish  conquest,  found  a  temporary  and  insufficient  ref- 
uge on  the  Phoenician  coast,  and  thence  overflowed  in  a  new 
wave  of  colonization."''     But,  obscure  as  are  the  causes,  we 

'^  Some  writers  make  this  demand  for  tin,  in  order  to  make  bronze,  tlie  great  mo- 
tive of  the  earliest  Phoenician  commerce. 

''^  If  we  may  believe  the  Greek  traditions,  the  Phoenicians  themselves  were  among 
the  earliest  pirates  in  the  ^gean,  as  well  as  the  Carians.  (Thnc.  i.  4.)  It  mnst  not 
be  forgotten  that  the  Greek  wovdi  inrate  signifies  an  adventurer;  and,  in  their  tradi- 
tions of  these  early  ages,  the  Greeks  scarcely  distinguish  the  two  classes  of  seamen. 
We  need  go  back  no  farther  than  to  onr  own  glorious  Elizabethan  age  to  see  how 
closely  they  have  been  connected  in  modern  history. 

'-  Some  traditions  made  this  the  source  of  the  Phoenician  colonization  of  Greece, 


SUPREMACY  OF  TYRE.  615 

know,  as  certain  facts,  that  letters  were  carried  from  Phoeni- 
cia into  Greece,  and  that  Phoenician  colonies  were  thickly 
planted  on  the  shores  of  Zeugitana  and  Byzacium,  long  before 
the  foundation  of  Carthage. 

For  the  rest,  it  is  quite  clear  that  the  conquest  of  Canaan 
by  the  Israelites  stopped  at  the  Phoenician  border,  and  that 
its  only  direct  effect  was  the  more  complete  isolation  of 
Phoenicia  from  the  country  beyond  Lebanon.  So  far  from 
being  subdued  by  the  Israelites,  the  ^idonians  are  named 
among  their  oppressors ;"  but  their  generally  peaceful  policy, 
the  fruit  of  commercial  prosperity,  is  indicated  by  the  men- 
tion of  the  men  of  Laish,"  liow  they  dwelt  careless,  after  the 
manner  of  the  Zidonians,  quiet  and  secure.'"*  About  the 
same  time,  the  southern  part  of  the  maritime  region  was  oc- 
cupied by  a  new  and  large  settlement  of  tlie  Philistines,  who 
in  about  a  century  grew  strong  enough  to  impose  their  yoke 
upon  the  Israelites,  and  not  only  to  deprive  the  Phoenicians 
of  much  of  the  land  traffic  with  Egypt,  Assyria,  and  Arabia, 
of  which  Azotus  and  Gaza  became  great  emporia,  but  even 
to  vie  with  them  at  sea.  According  to  a  tradition  preserved 
by  Justin,  the  Philistines,  under  the  leadership  of  Ascalon, 
sent  a  fleet  against  Sidon,  which  was  taken  by  storm  and 
razed  to  the  ground,  about  the  end  of  the  13th  century  b.c.'* 
It  is  added  that  the  inhabitants  of  Sidon  withdrew  to  Tyre, 
to  which  city  the  supremacy  was  now  transferred.  The 
Philistines  did  not  pursue  their  success,  and  the  Sidonians 
recovered  from  the  blow;  and  henceforth  the  names  of  Tyre 
and  Sidon  constantly  appear  together  in  the  history  of  Phoe- 
nicia. Under  the  supremacy  of  Tyre,  the  people  were  still 
called  Sidonian;  and  on  inscriptions,  referred  to  this  early 
period,  the  King  of  Tyre  styles  himself  "  King  of  the  Sido- 
nians," while  "the  King  of  Sidon"  is  his  vassal.'^ 

which  is  represented  by  the  arrival  of  Cadmus  iu  Bceotia,  bringing  with  him  the 
Phoenician  letters,  as  well  as  of  the  foundation  of  a  great  number  of  settlements  on 
the  coasts  of  Zeugitana  and  Byzacena  (now  the  territory  of  Tunis),  iu  Africa.  In 
treating  such  traditions  as  mythical,  it  is  not  meant  that  they  are  mere  poetical  in- 
ventions, but  that  the  elements  of  fact  which  they  may  possibly  contain  are  too 
much  mixed  up  with  their  poetic  form  for  them  to  be  used  as  historical  evidence  trji 
themselves.  For  example,  the  slaying  of  the  dragon,  and  the  springing  up  of  armed 
men  from  his  sown  teeth,  give  a  mythical  character  to  a  leirend  which  contains  also 
the  certain  fact  that  the  Greek  alphabetic  characters  came  from  Phoenicia;  and  we 
can  not  get  at  the  true  story  of  the  latter  by  stripping  away  what  seems  impossible 
or  improbable  in  its  mythical  form.  "*  Judges  x.  12. 

■^4  Judges  xviii.  T.  This  was  in  the  early  times  of  the  Judges,  about  the  fourteenth 
century.  The  ensuing  statement,  "that  they  were  far  from  the  Zidonians,  and  had 
no  business  with  any  man,"  confirms  the  position  of  Sidon  as  the  chief  state  of 
Phoenicia. 

"5  The  date  is  differently  calculated  at  about  i?.o.  1252  or  1209. 

""^  In  1  Kings  v.  G,  Solomon  requests  Hiram,  king  of  Ttjre,  to  command  his  servants 
to  hew  cedar-trees  out  of  Lebanon,  because  "  there  is  not  among  us  any  that  can  skili 
to  hew  timber  like  unto  the  Stdorjiaiis." 


610  THE  HISTORY  OF  PH(EN1CIA. 

§  20.  For  the  century  and  a  half  down  to  the  distinct  ap- 
pearance of  Tyre  in  history  as  a  powerful  kingdom,  in  alli- 
ance with  David  and  Solomon,  we  have  only  fragmentary  tra- 
ditions of  the  state  of  Phoenicia.  The  isolation^'in  which  the 
people  were  left  by  the  conquests  of  the  Israelites  and  the 
Philistines  on  the  south,  and  of  the  Aramaean  Syrians  on 
the  north  and  east,  appears  to  have  caused  them  to  unite  in 
a  league  of  common  defense,  which  embraced  the  cities  from 
Simyra  to  Acco.  Each  town  preserved  its  ancient  form  of 
government,  which  was  a  monarchy  controlled  by  general 
assemblies  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  influential  citizens,  and 
by  councils  of  priests  and  magistrates,  who  were  on  an  equali- 
ty with  the  king  in  all  public  ceremonies.  The  institutions 
of  Gebal  (Byblus)  were  considered  the  most  perfect  type  of 
these  governments— partly  monarchical,  but  pre-eminently 
aristocratic.  The  kings  of  the  various  cities  were  all  subject 
to  the  King  of  Tyre  as  their  suzerain.  He  decided  all  busi- 
ness respecting  the  general  interests  of  Phoenicia,  its  com- 
merce, and  its  colonies.  He  concluded  treaties  with  foreign 
states,  and  disposed  of  the  military  and  naval  forces  of  the 
confederation.  He  was  assisted  by  de])uties  from  the  other 
towns;  and  the  annual  embassies  to  the  Temple  of  Melcarth 
henceforth  assumed  a  political  character. 

The  Arvadltes  alone  remained  isolated.  Doubtless  they 
were  in  close  alliance  with  the  other  Phoenicians,  and  shared 
in  their  commerce  and  their  maritime  expeditions;  but  there 
are  reasons  to  believe  that  they  were  not  subject  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  kings  of  Tyre.  They  served  as  sailors  on 
board  the  ships  of  Tyre,  whose  population  was  inadequate 
to  man  her  fleets,  and  as  soldiers  in  her  armies,  which  were 
composed  entirely  of  mercenaries.  A  body  of  Arvadites 
formed  the  garrison  of  Tyre  itself  The  other  recruits  were 
drawn  chiefly  from  the  Liby-Phoenicians  and  other  Africans. 
There  were  also  in  her  service  hardy  mountaineers  from  Per- 
sia ;  Lydians,  whether  from  Asia  Minor,  or  a  branch  of  the 
people  from  the  Armenian  highlands ;  and  Ethiopians,  ob- 
tained probably  through  her  commerce  with  Egypt."^ 

This  was  also  the  period  in  which  Tyre  began  her  more 
distant  voyages  to  the  West,  for  the  Carians  and  Tyrrhe= 
nians  held  the  supremacy  in  the  seas  of  Asia  Minor,  Greece, 
and  Italy.  From  Utica,  the  chief  of  their  new  settlements 
on  the  African  coast,''  they  proceeded  westward  along  the 
coasts  of  Numidia  and  Mauretania  {Algeria  and  Jlorocco) ; 
till,  as  their  traditions  say,  after  twice  failing  in  the  attempt 

"  Ezek.  xxvii.  8, 10,  n  ;  xxxviii.  5. 

**  Tbe  traditional  date  of  its  foniidation  is  jj.c.  115S. 


PHCENICIAN  COLONIES.  617 

to  pass  beyond  the  Straits,  they  founded  the  famous  colony 
of  Gades  (  Cadiz — in  Phoenician,  Gadir — "  a  fortified  inclos- 
ure  "),  a  few  years  after  Utica.  This  was  the  great  emporium 
for  their  commerce  with  the  south  of  Spain,  the  Tarshish  of 
Scripture,  where  they  obtained  the  gold,  silver,  iron,  lead,^ 
copper,  tin,  and  cinnabar  of  the  Andalusian  mines,  besides 
honey,  wax, and  pitch.  "Tarshish  was  thy  merchant  by  rea- 
son of  the  multitude  of  riches;  with  silver,  iron,  tin,  and  lead 
they  traded  in  thy  fairs.""  Besides  Gades,  they  founded 
Calpe  and  Carteia  {Gibraltar  and  Algesiixis)  on  the  Straits, 
and  numerous  settlements  on  the  southern  coast  of  Spain,  of 
which  Malaca  {Malagci)  and  Abdera  were  the  chief  These 
remote  colonies  were  connected  with  the  mother-country  by 
the  midway  station  of  Melita  (J[fa/^«),  with  Gaulos  (Gozo), 
where  are  found  the  only  remains  of  Phoenician  temples.  In 
Sardinia  a  splendid  harbor  invited  them  to  found  Caralis 
{Gagliari)-,  and  at  Nora  (near  Fula)^  which  bore  the  name 
of  an  old  city  in  Phoenicia,""  Phoenician  inscriptions  have  been 
found.  They  established  commercial  factories  on  the  coast 
of  Sicily,  which  were  connected  with  Africa  by  a  station  on 
the  little  island  of  Cossyra  (Pantellaria).  It  will  be  seen 
that  these  settlements  commanded  the  whole  shores  of  the 
Western  Mediterranean,  except  the  great  bay  between  Spain 
and  Italy,  of  which  the  Tyrrhenians  w^ere  masters.  The  naval 
power  of  the  latter  was  not  broken  till  both  Carthage  and 
the  Sicilian  Greeks  were  strong  enough  to  encounter  them 
with  success. 

79Ezek.  xxvii.l2, 

«o  The  Naarath  or  yaaran  of  JoBb.  xvi.  I  and  1  Chron.  vii.  28. 


Damascus^ 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE    HISTORY    OF    PIICEXICIA. 

PART  ir.  —  FROM  THE  AGE  OF  DAVID  AND  HIRAM  TO  THE 
TAKING  OF  TYKE  BY  ALEXANDER. 

ABOUT  B.C.   1050  TO  B.C.   332. 

§  1.  TvRE  as  a  powerful  kingdom.  Menander's  list  of  kings.  §  2.  Alliance  of  Hiram 
with  David  and  Solomon,  based  on  common  interests.  Palestine  the  granary  of 
Phoenicia.  Their  friendship  permanent.  Hiram  not  a  vassal.  §  3.  Tyriau  manu- 
factures. Great  works  of  Hiram  at  Tyre.  His  correspondence  with  Solomon. 
Their  joint  maritime  adventures.  §  4.  Period  of  internal  troubles  in  Phoenicia 
and  Israel,  ending  with  Etjib.vat.  and  Omri.  Jezel)el  married  to  Ahab.  §  5.  New 
dynastic  troubles.  Pygmalion  and  Elisa  (Dido).  Democratic  revolution  and 
aristocratic  secession.  Foundation  of  Carthage.  §  G.  Supremacy  of  the  OM  yls- 
sijrian  Monarchy  in  Phoenicia.  Tiglath-pileser  I.  Asshur-nasir-pal.  Phoenician 
weights,  etc.,  found  at  Ximriid.  Shalmaneser  II.  Iva-lush  IV.  Phoenician  su- 
premacy of  the  seas.  §7.  New  A  ssj/rian  Monarchy.  Phoenicia  submits  to  Tiglath- 
pileser  II.  Loss  of  Sicily,  except  three  stations.  Elulaeus,  king  of  Tyre,  recovers 
Citium,  in  Cyprus.  Sargon's  fruitless  siege  of  Tyre.  Naval  victory  of  EIuIkus. 
§  8.  End  of  the  Tyrian  supremacy.  Loss  of  Thasos  and  its  ,>  old-mines.  Sargon 
conquers  Cyprus.     §  9.  Revolt  of  Phoenicia,  and  recouquest  by  Sennacherib.    His 


'  This  Vignette,  though  not  a  Phoenician  subject.  Is  introduced  here  to  exhil)it  a 
city  of  the  greatest  importance  ir  the  ancient  history  of  the  East,  and  often  mentioned 
In  the  preceding  pages. 


MENANDER'S  LIST  OF  KINGS.  619 

stela  at  the  Nahr-el-Kclh.  Kevolt  of  Sidon  :  its  capture  by  Esar-haddon.  5  10. 
Revolt  ill  concert  with  Tirhakah  ;  suppressed  by  Asshur-baiii-pal.  Resistance 
and  capture  of  Aradus.  Recovery  of  the  Egyptian  supremacy  by  Neco.  Service 
of  the  Phoenicians  in  his  fleet.  §  11.  Victory  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  Tyre  and  her 
resources  as  described  by  Ezekiel.  §  12.  Enmity  of  Tyre  to  Jerusalem.  Siesje  of 
Tyre  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  Its  result  doubtfnl.  A  vassal  king  set  up.  Attack  of 
Pharaoh  Hophra  on  Phoenicia.  His  naval  victory  and  plunder  of  the  cities;  but 
no  conquest.  §  13.  Inscription  of  Esmunazar,  king  of  Sidon.  Supremacy  of  Si- 
don from  this  time.  §14.  Political  troubles  at  Tyre.  Government  of  Judges  and 
Priests.  Royalty  restored.  §  15.  The  Phoenicians  submit  to  Persia.  Their  fleet 
serves  under  Cambyses.  Recovery  of  prosperity.  Favor  shown  to  Sidon.  The 
Sidouians  in  the  fleet  of  Xerxes.  §  16.  Tyre  taken  by  Evagoras.  Revolt  of  Cy- 
prus and  Phoenicia.  Destruction  of  Sidon  by  Ochus.  §  17.  Alexander  the  Great 
in  Phoenicia.  His  capture  of  Tyre.  §  IS.  State  of  Phoenicia  under  the  Selencidaj 
and  Romans.  Final  capture  of  Tyre  by  the  Saracens.  §  19.  Her  subsequent 
flesolation  and  present  state.  Present  state  of  Sidon.  Its  sepulchral  remains. 
Other  cities  of  Phoenicia:  Tripoli,  Beyrut,  and  Acre.  §  20.  The  history  of  Car- 
thage belongs  to  that  of  Rome.  Iler  fall  decides  the  conflict  between  Eastern  and 
Western  civilization. 

§  1.  Tyre  first  appears  distinctly  on  the  page  of  recorded 
history,  as  a  powerful  kingdom,  at  the  epoch  of  the  great 
Jewish  monarchy  under  David,  in  the  middle  of  the  eleventh 
century  b.c.  ;  and,  from  the  same  period,  Menander.  of  Ephe- 
sus,  in  a  fragment  preserved  by  Josephus,  traces  the  succes- 
sion of  the  kings  of  Tyre  for  about  200  years  as  follows:" 

1.  Abibaal:  from  about  B.C.  1050. 

2.  Hiram,  his  son  :  from  about  b.c.  1025;  reigned  31  years. 

3.  Baleazar,  his  son :  "  991         "  7     " 

4.  Abdastartus,  his  son  :        "  984  to  975;   murdered  by  a  con- 

spiracy. 

5.  One  of  the  Conspirators  reigned  about  B.C.  975-963. 

6.  AsTARTUS  :  reigned  about  b.c  963  to  951. 

7.  AsERYMUS  (his  brother):  about  b.c.  951  to  942;   murdered  by  his 

brother, 

8.  Phales,  who  reigned  only  eight  montlis,  and  was  murdered  by  the 

priest  of  Astarte. 

9.  Ethbaal  or  Ithobalus  :   b.c.  941-909,  whose  daughter  ./esefte/  was 

tlie  wife  of  A  hah ;  and  in  whose  reign  there  was  a  great  drought. 

10.  Badezor,  his  son  :  about  B.C.  909  to  903. 

11.  Matgen,  his  son :  "         903  to  871. 

12.  Pygmalion,  his  son  :        "        871  to  824;  was  the  brother  of  Elisa 

or  Dido.     Carthage  founded. 

This  list,  compiled  from  unknown  sources,  is  of  course  only 
to  be  trusted  Avhen  its  statements  are  confirmed  by  other 
authorities  ;  but  its  agreement  with  these,  as  in  the  cases  of 
Hiram  and  Ethbaal,  gives  a  certain  degree  of  probability 
to  the  whole.  The  legendary  use  made  of  Pygmalion  and 
Dido  no  more  makes  them  mere  mythical  personages  than 
it  makes  Carthage  a  merely  mythical  place  ;  nor  must  it  be 

2  Most  of  the  names  are  formed  of  similar  religwtn^  elements,  and  in  the  same  Se- 
mitic language,  as  those  of  the  Assyrian  kings.  The  prevalence  of  Baal  and  Astarte 
(Ashtoreth),  the  chief  god  and  goddess  of  the  Phoenicians,  is  obvious.  Thus  Abibaal 
means  "My  father  is  Baal;"  Ethbaal,  "with  Baal,"  or  "Baal  is  with  him;"  Abdas- 
tartus, "the  servant  of  Astarte." 


620  THE  HISTORY  OF  PHCENICIA. 

forgotten  that  Virgil  was  a  learned  antiquary.     Meanv/hile  it 
remains  to  gather  up  what  is  known  to  be  historical. 

§  2.  In  the  first  historical  mention  of  Tyre  as  a  kingdom, 
we  find  Hiram  in  close  alliance  with  David,  to  whom  the 
King  of  Tyre  sent  cedar-trees  and  carpenters  and  masons  to 
build  his  palace.^  It  is  emphatically  stated  that  "  Hiram 
was  ever  a  lover  of  David."*  This  alliance,  the  perpetuation 
of  which  under  Solomon  is  familiar  to  us  from  the  Scripture 
history,  was  based  on  the  natural  principle  of  common  inter- 
ests and  common  dangers. 

The  Philistines  on  the  south  and  the  Syrians  on  the  east 
were  the  enemies  alike  of  Israel  and  Pha^nicia,  and  both 
countries  were  protected  by  the  conquests  of  David.  While 
the  Jewish  kings  enjoyed  the  fruits  of  Phoenician  commerce, 
the  ventures  of  which  were  shared  by  Solomon  from  his  ports 
on  the  Red  Sea,  Phoenicia  depended  on  the  agricultural 
v.'ealth  of  Palestine,  alike  in  the  time  when  Solomon  fed  the 
servants  of  Hiram  at  their  work  in  Lebanon,^  and  when  Herod 
Agrippa  could  bring  "  them  of  Tyre  and  Sidon "  to  their 
senses  "because  their  country  was  nourished  by  the  king's 
country.'"'  In  the  prophet's  invaluable  picture  of  the  sources 
of  Tyrian  wealth  we  read,  "  Judah  and  the  land  of  Israel  .  . . 
they  traded  in  thy  market  Avheat  of  Minnith  and  pannag 
(either  some  cereal  or  some  aromatic  product),  and  honey, 
and  oil,  and  balm."^  The  value  of  Palestine  to  Tyre  as  a 
wheat  couutrv-  was  greatly  enhanced  by  its  proximity,  as 
there  was  scarcely  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  west  of 
Jordan  which  was  distant  more  than  a  hundred  miles  from 
that  great  commercial  city.  The  fact  that  Palestine  was 
the  granary  of  Phoenicia  helps  to  account  for  the  peace  be- 
tween the  two  countries,  of  which  there  is  no  recorded  inter; 
ruption,  notwithstanding  Hiram's  anger  at  Solomon's  ingrati- 
tude,^ and  the  ^provocation  given  to  Ethbaal  by  the  slaughter 
of  his  daughter's  Phoenician  priests  at  Carmel,  almost  on  his 
own  frontier.^  It  was,  indeed,  affirmed,  in  the  "Jewish  liis- 
tory"  of  Eupolemus,  that  David  defeated  Hiram  in  war,  and 
reduced  him  to  a  tributary  condition ;'"  and  this  might  seem 
confirmed  by  the  statement  that  the  officers  who  numbered 
the  people  came  "about  to  Zidon  and  to  the  stronghold  of 
Tyre."^'     But  it  is  quite  clear  that  Sidon  and  Tyre,  though 

3  2  Sam.  xxiv.  7.  If  this  statement  be  taken  strictly  where  it  stands,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  David's  reign,  it  would  seem  to  refer  to  a  Hiram  who  may  have  been  the  fa- 
ther of  Abibaal,  and  grandfather  of  Solomon's  Hiram  ;  and  some  writers  accordingly 
distinguish  them  as  Hiram  T.  and  Hiram  II.  ■*  1  Kings  v.  11. 

5  1  kings  V.  11 ;  2  Chron.  ii.  10.  «  .\cts  xii.  20.  '•  Ezek.  xxvii.  17. 

**  1  Kings  ix.  13.  ®  1  Kings  xviii.  '"  Euseb.  "  Prsep.  Ev."  ix.  ao. 

^1  2  Sam.  xxiv.  7.    This  seems  rather  to  mark  the  northern  limit  of  the  territory  of 


GREAT  WORKS  OF  HIRAM  AT  TYKE.  G21 

included  in  the  promised  and  allotted  land  of  Israel,  were 
never  subdued ;  nor  are  the  relations  of  Hiram  to  Solomon 
those  of  a  vassal.  Their  alliance  is  made  as  between  equals, 
and  Hiram  does  not  hesitate  to  stigmatize  the  cities  given 
him  by  Solomon  as  Cabul  ("dirt").''^ 

§  3.  In  the  aid  rendered  by  Hiram  to  Solomon,  Tyre  ap- 
pears as  the  seat,  not  only  of  commerce,  but  of  manufactur- 
ing art,  especially  for  works  in  metal,  for  which  the  Sidonians 
are  equally  conspicuous  in  the  Homeric  poems. '^  In  the  frag- 
ments of  the  Phoenician  historians,  the  reign  of  Hiram  is  rep- 
resented as  the  great  epoch  when  Tyre  reached  the  climax 
of  her  power,  and  was  strengthened  and  adorned  anew.  He 
is  said  to  have  quelled  in  person  a  revolt  of  Citium,  in  Cy- 
prus. He  undertook  great  works  at  Tyre  in  the  beginning 
of  his  reign,  and  entirely  altered  the  appearance  of  the  city.^* 
He  rebuilt,  with  unexampled  splendor,  the  great  Temple  of 
Melcarth  and  the  adjacent  Temple  of  Ashtoreth.  The  little 
arm  of  the  sea,  which  had  hitherto  separated  the  sacred  islet 
of  Melcarth  from  insular  Tyre  itself,  was  filled  up,  so  as  to 
form  one  island  ;  the  extent  of  which  was  more  than  doubled 
southward  by  the  formation  of  an  artificial  embankment,  on 
which  was  built  a  new  quarter  of  the  city,  called  by  the 
Greeks  Earychoron^  "the  spacious."  Insular  Tyre,  thus 
transformed,  was  protected  on  all  sides  by  dikes,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  strongly  fortified  inclosure.  Quays  bordered 
the  whole  of  the  ancient  harbor,  and  a  second  port  was 
formed  on  the  south  side  of  the  island,  and  thus  shelter  was 
obtained  for  more  than  double  the  number  of  ships  that 
could  have  been  accommodated  before.  Hiram  also  built  a 
royal  palace  in  the  insular  city,  which  henceforth  became 
the  true  Tyre,  while  Palaetyrus,  on  the  main-land,  gradually 
declined. 

The  completion  of  these  w^orks,  about  the  time  of  David's 
death,  set  Hiram  and  his  trained  artificers  at  liberty  to  aid 
Solomon  in  those  great  works  at  Jerusalem,  of  which  the  ac- 
count belongs  to  Scripture  History. ''^  Copies  of  the  letters 
which  passed  between  the  two  kings  on  this  occasion^*'  were 

Israel,  at  the  Sidouian  country,  with  its  capital  Tyre.  Or,  if  the  enuineraton?  actually 
visited  those  cities,  it  might  be  to  number  the  Hebrew  residents,  of  whom  there  were 
always  many  in  Phoenicia.  12  j  Kings  ix.  13. 

13  The  Tyriau  annals  place  the  taking  of  Troy  just  at  the  beginning  of  Hiram's 
reign,  b.c.  1023. 

1*  Dius,  ap.  Joseph.  "  c.  Apion,"  i.  17.  The  erection  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
with  the  aid  of  Tyrian  artists,  just  after  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple  of  Melcarth, 
gives  a  clear  presumption  of  the  Phoenician  architecture  of  the  former. 

J5  See  the  "Student's  Old  Testament  History,"  chap.  xxii. 

1^  2  Chron.  ii.  See  v.  11,  "  Then  Huram  the  king  of  Tyre  answered  in  tvriting,  which 
he  sent  to  Solomon." 


622  THE  HISTORY  OF  PHCENICIA. 

shown  ill  the  Tyrian  archives,  as  being  authentic,  in  the  time 
of  Joseplms,  who  gives  translations/^  Solomon  married  a 
"  Zidonian  "  princess,^^  a  daughter  of  Hiram,  by  whom  the 
worship  of  Ashtoreth  w^as  set  up  at  Jerusalem.'^  His  joint 
maritime  adventures  with  the  fleet  of  Hiram,  described  in 
Scripture  History,^"  attest  both  the  distant  voyages  of  the 
Tyrians  from  the  Red  Sea  ports  belonging  to  Israel,  and  the 
policy  of  Solomon  in  having  his  own  sailors  trained  by  the 
Phoenician  mariners.  When,  however,  on  the  partition  of 
Solomon's  kingdom,  Phcenicia,  maintaining  her  alliance  with 
the  northern  kingdom,  was  shut  out  from  those  ports,  the 
attempt  of  Jehoshaphat  to  re-open  the  Red  Sea  navigation 
proved  too  much  for  the  skill  of  the  Jewish  raariners,^^  and 
the  ships  were  wrecked. 

§  4.  The  -death  of  Hiram  was  soon  followed  by  dynastic 
troubles  at  Tyre  :  and  his  grandson  was  murdered  through 
a  conspiracy  formed  by  the  four  rons  of  his  nurse  in  the  very 
yenr  of  the  death  of  Solomon  and  the  partition  of  his  king- 
dom (f.c.  975).  It  is  thought  that  Phoenicia,  as  well  as  Ju- 
dah,  may  have  felt  the  hostility  of  the  Egyptian  king  Shi- 
shak;  and  the  foundation  of  the  kingdom  of  Damascus  can 
not  but  have  affected  the  power  of  Tyre.  The  30  or  40  suc- 
ceeding years  of  disturbance  and  revolution  coincide  remark- 
ably with  the  like  troubles  in  Israel;  and  both  kingdoms, 
obtaining  settled  governments  about  the  same  time,  formed 
a  new  alliance.  Ethbaal,  the  priest  of  Ashtoreth,  established 
a  new  dynasty  at  Tyre,  and  married  his  daughter,  Jezebel,  to 
Ahab,  son  of  Omri,  with  disastrous  results  to  both  the  He- 
brew kingdoms.^^ 

§  5.  It  was  under  Ethbaal's  fourth  successor  that  new  dy- 
nastic troubles  are  said  to  have  produced  that  great  event 
which  determined  a  large  part  of  the  course  of  ancient  his- 
tory, but  which  has  come  down  to  us  in  the  garb  of  the  most 
favorite  poetical  legend  of  antiquity.  The  following  is  the 
historical  version  (real  or  supposed)  which  the  classical  writ, 
ers  gathered  from  the  fragments  of  native  tradition.  The 
Tyrian  king,  Matgen,  died,  leaving  two  children — a  son,  aged 
eleven  years,  named  Pumellwi  (Pygmalion),  and  a  daughter, 
some  years  older,  named  Elissar  (Elisa).  His  last  wish  w^as 
that  the  two  should  reign  conjointly.  But  the  populace,  de- 
sirous of  changing  the  aristocratic  form  of  government,  pro- 

17  Joseph.  "  Ant."  viii.  2,  §?  6,  7.  '«  1  Kings  xi.  1.  la  Ibid,  verse  5. 

20  1  Kings  X.  11,  22;  2  Chrou.  xx.  3C.  The  phrase  "ships  of  Tarshish"  describes 
the  large  vessels  employed  for  these  voyages  as  of  the  same  class  as  those  used  for 
the  Western  Mediterranean,  just  as  our  ship-owners  send  "East-Indiamen"  to  Aus- 
tralia. ^'  1  Kings  xxii.  48  \  2  Chron.  xx.  35-37. 

22  See  the  "  Student's  Old  TestameuL  Hictory,"  chap,  xxiii. 


PYGMALION  AND  ELISA.  623 

claimed  Pygmalion  sole  monarch,  aiul  surrounded  him  with 
councillors  of  the  democratic  party.'^  Elisa,  excluded  from 
the  throne,  married  Zicliarhaal^^  the  high-priest  of  Melcarth, 
whose  position  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  aristocratic 
party. 

Some  years  later,  Pygmalion  caused  his  rival,  Zicharbaal, 
to  be  assassinated  ;  and  Elisa  formed  a  conspiracy  with  300 
Senators,  the  heads  of  the  patrician  families,  to  avenge  her 
husband  and  restore  the  aristocratic  government.  The  de- 
mocracy was  too  vigilant  to  give  the  conspirators  any  hope 
of  s.iccess  in  Tyre,  so  they  resolved  upon  a  great  secession. 
Seizing  by  surprise  some  ships,  which  lay  in  the  port  leady 
for  sea,  they  embarked  to  the  number  of  several  thousands, 
and  departed  to  found  a  new  Tyre  beneath  other  skies,  under 
the  guidance  of  Elisa,  who,  from  this  emigration,  received  the 
name  of  Dido,  "  the  fugitive."  Disembarking  among  the  set- 
tlements of  their  countrymen  at  the  north-eastern  point  of 
Zeugitana,  they  bought  from  the  Libyan  king  the  site  of  the 
old  Sidonian  colony  of  Cambe,  which  had  long  since  fallen 
into  ruins ;  and,  whether  in  contrast  with  this  older  town  or 
with  the  mother  city,  their  settlement  Avas  called  Kiryath- 
Iladeshath  (that  is,  the  "  Xew  City  "),  which  became  in  Greek 
Carchedon^  and  in  Latin  Carthago.  The  migration  of  Dido 
is  placed  in  the  seventh  year  of  Pygmalion's  reign,  or  B.C. 
872  or  865. 

§  6.  From  the  time  of  Ethbaal,  the  great  kings  of  tlie  Old 
Assyrian  Monarchy,  whose  monuments  are  found  at  Kimrud^ 
began  to  extend  theii-  power  as  f\ir  as  Phoenicia,  About  two 
centuries  earlier,  indeed,  Tiglath-pileser  L^^  had  reached  as 
far  as  the  northern  end  of  Lebanon  and  Aradus,  Avhere  his 
Annals  state  that  he  went  on  board  a  ship  and  killed  a  dol- 
phin with  his  own  hand  !  But  it  is  not  till  now  that  we  find 
conquests  claimed  in  Phoenicia. 

The  great  Klmrud  king,  Asshur-nasir-pal,  records  on  his 
obelisk:  "At  this  time  I  took  possession  of  all  around 
Mount  Lebanon.  I  proceeded  towards  the  great  sea  of 
Phoenicia.  On  the  summits  of  the  mountains  I  sang  the 
praises  of  the  great  gods,  and  I  offered  sacrifices.  I  received 
tribute  from  the  kings  of  the  countries  around  the  mount- 
ains, from  Tyre^  Sidon.  Gehcd  (Byhlus) fi-om  Plicenicia^ 

and  from  Aradus  in  the  sea;  these^  tributes  consisted  of  sih 
ver,  gold,  tin,  bronze,  instruments  of  iron,  stuffs  dyed  purple 
and  saffron,  sandal-wood,  ebony,  and  seal-skins.     They  hum^ 

2'  Justin,  xviii.  4,  §  3. 

^*  Servius,  ad  Wr^.  "  ^n."  i.  343.  He  is  the  Sicluvv.s  of  Vir<ril,  ;uul  the  Arerbas  o» 
Acerbal  of  other  traditious.  25  gey  chap.  xi.  §  15  scq. 


624  THE  HISTORY  OF  PHCENICIA. 

bled  themselves  before  me."  In  our  Museum  we  still  behold 
the  cedar-wood,  which  this  king  himself  tells  us  that  he  cut 
in  Lebanon  and  carried  to  Nineveh,  as  well  as  tlie  weights 
inscribed  with  their  values  in  Phoenician  terms  {rnanah  and 
shekel)^  both  in  Phoenician  and  cuneiform  letters  (see  engrav- 
ing below). ^"^ 


Bronze  lion,  from  Nimrud. 

This  king's  son,Shalmaneser  IL,  the  "Black  Obelisk  king," 
after  his  great  campaign  against  Hazael,  king  of  Syria  (his 
21st  campaign),  advanced  into  Phoenicia,  and  received  the 
tribute  of  Tyre,  Sidon,  and  Byblus ;"  and  his  grandson,  Iva- 
lush  (or  Houli-Khus)  IV.  enumerates,  among  the  countries 
paying  him  regular  tributes,  "  the  whole  of  Phoenicia,  the 
lands  of  Tyre  and  of  vSidon."''*  Even  taking  these  claims  at 
their  fullest  meaning,  the  loose  hold  of  Assyria  on  her  tribu- 
tary provinces,  especially  at  so  great  a  distance,  would  not 
interfere  with  their  maritime  power ;  and  it  is  precisely  at 
this  period  that  a  Greek  tradition  ascribes  to  them  a  Thalas- 
socracy^  or  dominion  of  the  seas,  from  b.c.  824  to  786. 

§  7.  The  founder  of  the  New  Assyrian  Monarchy  began, 
as  we  have  seen,  from  his  very  accession,  to  reconquer  the 
western  provinces,  which  the  fall  of  the  Old  Monarchy  had 
restored  to  independence.  Now  also  we  find  the  relations 
of  Phoenicia  to  Assyria  continually  referred  to  in  Scripture 
and  in  the  fragments  of  the  old  historians.  The  prophet 
Amos  denounces  Tyre  among  the  nations  which  were  to  feel 
the  weight  of  Assyrian  conquest ;"  and  Tiglath-pileser  II. 
mentions  Hiram^  king  of  Tyre,  and  Slbithaal,  king  of  Gebal, 
in  the  list  of  kings  w^ho  submitted  to  him  in  the  campaign 
of  B.C.  742.^"  The  destruction  of  the  kingdom  of  Damascus, 
the  captivity  of  northern  Israel,  and  the  conquest  of  Hamath 

2«  See  chap.  xii.  §§  5,  T.  2/  jbid.  xii.  §  11,  p.  292.  2«  Hjjd.  §  ix. 

29  Amos  i.  9, 10.  30  See  chap.  xiii.  §  4. 


LOSS  OF  SICILY.  65ir. 

and  the  Philistines,  must  have  left  Phoenicia  completely  ex- 
posed f  and  Sibitbaal  of  Gebal  again  appears  among  the 
twenty-three  vassal  kings,  who  brought  their  tribute  and 
homage  to  the  conqueror  at  Damascus  (b.c.  733).  In  the 
following  year,  Muthon  or  MWe}ina^  king  of  Tyre,  leagued 
with  Pekah,  king  of  Israel,  in  refusing  to  pay  tribute.  The 
approach  of  an  army,  sent  by  Tiglath-pileser,  appears  to  have 
been  the  occasion  of  the  murder  of  Pekah  by  Hoshea,  who 
made  his  submission,  and  Muthon  followed  the  example. 

About  the  same  time,  the  Greek  colonization  of  Sicily  dis- 
placed the  Phoenicians  from  their  settlements  on  the  island, 
with  three  important  exceptions.  Their  retention  of  Motya, 
"the  muddy,"  Kepher,  "  the  town"  (Soluntum),  and  Macha- 
nath,"the  camp"  (Panormus),  at  the  western  end  of  the  isl- 
and, nearest  to  Carthage,  secured  them  the  powerful  support 
of  their  great  colony  in  maintaining  their  trade  with  the  in- 
terior; and  these  same  cities  afterwards  gave  the  Carthagin- 
ians a  footing  in  Sicily.  This  loss  in  Sicily  was  pardy  com- 
pensated by  the  reduction  of  a  rebellion  of  Citium,  in  Cy- 
pi'us,  by  EluU  (ElulfEus),  who  became  king  of  Tyre  about 
B.C.  726,  at  the  time  of  the  final  effort  of  Hoshea  to  throw 
off  the  Assyrian  yoke.  We  have  seen  the  issue  in  the  de- 
struction of  Samaria,  and  the  decisive  campaign  of  Sargon 
against  the  kings  of  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  on  the  southern 
frontier  of  Palestine.^^ 

From  the  victory  of  Raphia,  Sargon  returned  to  exact  the 
tribute  of  Phoenicia,  and  received  the  submission  of  Sidon, 
Acco,  and  the  other  cities,  including  Palatyrus,  on  the 
main-land.  The  island  city  of  Tyre  alone,  confident  in  its 
strength,  defied  a  power  which  had  no  navy,  and  stood  the 
first  of  its  three  memorable  sieges.'^  The  Assyrian  ])ressed 
into  his  service  the  fleets  of  his  Phoenician  vassals  ;  and  the 
Tyrians  were  attacked  by  60  ships,  manned  by  800  rowers,  of 
their  late  confederates,  Sidon,  Acco,  and  Old  Tyre.  Putting 
to  sea  with  only  twelve  vessels,  they  gained  a  complete  victo- 
ry, sunk  many  ships,  and  took  500  prisoners.  Sargon  left  his 
generals  to  reduce  Tyre  by  blockade.  They  cut  the  aque- 
duct built  by  Hiram  to  bring  water  from  the  main-land;  but 
the  Tyrians  sunk  wells  in  tlie  rock  till  they  reached  springs. 
After  five  years  the  siege  was  abandoned  (b.c.  715^*). 

§  8.  Tyre  emerged  from  this  contest  with  safety  and  glory  ; 
but  that  was  all,  for  her  supremacy  was  gone.      The  deser- 

«i  See  cli-ip.  xiii.  §  5.  "  Ibid.  5J  6.  7. 

33  The  otfiei-  two  were  those  by  Nebnchaduezzfw  and  Alexander  the  Great. 
3*  Meiiander,  ff^j.  Joseph.  "Ant."  ix.  14,  5  2,  with  the  correction  of  '  Savi^on"  for 
"'  Shalmaueser." 

27 


626  THE  HISTOKY  OF  PlKENlClA. 

tioii  of  her  confederates — nay,  tlieir  appearance  in  the  field 
against  her — are  facts  of  terrible  import.  She  had,  doubt- 
less, reached  that  inevitable  stage  in  the  supremacy  of  a 
great  city  over  others  with  common  interests,  when  the 
power  yielded  for  the  good  of  all  was  abused  for  the  ag- 
grandizement of  the  one,  which  reserved  for  herself  the  chief 
profits  of  the  commerce  in  which  her  confederates  had  tlie 
share  rather  of  servants  than  of  partners.  Sidon,  in  par- 
ticular, had  the  memory  of  old  supremacy  to  inflame  her 
jealousy ;  and  we  shall  soon  see  her  appearing  as  a  sep- 
arate centre  of  the  resistance  of  Phoenicia  to  her  foreign 
masters. 

While  thus  deprived  of  her  hegemony  at  home,  Tyre 
was  stripped  of  her  last  and  most  valuable  possession  in  tlie 
^gean — Thasos,  with  its  gold  mines — which  was  seized  by 
the  people  of  Paros  during  the  siege  of  Tyre.  The  fiimous 
iambic  poet,  Archilochus  of  Paros,  served  in  this  expedi- 
tion.^^ Some  years  later,  Sargon  used  the  Phoenician  and 
Piiilistine  fleets  for  an  expedition  against  Cyprus,  which 
was  thus  lost  to  Tyre  (b.c.  708).  The  conquest  was  com- 
memorated by  a  stela  wliich  Sargon  set  up  in  Citium  ;'"  and 
it  was  probably  with  reference  to  this  exploit  that  he  boasts, 
"Arbiter  of  combats,  T  traversed  the  sea  of  Jamnia  like  a  fish. 
I  annexed  Koui  and  Tyre." 

§  9.  The  loose  yoke  of  Assyria  was  again  cast  ofl"  dui'ing 
the  troubles  of  Sargon's  later  years,  and  Sennacherib  had  to 
reconquer  Phoenicia  with  the  othei-  western  provinces.  We 
have  already  seen  his  own  account  of  the  conquest,"  which 
this  time  included  Tyre,  whence  Elulsus  fled,  and  was  re- 
placed by  Ethhaal^  or  Touhaal^  as  a  vassal  of  the  Assyrian. 
We  may  assume  that  this  result  w\as  brought  about  by  in- 
ternal dissension.  Sennacherib  commemorated  his  conquest 
of  Phoenicia  by  the  stela  which  he  set  up  at  the  i:)outh  of  the 
Nahr-el-Kelh^  beside  those  of  Rameses  II. 

So  complete  for  the  time  was  the  subjection  of  Tyre,  that 
it  is  Sidon,  under  her  king,  Ahdi-Milkut^  that  heads  the  nex^ 
rebellion  on  the  opportunity  of  the  murder  of  Sennacherib 
(i;.c.  (380).  We  have  seen  how  Esar-haddon,  in  his  first  cam- 
paign, quelled  the  revolt,  sacked  the  city,  and  transported 
many  of  his  Phoenician  captives  to  Babylonia.^®  Some  years 
later,  he  enumerates,  among  the  kings  who  were  his  vassals, 

*'  Clem.  Alex.  "  Strom."  i.  21,  p.  300.  ^c  jsjo^y  j^  the  Berlin  Museum. 

'^  Chaj).  xiv.  §  2.  Here  again  we  have  the  generic  use  of  the  name  Sidon ia7is.  The 
king  of  Tyre  is  "king  of  the  Sidonians." 

*«  Chap.  xiv.  §  7.  Besides  Avhat  is  there  qnoted  from  his  annals,  Esar-haddou  say3, 
in  an  inscriptioi),  "  I  put  all  its  grandees  to  death.  I  destroyed  its  walls  and  houses; 
I  threw  them  iuto  the  sea.    I  destroyed  the  site  of  its  temples." 


VICTORY  OF  CARCHEMISH.  627 

Baal^  Ivir.i]^  of  Tyre;  Idiosahat^  king  of  Gebal  (Bybliis) ; 
Kuhibaal,  king  of  Aradus;  and  Abibaal^  king  of  Siniron. 

§  10.  Tlie  next  transfer  of  the  Assyrian  crown  presented 
a  special  opportunity  for  revolt,  in  concert  with  Tirhakah's 
recovery  of  supremacy  in  Egypt;  and  the  Plia?nician  cities, 
always  ready  to  return  to  their  ancient  alliance,  rose  in  re- 
bellion (b.c.  667).  But  Asshur-bani-pal's  complete  victory  in 
Egypt  left  him  free  to  reduce  Phoenicia  in  the  following  year. 
He  lirst  took  Acco  ;  then  Baal,  king  of  Tyre,  earned  his  par- 
don by  submission ;  and  this  time  it  was  the  island  city  of 
Aradus  that  made  a  desperate  resistance.  When  it  could 
hold  out  no  longer,  the  king,  Yakindu^  son  of  Kulubaal,  put 
himself  to  death;  seven  of  his  sons  were  killed  by  Asshur- 
bani-pal,  who  set  the  eighth,  Azbaal,  upon  the  throne. 

His  conquest  of  Phoenicia  seems  to  have  been  as  thorough 
as  that  of  Egypt;  but  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  Assyrian 
empire  restored  the  country  to  a  virtual  independence,  which 
was  rather  confirmed  than  annulled  by  Egypt's  temporary 
recovery  of  her  dominion  in  Western  Asia  under  Neco  (n.c. 
610).  The  Phoenician  cities  welcomed  this  vigorous  Pharaoh 
as  a  deliverer  from  the  Assyrian  yoke  ;  and  their  fleet,  placed 
as  of  old  at  the  service  of  Egypt,  was  employed  in  the  mari- 
time adventui-es  which  have  been  i-elated  in  the  reign  of  Neco. 

§  11.  But  the  decisive  victory  of  Carchemisli  restored  the 
lands  \vest  of  the  Euphrates  to  a  harder  yoke  than  that  of 
Assyria;  and,  in  the  emphatic  description  several  times  re- 
ferred to  already,  "the  king  of  Egypt  came  not  any  more 
out  of  his  land"  to  help  his  allies.  It  was  only,  however, 
after  some  delay  and  a  terrible  struggle,  that  Nebuchadnez- 
zar gained  possession  of  Tyi-e,  if,  indeed,  he  really  took  the 
island  city.  Meanwhile  the  impending  fate  of  the  proud  city 
gave  occasion  to  those  wonderful  prophecies,  wdiich  paint  to 
the  life  the  prosperity  which  her  loss  of  political  power  had 
not  interrupted,  and  which  forms  the  mystic  type  of  some 
future  state,  that  should  attain  the  like  height  only  to  have 
as  terrible  a  fall.^^ 

In  this  historical  picture  of  Tyre's  resources  (for  such  the 

39  Ezek.  xxvi.  xxvii.  xxviii. :  comp.  Rev.  xviii.  It  was  an  obiter  dictum  of  the  great 
Dr.  Chalmers,  that  many  points  in  the  description  of  this  mystic  Babylon  seem  more 
like  London  than  Rome.  Perhaps  the  prophecy  refers  rather  to  a  condition  of  society 
than  to  any  specific  and  local  state.  The  prophecy  in  Isaiah  xxiii.  furnishes  other 
touches  to  add  to  the  fuller  picture  of  Ezekiel ;  and  it  may  be  used  to  illustrate  the 
state  in  which  Tyre  doubtless  existed  for  many  centuries,  whether  it  is  rightly  placed 
or  not  among  the  writings  of  Isaiah.  If  it  be  his— as  there  seems  no  sufficient  rea- 
son to  deny— its  occasion  would  naturally  be  the  siege  by  Sargon  in  u.c.  720.  If  it 
be  later,  it  would  refer  to  the  siege  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  so  be  a  precise  parallel 
to  Ezekiel's  prophecy.  Probably  the  social  and  commercial  state  of  Tyre  was  much 
the  same  during  and  before  the  whole  interval  of  nearly  a  century  and  a  halt  from 
Isaiah  to  Ezekiel. 


(328  IHE  HISTOKY  OF  PHCENICIA. 

passage  re?.lly  is),  the  prophet  Ezekiel  gives  some  most  in- 
teresting details  of  the  trade  of  "Tyre,  the  crowning  city, 
whose  merchants  were  princes,  whose  traffickers  were  the 
honorable  of  the  earth" — "the  isle  whom  the  merchants  of 
Zidon,  that  pass  over  the  sea,  had  replenished."""  Her  gold 
came  from  Arabia  by  the  Persian  Gulf,  just  as  in  the  time 
of  Solomon  it  came  from  Arabia  (Ophir),  by  the  Red  Sea. 
Whether  the  Arabian  merchants  obtained  their  gold  by 
traffic  with  Africa  or  India,  or  whether  it  was  the  product 
of  their  own  country,  is  uncertain.  The  silver,  i'ron,  lead,  and 
tin  of  Tyre  came  from  a  very  different  quarter  of  the  world, 
namely  from  their  settlement  of  Tarshish,  in  the  south  of 
Spain."  Her  copper  is  mentioned,  not  as  coming  from  Cy- 
prus (as  we  should  liave  expected),  but  in  connection  with 
Javan,  Tubal,  and  Meschech,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Armenia 
and  the  southern  line  of  the  Caucasus  ;  and  from  this  quarter 
slaves  were  procured,  as  from  Circassia  and  Georgia  in  later 
times.  P'rom  Palestine,  as  we  liave  seen.  Tyre  obtained  oil, 
honey,  and  balm,  but  apparently  not  wine,  which  was  im- 
ported from  Damascus,  as  was  also  white  wool.  This  city 
was  the  emporium  for  "a  multitude  of  Avares  of  Tyre's  mak- 
ing, and  for  the  multitude  of  all  riches."  The  Bedouin  Arabs 
supplied  Tyre  w^ith  lambs,  and  rams,  and  goats.  Egypt  fur- 
nished linen  for  sails,  and  doubtless  for  other  purposes;  and 
the  dyes  from  shell-hsh,  which  afterwards  became  such  a 
source  of  profit  to  the  Tyrians,  were  imported  from  the 
Peloponnesus.  Lastly,  from  Dedan,  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  an 
island  occupied  possibly  by  a  Phoenician  colony,  horns  of 
ivory  and  ebony  were  imported,  which  must  originally  have 
been  obtained  from  India. '^  Let  the  reader  turn  to  the 
prophecy  itself  for  the  rest  of  the  picture  of  "  the  renowned 
city,  inhabited  of  sea-faring  men,  that  was  strong  in  the  sea, 
she  and  her  inhabitants,  which  caused  their  terror  to  be  on 
all  that  haunted  it ;""  that  said,  "  I  am  of  perfect  beauty," 
whose  "borders  were  in  the  midst  of  the  seas,  her  builders 
had  perfected  her  beauty  ;"'*  whose  prince  said,  in  the  pride 
of  his  uplifted  heart,  "  Behold,  I  am  God,  I  sit  in  the  seat  of 
God,  in  the  midst  of  the  seas,"  who  claimed  to  be  "  wiser 
than  Daniel,"  and  boasted  as  much  of  the  "  great  wisdom  and 

<"  Isaiah  xxiii.2, 8.  The  phrase  "daughter  of  Zion  "  (ver.  12)  has  been  quoted  as 
:in  argument  for  the  colonization  of  Tyre  from  Sidon.  But  it  seems  rather  to  be  a 
Hebrew  idiom  for  the  fair  city  of  the  Zidouians  (/.  c,  Phoenicians).  At  verse  10,  Tyre 
is  called  the  '^  daughter  of  Tarshish,"  as  being  nourished  from  that  region. 

<i  There  seems  reason  to  believe  that  this  was  the  period  when  the  diminishing 
produce  of  the  Spanish  tin-mines  caused  the  Phoenicians  to  \enture  on  the  distant 
voyage  to  the  Cassiteridea  ("tin-islands"),  the  Scilli/  Isles  and  the  adjacent  coasts  of 
Cornwall.    But  this  question  can  not  be  discussed  here. 

<2  Ezek.  xxvii.  7, 10-13, 15, 17,  IS,  21,  22.       i-^  Ezek.  xxvi.  17.        "*  Ibid,  xxvii.  3,  4 


SIEGE  OF  TYRE.  629 

traffic  by  which  his  riches  were  increased"  as  of  that  wealth 
itself;*"  though  the  vices  of  a  commercial  people/^  and  their 
unbounded  indulgence  in  luxury  and  sensual  pleasure,  cried 
to  Heaven  for  the  coming  vengeance  which  the  prophet  de- 
nounces in  the  most  vivid  poetic  language. 

§  12.  The  iirst  of  these  three  prophecies  (which  are  clearly 
continuous)  is  dated  on  the  first  day  of  the  month  in  the 
nth  year  of  the  Great  Captivity;*'  its  occasion  is  specified, 
as  arising  out  of  the  exultation  of  Tyre  over  the  tall  of  Jeru- 
salem, "I  shall  be  replenished  now  she  is  laid  waste;"  and 
Nebuchadrezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  is  named  as  about  to  be- 
siege and  destroy  the  city.*''  The  exultation  and  malevo- 
lence of  the  Tyrians,  apparently  inconsistent  with  interest 
and  traditional  policy,  are  to  be  explained  by  Josiah's  relig- 
ious reformation,  when  he  uprooted  the  Phoenician  worship 
in  Jud?ea,  slew  its  priests  upon  their  altars,*^  burnt  the  images 
of  their  gods,  and  destroyed  their  high  places — not  excepting 
that  near  Jerusalem,  which  Solomon,  the  friend  of  Hiram, 
had  built  to  Ashtoreth,  the  Queen  of  Heaven.  We  can 
scarcely  doubt  that  the  death  in  battle  of  Josiah  at  Megid- 
do,  and  the  subsequent  destruction  of  the  city  and  temple  of 
Jerusalem,  were  hailed  by  them  with  triumphant  joy  as  in- 
stances of  divine  retribution  in  human  aftairs. 

Tiie  prophet  warned  tliem  that  this  catastrophe  was  the 
prelude  to  their  own  ;  and  it  seems,  indeed,  to  have  been 
l)rought  on  by  the  same  causes.  It  is  still  a  disputed  ques- 
tion whether  the  thirteen  years'  siege  of  Tyre,  of  which  Jo- 
sephus  speaks,^"  began  when  Nebuchadnezzar  marched  to 
chastise  the  rebellion  of  Jerusalem  (bx'.  598),  or,  as  seems 
more  consistent  with  the  date  of  the  above  prophecy,  about 
the  time  of  the  final  capture  of  Jerusalem.  Nothing  is  more 
likely  than  that  Tyre,  the  ancient  ally  of  Egypt,  would  join 
in  the  league  formed  by  Pharaoh-Hophra,  Which  brought 
down  this  final  ruin  upon  Judcea  ;  and  the  siege  of  Tyre 
would  probably  be  formed  at  the  same  time  as  that  of  Jeru- 
salem (b.c.  588).^^  And  this  agrees  with  the  date  of  that 
remarkable  prophecy  of  Ezekiel,  which  leaves  it  doubt - 
.fuL  whether  Tyre  Avas  actually  taken  by  Nebuchadnezzar:" 

45Chap.xxviii.  1^.  *«  njid.  vv.  IC-IS.  ^^li.c.  5SS. 

48  Ezek.  xxvi.  1-14.  49  2  Kiu-ijs  xxiii.  20.  so  Joseph.  '•  c.  Apion.'-  i.  21. 

51  The  languai^e  of  Ezekiel  about  Jerusalem  (xxvi.  2)  need  not  imply  that  her  final 
destruction  was  accomplished ;  ibr  she  had  been  utterly  ruined  by  the  Great  Cap- 
tivity in  B.C.  59T. 

52  Ezek.  xxix.  lT-20.  The  date  is  the  1st  day  of  the  1st  month  of  the  2Tth  year  of 
the  Great  Captivity,  it.o.  571.  Now  is.o.  5SS  — 13  years  =;]s.o.  515.  The  interval  be- 
tween tlsis  date  and  the  expedition  of  Nebuchadnezzar  against  Egypt,  which  is  the 
subject  of  the  prophecy,  may  be  accounted  for  by  Pharaoh-Hophra's  attack  upon 
Plioenicia,  which  supplies  the  provocation  for  the  invasion. 


630  THE  HISTORY  OF  PIICENICIA. 

"  Son  of  man,  Nebuchadrezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  caused  his 
army  to  serve  a  great  service  against  Tyrus:  every  head  was 
made  bald,  and  every  shoulder  was  peeled"  (doubtless  in 
"  casting  the  mount  against  the  city  "")  ;  "  yet  had  he  no 
ifKiges^  nor  Jiis  army,  for  Tyrus,  for  the  service  that  lie  served 
against  it ;"  and  therefore  the  land  and  spoil  of  Egypt  are 
assigned  as  his  reward.  The  natural  inference — that  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, like  Sargon,  failed  to  take  the  island  city,  though 
he  took  and  destroyed  Old  Tyre,  on  the  main-land — is  con- 
firmed by  the  silence  of  Josephus,  who  relates  the  siege  from 
the  Tyrian  annals,  and  of  all  other  Greek  and  Roman  writers, 
as  to  the  capture  of  Tyre. ^^  It  seems  most  probable  that  the 
firm  resistance  of  the  city  secured  a  capitulation  on  moderate 
terms.  This  view  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  account  that 
a  part  of  the  population  sailed  away  at  the  last  moment  to 
Carthage,  and  that  the  king,  Ethhaal^  was  led  captive  to 
Babylon,  with  all  the  most  noted  families,  and  that  Nebu- 
chadnezzar installed  a  new  king,  Baal,  as  his  vassal. 

The  king  is  presently  found,  with  the  King  of  Sidon,  fight- 
ing for  his  new  sovereign  against  the  attempts  of  Apries 
(Pharaoh-IIophra)  to  recover  Phoenicia  to  Egypt.  The  pow- 
er which  had  once  relied  wholly  on  Phffinicia  for  its  marine 
service  now  gathered  a  great  fleet  by  the  aid  of  its  Ionian 
and  Cai-ian  mercenaries.  They  defeated  the  united  Phoeni- 
cian and  Cyprian  fleets,  which  perhaps  fought  with  little  zeal 
for  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  a  great  battle  oft*  Cyprus.  The  fleet 
of  Pharaoh  levied  contributions  along  the  Phoenician  coast, 
and  took  Sidon  by  storm,  but  retired  with  their  plunder. 
Aradus  alone  was  held  for  a  time  by  an  Egyptian  garrison, 
as  we  learn  from  an  inscription  of  Apries  lately  discovered 
there;  but,  as  M.  Lenormant  observes,  "  this  expedition  to 
Phoenicia  was  rather  a  maritime  raid  on  a  large  scale,  without 
political  results,  than  a  serious  attempt  to  recover  the  coun- 
try from  Nebuchadnezzar." 

§  13.  The  same  writer  places  immediately  after  this  war  of 
Apries  the  inscription  oi  Esmunazar^  king  of  Sidon,  the  long- 
est yet  discovered,  on  his  sarcophagus  in  the  Museum  of  the 
Louvre.  It  is  as  follows:  "I  am  Esmunazar,  king  of  Sidon, 
son  of  Tabnith,  king  of  Sidon,  grandson  of  Esmunazar,  king 
of  Sidon;  and  my  mother  was  Amashtoreth,  priestess  of  our 
Lady  Ashtoreth,\he  (pieen,  daughter  of  tlie  king  Esmunazar 

53  Ezek.  xxvi.  8. 

5*  The  only  exception  is  St.  Jerome,  who  may  have  assumed  the  result  from  the 
prophecy  on  Avhich  he  was  commenting  (Hieron.  "  Com.  in  Ezech."  xx\i.).  Ezekiel's 
prophecy  looks  forward  to  the  final  destruction  of  the  city  by  Alexander,  and  its  sub- 
sequent desolation.  (See  the  whole  question  discussed  in  the  "Diet. of  the  Bible," 
art.  Tykk.) 


SUPREMACY  OF  SIDON.  631 

of  Sidon.  We  have  built  the  Temple  of  the  Aloiiim  (the 
great  oods)  at  Sidon,  on  the  sea-shore,  and  all-powerful  Heav- 
en has^made  Ashtoreth  favorable  to  us.  We  also  have  built 
on  the  mountain  a  temple  to  Esmun^  whose  hand  rests  on  a 
serpent.  Lastly,  we  also  built  the  temples  of  the  Alonim  of 
Sidon  at  Sidon,  of  the  Baal  of  Sidon,  and  of  Ashtoreth,  the  glo- 
ry of  Baal.  May  the  master  oftJi.e  kings  alwai/s  (/rant  Ksjyosses- 
sion  of  Dor,  Japha,  and  the  niaf/nificent  corn-lands  in  the  valley 
of  Sharon,  as  a  recompense  for  the  (jreat  things  I  have  doneP 

The  last  sentence  seems  to  imply  that  Sidon  had  been 
specially  favored  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  "  the  master  of  kings," 
probably  as  the  reward  of  her  ready  submission,  and  that 
her  territory  was  enlarged  by  the  rich  lands  named  in  Pal- 
estine. From  this  time  to  her  destruction  by  Artaxerxes 
Ochus,  it  is  Sidon,  not  Tyre,  that  is  found  at  the  head  of 
Phoenicia  :^^  and  this  appears  to  have  been  the  time  of  Si- 
don's  greatest  prosperity. 

§  14.  Tyre,  however,  has  still  a  separate  history.  In  a 
fragment  preserved  from  Meuander,^"  she  appears  divided  by 
factions,  and  restlessly  snatching  at  opportunities  for  change. 
Such  an  opportunity  would  be  presented  by  the  madness  of 
Nebuchadnezzar ;  and  in  b.c.  563  we  find  his  vassal,  Baal, 
deposed  in  a  popular  tumult,  monarchy  abolished,  and  the 
king  replaced  by  a  republican  magistrate,  afterwards  in- 
creased to  two,  with  the  title  of  Safetes  {Shofetim,  ''Judg- 
es"), as  at  Carthage.  After  a  period  of  anarchy,  a  king, 
Baalaton,  was  set  up  again,  but  dethroned  in  one  year,  and 
Nabonadius,  among  his  measures  for  reorganizing  the  empire, 
sent  Meherbaal,  a  member  of  the  old  royal  house,  to  Tyre  as 
vassal  king  (b.c.  555).  After  four  years,  he  was  succeeded 
by  his  son  Hiram  (b.c.  551),  whose  reign  extended  into  the 
period  of  the  Persian  Empire,  and  who  died  in  b.c.  531,  leav- 
ing the  crown  to  his  son  Muthon,  who  was  king  of  Tyre 
when  Xerxes  gathered  his  forces  against  Greece." 

§  15.  We  have  had  occasion  already  to  notice  the  volun- 
tary submission  of  the  Phoenicians  to  Persia,  probably  under 
Cambyses,  and  that  rather  as  allies  than  subjects ;  and  we 
have  seen  that  the  Phoenician  fleet  rendered  powerful  aid 
in  the  conquest  of  Egypt,  but  refused  to  serve  against  their 
Carthaginian  kinsmen,^®  to  whom  it  is  stated  that  they  were 
bound  by  oaths.  Henceforth  the  sea-service  of  Persia  mainly 
depended  on  the  Phoenicians  ;''  but  a  glance  over  the  list  of 

^5  Besides  abundant  other  evidence,  it  is  at  this  period  that  we  find  the  usual 
Scriptural  order  of  naming  "  Tyre  and  Sidon"  together  inverted.    Ezra.  iii.  7. 
S6  Joseph,  "  c.  A  p."  i.  21.  '  ^7  Herod,  vii.  98. 

6«  Chap.  xxvi.  §§  3,  li-  ^^  Herod,  iii.  19. 


632  THE  HISTORY  OF  PHCENICIA. 

the  navy  of  Xerxes  will  suffice  to  correct  the  error  that  they 
formed  the  only  fleet  of  Persia.  The  restoration  of  friendly 
relations  with  the  restored  Jews  is  indicated  by  the  service 
rendered  again  by  "  them  of  Sidon  and  Tyre,"  in  bringing 
cedar-trees  from  Lebanon  (and,  it  is  implied,  hewn  stones) 
for  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple.  As  in  the  time  of  Solomon, 
the  Jews  paid  the  wages  of  the  masons  and  carpenters,  and 
supplied  their  provisions,  "meat,  drink,  and  oil,"  and  the 
materials  were  brought  round  by  sea  to  Joppa.'" 

The  policy  of  Persia  towards  her  provinces  was  eminently 
suited  to  foster  the  prosperity  of  Phoenicia,  whose  commerce 
still  connected  the  whole  empire  with  the  Mediterranean. 
Tyre  regained  the  prosperity  which  it  possessed  when  visited 
by  Herodotus;"'  but  Sidon  enjoyed  the  special  favor  of  the 
Persian  kings  as  the  chief  seat  of  their  naval  power.  This 
comes  out  clearly  in  the  expedition  against  Greece.  When, 
irom  a  hill  near  Abydos,  Xerxes  witnessed  a  boat-race  in  his 
fleet,  the  prize  was  gained  by  the  Sidonians.'^'  When  he 
reviewed  his  fleet,  he^'sat  on  the  deck  of  a  Sidonian  ship,  be- 
neath a  golden  canopy.''  When  he  wished  to  examine  the 
mouths  of  the  river  Peneus,  he  intrusted  himself  to  a  Sido- 
nian galley,  as  was  his  wont  on  similar  occasions;"  and  the 
king  of  the  Sidonians  sat  first  among  the  vassal  sovereigns, 
tyrants,  and  officers."'  Herodotus  states  that  the  Phoeni- 
cians supplied  the  best  vessels  of  the  whole  fleet,  and  of  the 
Phoenicians,  the  Sidonians ;''  and  the  highest  commendation 
he  can  give  to  the  vessels  of  Artemisia  is  by  saying  that  they 
were  the  most  renowned  in  the  whole  fleet  after  the  Sido- 
nians. °^ 

§  16.  The  breaking  up  of  the  Persian  Empire  was  felt  in 
Phoenicia  all  the  more,  as  her  cities  were  drawn  into  the  re- 
volts of  Asia  Minor  and  Syria,  on  the  one  side,  and  of  Egypt 
oil  the  other.  We  have  already  noticed  the  capture  of  Tyre 
by  Evagoras  of  Cyprus,  the  share  of  Phoenicia  in  the  general 
revolt  of  the  western  satraps  against  Artaxerxes  Mnemon,'' 
and  the  great  rebellion  of  Cyprus  and  Phoenicia,  in  conjunc- 

«o  Ezra  iii.  7.  The  grant  of  Cynis,  mentioned  here,  is  evidence  of  at  least  the 
nominal  assertion  of  his  sovereignty  in  Phoenicia  ;  but  this  is  quite  consistent  with 
its  first  actual  exercise  by  Cambyses,  when  he  summoned  the  Phcenician  fleet  to  sail 
against  Egvpt. 

«i  Herod-  ii.  44.  The  historian's  notice  of  Tyre  is,  however,  only  incidental  to  a 
question,  on  which  he  wished  information,  respecting  the  worship  of  Hercules  (Mel- 
earth)  ;  and  is  confined  to  the  ancient  temple  of  that  deity,  and  its  rich  offerings, 
among  Avhich  were  two  pillars,  one  of  gold  and  one  of  emerald,  which  Sir  Gardner 
Wilkinson  conjectures  to  have  been  of  glass.  ^^  Herod,  vii.  44. 

«3  Herod,  vii.  100.  «*  Ibid.  12S_  ^^  ibid.  viii.  67.  e^  Ibid.  vii.  96. 

«'  Herod,  vii.  9.  In  some  of  the  instances  quoted,  however,  the  name  "  Sidonian ' 
may  probably  be  taken  in  the  generic  sense  for  "Phoenician." 

^^  Chap,  xxviii.  §  9. 


CAPTURE  OF  TYRE.  G33 

tion  witli  Nectaiiebo,  the  last  independent  Idng  of  Egypt, 
which  led  to  the  utter  destruction  of  Sid  on  by  Artaxerxes 
Ochus  (about  B.C.  350)."' 

§  17.  The  cruel  revenge  taken  for  this  revolt  had  a  disas- 
trous effect  upon  the  Persian  cause  in  the  ensuing  conflict 
with  Alexander.  Sidon,  recovering  with  that  marvellous  ra- 
pidity which  we  see  in  these  commercial  cities,  opened  her 
gates  to  the  conqueror  after  the  battle  of  Issus,  from  the 
avowed  motive  of  hatred  to  the  Persians  (b.c.  333) ;'"  and  her 
fleet,  thus  placed  at  the  dispotlal  of  Alexander,  was  a  main 
element  of  his  success  in  the  siege  of  Tyre.  The  possession 
of  Phoenicia  was  doubly  essential  to  the  invader's  plans ; 
since  the  naval  force,  which  it  was  most  important  for  liim 
to  acquire  for  his  own  use,  might  have  been  the  means,  in 
the  hands  of  Persia,  of  cutting  oft*  his  communications  with 
Macedonia  and  Greece.  After  rejecting  the  overtures  of  Da- 
rius, which  reached  him  at  Marathus  (opposite  to  Aradus), 
Alexander  advanced  southward  through  Phoenicia,  receiv- 
ing the  submission  of  Aradus,  Byblus,  and  the  other  cities ; 
Sidon,  as  we  have  just  seen,  hailed  him  as  a  deliverer;  and 
the  sen  men  of  these  cities,  serving  in  the  Persian  fleet, 
obeyed  the  summons  to  bring  away  their  ships  to  join  him. 
But  Tyre,  which  liad  now  regained  the  supremacy  since  the 
fall  of  Sidon,  seems  to  have  hoped  to  rally  those  ships  to  her 
defense.  While  offering  a  nominal  submission,  and  sending 
him  a  crown  of  gold  and  provisions  for  his  army,  they  re- 
solved not  to  admit  him  into  the  island  city.  Alexander,  on 
his  part,  accepted  their  surrender  as  unconditional,  and  in- 
formed them  of  his  intention  to  saci'iflce  to  Hercules  (Mel- 
carth)  in  his  ancient  temple.  The  Tyrians  pleaded  their 
law  forbidding  the  admission  of  strangers  within  their  walls, 
and  invited  him  to  sacrifice  in  a  still  more  ancient  shrine  of 
the  god  upon  the  main-land.  Upon  this  he  dismissed  their 
ambassadors  and  prepared  for  the  siege,  which  is  one  of  the 
most  famous  in  history.'' 

By  constructing  a  mole,  whicli  to  this  day  forms  an  isth- 
mus, he  joined  the  island  to  the  main  ;  and  using  the  Cyp- 
rian navy  on  the  north  side,  and  the  Sidonian  on  the  south, 
to  blockade  the  harbors  and  protect  his  works  from  the  in- 
cessant attacks  of  the  Tyrian  fleet,  he  at  length  succeeded 
in  bringing  up  his  newly  invented  engines  and  eftecting  a 
breach.  The  city  was  taken  in  July,  b.c.  332,  after  the  siege 
had  lasted  seven  months;  and  the  Macedonians,  exasperated 
by  their  long  and  immense  labors,  put  8000  of  the  people  to 

*^  Chap,  xxviii.  §  in.  "•  Arriau,  "  Anab."  ii.  15. 

71  See  the  details  iu  the  "Studeut's  Greece,"  chap.  xliv.  p.  530. 

97* 


634  THE  HISTORY  OF  PHCENICIA. 

the  sword.  The  remainder,  with  the  exception  of  the  king 
and  some  of  the  chief  citizens,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the 
Temple  of  Melcarth,  were  sold  into  slavery  to  the  number  of 
30,000,  including  women,  children,  and  slaves. 

§  IS.  It  lies  beyond  our  subject  to  trace  the  later  history 
of  the  Phoenician  cities.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  they  flour- 
ished again,  and  enjoyed  their  municipal  privileges,  under 
the  Seleucidse,  the  Romans,  and  the  Mohammedans;  and 
both  Tyre  and  Sidon  were  floui'ishing  seats  of  learning,  as 
well  as  of  commerce  and  manulacture.  And  it  is  worthy  of 
note  that  Tyre  was  still  famous  in  the  12th  century  for  the 
glass  which  the  Greeks  believed  to  have  been  a  Phcenician 
invention.'^  Their  final  decline  dates  from  the  time  of  the 
Crusades,  in  which  Sidon  suffered  from  several  sieges ;  w^hile 
Tyre,  after  being  lield  by  the  Christians  for  more  than  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half,  was  utterly  ruined  by  the  secession  of  its 
inliabitants,  to  avoid  the  fate  inflicted  upon  Acre  by  the 
sultan  of  Egypt  and  Damascus  (March,  1291).  The  story  is 
thus  told  by  a  contemporary:  "On  the  same  day  on  which 
Ptolemais  (Acre)  was  taken,  the  Tyrians,  at  vespers,  leaving 
the  cit}^  empty,  without  the  stroke  of  a  sword,  without  the 
tumult  of  war,  embarked  on  board  their  vessels,  and  aban- 
doned the  city  to  be  occupied  freely  by  their  conquerors. 
On  the  morrow  the  Saracens  entered,  no  one  attempted  to 
prevent  them,  and  they  did  what  they  pleased.'"^ 

§  19.  From  that  time  every  traveller  might  well  ask,  "Is 
this  your  joyous  city,  whose  antiquity  is  of  ancient  days?'"* 
Here  is  one  of  many  answers  (in  1V51):  "None  of  these 
cities,  whicli  formerly  were  famous,  are  so  totally  ruined  as 
this,  except  Troy.  Ziw  now  scarcely  can  be  called  a  misera- 
ble village,  though  it  was  formerly  Tyre,  the  queen  of  the 
sea.  Here  are  about  ten  inhabitants^  Turks  and  Christians, 
icho  live  by  fishing. '^^''^  Compare  this  with  the  prophecy  ut- 
tered just  2340  years  before:  "I  will  make  thee  like  the 
top  of  a  rock" — as  bare  as  the  sea-girt  rock  from  which  the 
proud  name  was  first  taken — "  thou  shalt  be  a  place  to  spread 
nets  upon;  thou  shalt  be  built  no  more.'"^  In  spite  of  some 
revival  since,  the  site  wears  an  aspect  of  desolation.  "  On 
approaching  it  we  come  first  to  a  low^  sandy  isthmus,  the  re- 
mains of  Alexander's  causeway,  which  converts  what  was 
once  an  island  into  a  peninsula.  The  ruins  of  old  walls  and 
towers,  formed  of  still  older   materials,  are  here   seen  .  .  . 

■^2  See  the  account  of  Tyre  by  Benjamin  of  Tndela,  in  Pnrchas's  "Pilgrims"  (ii. 
1443),  quoted  in  the  "  Diet,  of  the  Bible,"  s.  v.  Tyre. 

■^3  Marinns  Sanutus,  "Liber  Secretornm  fidelium  Cruci?,"  Lib.  iii.  cap. 22;  quoted 
in  the  "Diet,  of  the  Bible,"  art.  Tyre.  '*  Isaiah  xxiii.  7. 

'^  Hasselqui.st,  "  Voyages  and  Travels  in  the  Levant."  "^  Ezek.  xxvi.  14. 


PRESENT  STATE  OF  TYKE.  635 

The  island  (tliat  was)  on  which  the  city  stood  is  a  ledge  of 
rock  parallel  to  the  shore,  three  quarters  of  a  mile  longf  half 
a  mile  broad,  and  about  half  a  mile  distant  from  the°coast 
line.     It  w^as  low  and  flat,  not  more  than  from  10  to  15  feet 
above  the  sea  ;  but  the  accumulation  of  rubbish  has  rendered 
it  uneven,  and  has  given  it  in  places  a  greater  elevation.    The 
isthmus,  when  first  formed,  was  probably  narrow  ;  the  united 
action  of  the  winds  and  waves,  dashing  up  the  loose  sands, 
has  gradually  increased  it  to  the  breadth  of  nearly  half  a 
mile.  .  ;  .     The  harbor,  now  nearly  filled  up  with  sand  and 
rubbish,  is  on  the  north  side  of  the' isthmus,  where  the  ruins 
of  old  moles  are  yet  visible.     The  present  town  is  beside  the 
Jiarbor,  occupying  a  small  section  of  the  north-western  part 
of  the  peninsula.     Along  its  western  side  is  a  broad  strip  of 
hind  cut  up  into  little  gardens ;  and  the  whole  southern  sec- 
tion of  the  peninsula  is  without  a  habitation.     Here  are  mod- 
ern   burying-grounds,  there    patches    of  gardens ;    but    the 
greater  part  is  covered   with  rubbish-heaps,  intersected  by 
deep  pits  and  gullies,  from  which  building-stones  have  been 
carried  oft'  to   Beyrout  and  'Akka.     The   modern  town,  or 
rather  villao-e,  contains  from  3000  to  4000  inhabitants,  about 
one-half  being  Metawileh,  and  the  other  Christians.     Most 
of  the  houses  are  mere  hovels;  the  streets  are  unusually  nar- 
row, crooked,  and  filthy  ;  and  the  walls,  and  a  few  houses  of 
a  superior  class,  are  so  shattered  by  repeated  shocks  of  earth- 
quakes, that  they  look  as  if  about  to  fall  to  pieces.     The 
palm  and  Pride  of  India  trees,  scattered  among  the  houses 
and  gardens,  relieve  in  some  degree  the  aspect  of  desolation, 
and  contribute  to  hide  Tyre's  flillcn  glory.     The  ancient  Mis- 
tress of  the  Seas  can  at  the  prcsent^lay  only  boast  the  pos- 
session of  a  few  crazy  fishing-boats;  and  lier  whole  trade 
consists  in  the  yearly  export  of  a  few  bales  of  cotton  and  to- 
bacco, and    a   few  boat-loads   of  mill-stones    and   charcoal. 
There  is  but  one  gate,  and  the  numerous  breaches  in  the 
old  wall  render  others  unnecessary.     One  is  reminded  at  ev- 
ery footstep,  and  by  every  glance,  of  the  prophecies  utter- 
ed against  this  city:  'And  they  shall  make  a  spoil  of  thy 
riches,  and  make  a  prey  of  thy  mei'chandise ;  and  thev  shall 
break  down  thy  walls,  and  destroy  thy  pleasant  houses.  .  .  . 
They  shall  lament  over  thee,  saying,  What  city  is  like  Tyrus, 
like  the  destroyed  in  the  midst  of  the  sea?''  (Ezek.  xxvi   12 
xxvii.  32).""  *      ' 

Sidon  {Sayda)  never  sank  so  low.  It  is  still  a  place  of 
(Considerable  traffic,  jind  important  enough  to  have  been  bom- 
barded in  the  Syrian  war  of  1840.     Its  architectui-al  remains 

'^  Porter,  '•  Hand-book  of  Syria,"  pp.  301,  ."92. 


030  THE  HISTOKY  OF  rilCENlCIA. 

are  few  and  insignificant — some  marble  and  granite  columns, 
witli  liei-e  and  there  a  sculptured  frieze,  and  some  fragments 
of  Mosaic  pavement — but  even  these  are  more  than  exist  at 
Tyre.  In  tlie  neighboring  liill-side,  however,  and  scattered 
over  the  plain,  are  tombs,  with  many  sarcophagi,  which  are 
among  the  m'ost  interesting  monuments  of  old  Phoenicia. 
Among  these  the  sarcophagus  of  king  Esmunazar  (already 
mentioned)  was  discovered,  in  January,  1855,  by  the  accident- 
al opening  of  one  of  the  sepulchral  caves,  and  is  now  in  the 
Louvre  at  Paris.  The  sarcophagus  is  of  black  syenite,  and 
the  lid  is  hewn  in  the  form  of  a  mummy  with  the  face  bai'e. 
The  material,  the  form,  and  the  decidedly  Egyptian  cast  of 
tlie  features,  make  it  probable  that  it  was  executed  in  Egypt 
for  the  Sidonian  king.  The  inscription  of  twenty-two  lines 
is  on  the  upper  part  of  the  lid. 

Of  the  present  state  of  the  other  Plioenician  cities,  a  bare 
reference  must  suffice  to  the  commercial  importance  still  en- 
joyed by  some,  as  Tripoli^  and  especially  Beyriit^  and  to  the 
historic  fame  which  has  clung  to  Acco  (now  ^Akka^oY  in  the 
Frank  tongue,  St.  Jean  cTAcre)  from  the  days  of  Richard 
Cceur  de  Lion  to  tliose  of  Napoleon  and  Sir  Sidney  Smith. 

§  20.  Eighty  years  after  the  siege  of  Tyre  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, her^chief  daughter,  Carthage,  appears  in  history  as  a 
great  maritime  power,  making  a  treaty  of  commerce  with  the 
infant  republic  of  Rome  (b.c.  509).  Her  destiny,  as  the  rival 
of  her  old  ally,  attracts  her  history  to  that  of  Rome,  rather 
than  of  the  East.  That  rivalry  made  the  West  the  new  scene 
of  the  great  struggle  between  the  Semitic  and  Aryan  races, 
in  which  the  interest  of  Oriental  history  culminates.  The  con- 
test was  finally  decided  by  the  fall  of  Carthage  in  b.c.  146  ; 
when  the  saddened  victor  repeated  over  the  burning  city  the 
prophecy  which  had  foretold  the  issue  of  the  first  mythic 
act  in  the  same  long  drama,  and  which  may  still  be  applied 
to  every  work  of  human  policy  and  human  power: 

"The  day  shall  snrely  come,  when  sacred  Troy  will  fall, 
And  Priam,  and  the  people  of  the  warrior  Priam  aiL" 


INDEX 


ARMENIA. 


A. 

A.,  hieroglyphical  origin  of 
the  letter  aleph,  214. 

Aahmes,  couqtieror  of  the 
Shepherd  kings  and  foun- 
der of  the  Theban  mon- 
archy, 10b.  His  marriage 
with  an  Ethiopian  prin- 
cess, the  ground  of  chiims 
made  by  his  successors  to 
Ethiopia,  108.  His  Asiat- 
ic wars^  IDS. 

Aamu,  the  race  which  pre- 
ceded the  Canaauites  in 
Phoenicia,  603. 

Abousimbel,  rock  -  hewn 
temples  of,  121. 

Accadiau  language,  396. 

Achiemenes,  meaning  of  the 
name,  53T. 

AchiBmenida;,  the,  535. 

Adulterer  and  adulteress, 
Egyptian  punishment  of, 
lyi. 

Afrasiab,  Turanian  cult  of 
the  serpent,  220,  43S. 

Africa,  circumnavigation  of, 
under  Xeco,  172.  The 
most  signal  achievement 
of  ancient  maritime  dis- 
covery, 172. 

Agglutinative  dialects,  24. 

Ahab  marries  Jezebel,  the 
daughter  of  Ethbaal,  622. 

Ahaz,  king  of  Judah,  made 
tributary,  307. 

Ahrimau,  the  evil  principle, 
the  serpent  the  emblem 
of,  420.  Augro-mainyus, 
the  author  of  evil,  428. 
His  six  Darvands,  430. 
His  antagonists  to  Or- 
mazd's  angelic  hierarchv, 
431.  The  author  of  the 
temptation  and  fall  of 
man,  432. 

Ahuramazda  or  Ormazd,  the 
good  spirit  and  supreme 
God,  titles  of,  425.  His 
six  Councillors,  430. 

Ahuras  and  Daevas,  425.        I 

Akkad  (the),  and  their  lit- 
erature, 244. 

Alexander  the  Great's  con- 
quest of  the  Persian  em- 
pire, 590.  Its  rapidity  ac- 
counted for,  590.  His  siege 
of  Tyre,  033.  | 

Alexandria,  site  of,  30. 
Founded,  ISO.  I 


Almanacs,  prophetic  Chal- 
daean,  404. 

Alphabet,its  probable  Egyp- 
tian origin,  605.  Brought 
to  Phoenicia  by  the  return 
of  the  Hyksos,  605. 

Alphabets,  source  of  all,  595. 

Alyattes,  his  long  reign,  515. 
War  with  the  Milesians, 
515.  Drives  the  Cimme- 
rians out  of  Asia  Minor, 
517.     Tomb  of,  525. 

Amasis,  167.  Ends  the  roy- 
al line  of  Egypt,  176.  An- 
ecdote illustrating  his 
change  of  condition,  116. 
Prosperity  of  Egypt  un- 
der him,  177.  His  law 
for  suppressing  idleness, 

177.  Architectural  works, 

178.  The  ally  of  Croesus 
against  Cyrus,  179.  De- 
ceives Cambyses,  554. 

Amemenes  II.,  killed  by  his 
eunuchs,  84. 

III.,  builder  of  the  Lab- 
yrinth, 86. 

Araenhotep  HI.,  conquests 
and  monuments  of,  115. 
His  titles,  115.  Identified 
with  the  Memnon  of  Ho- 
mer, 116.  His  statue,  the 
vocal  Memnon,  described, 
116. 

Ameni,  pictures  and  epi- 
taph on  the  tomb  of, 
91, 

Amestris,  the  chief  wife  of 
Xerxes,  5S2. 

Ammeris's  invasion  of 
Egypt,  162. 

Amun,  the  supreme  god  of 
Egj'pt,  198. 

Anaitis,  her  worship  con- 
founded bv  Herodotus 
with  that  of  Mithra,  4.35. 

Anarian  cuneiform  writing,! 
390.  DilBculties  of  the 
Anarian  texts,  393. 

Anatolia,  now  Anadoli,461. 

Angro-mainyus,  or  Ahri- 
mau, the  author  of  moral 
and  material  evil,  and  of 
death,  428. 

Animal  worship,  Egyptian, 
200. 

Antalcidas,  peace  of,  585. 

Antediluvians,  their  posses- 
sion of  all  the  essential 
germs  of  material  civili- 
zation, IS. 


Anthropomorphism  of  the 
Egyptian  deities,  196. 

Anti  -  Taurus  mountaijis, 
460. 

Anu,  the  supreme  god  of  the 
Babylonians  and  Assyri- 
ans, 237. 

Anysis,  the  blind  king,  102. 

Apis,  Egvptian  worship  of 
the  bull,  202.  The  in- 
carnation of  Phtha,  202. 
Wounded  by  Cambyses, 
558. 

ApoUinopolis  and  Latopo- 
lis,  the  Nile  at,  35. 

Apries,  king  of  Egypt,  173. 
His  expedition  against 
Cyrene,  173.  The  Pha- 
raoh-Hophra  of  Scripture, 
175. 

Arabs,  governed  by  queens, 
303. 

Aradus,  island  and  city  of, 
609. 

Ararat,  Mount,  the  cradle  of 
the  post-diluvian  race,  19. 

Arbela,  city  of,  259.  The 
Persian  empire  ends  at 
the  battle  of,  590. 

Area  or  Csesarea  Libaui,  608. 

Arch,  its  use  in  Assyrian 
architecture,  383. 

Archers,  Egyptian  infantry 
chiefly,  186. 

Archilochus  of  Paros,  the 
Iambic  poet,  626. 

Architecture  of  ancient 
Egypt,  205.  Four  great 
classes  of  buildings :  pyr- 
amids, tombs,  palaces, 
and  temples,  205.  De- 
scription of  an  Egyptian 
temple,  207.  The  relation 
of  architecture  to  religion, 
378.  Distinctive  feature.^ 
of  Babylonian,  378. 

Ardys,  sou  of  Gvges,  reign 
of,  511. 

Apeioi  (the)  of  Herodotus, 
440. 

Argaeus  (Mous),  now  Argish 
Dagh,  460. 

Ariana  =  the  later  Persian 
Iran,  440. 

Arioch,  king  of  Ellasar,  238. 

"Apcoi  of  Herodotus,  why 
called  An/ans  instead  of 
Arians,  414. 

Arithmetical  notation,  Chal- 
daean  system  of,  405, 

Armenia,  description  of,  529, 


638     AKMKNIA  MINOR. 


IM)EX. 


BABYLONIA. 


Armeuia  Minor,  460. 

Armenian  campaigns  of  the 
Assyrian  kings,  532.  Al- 
liance with  Persia  against 
Media,  534. 

Arrow-headed  characters,  a 
combination  of  two  cune- 
iform elements,  3SS. 

Arses,  king  of  Persia,  5S0. 
Murdered  by  Bagoas,  5S9. 

Arsinoti,  now  called  the 
P'yum,  35. 

Art,  contrast  between  As- 
syrian and  Egyptian,  3S4. 
Periods  and  styles  of  As- 
syrian, 384. 

Ariabauus,  usurpation  of, 
5S2. 

Artabazus's  rebellion  in  the 
reign  of  Ochns,  5S7. 

Artaxerxes  I.  (or  Arsaces), 
582.  Longimanus,  5S2. 
Reason  of  the  nickname, 
5S3,  n.  His  commissions 
to  Ezra  and  Nehemiah, 
5S3.  Explanation  of  the 
name  Artaxerxes,  .583,  n. 

II.,  Mnemon,  585.  Mar- 
ries his  dau^liter  Atossa, 
5S6. 

Artemisia  builds  the  man- 
soleum,  493. 

Aryan  language,  25.  Aryan 
type  of  cuneiform  writ- 
ing, 300.  Bactria  the  an- 
cient home  of  the  race, 
415.  Divided  into  the 
elder  branch  the  Aryas, 
and  the  younger  the  Ya- 
vauas,  415.  The  primi- 
tive Aryans  a  pastoral 
people,  4^10.  Their  social 
life,  morals,  and  religion, 
410.  Primitive  religion, 
417.  Its  monotheistic  ba- 
sis, 417.  Corruption  into 
dualism  and  pantheistic 
nature-worship,  418.  Con- 
flict of  Aryans  and  Tura- 
nians, 420.  Ii-anian  and 
Indian  branches  of  the 
race,  436.  Their  religion 
developed  into  Brahmin- 
ism,  436. 

Aryandes  banished  by  Da- 
rius, 576. 

Ascalon  takes  and  destroys 
Sidon,  615. 

Ashdod,  war  of,  153,  168. 
See  Azotns. 

Asia,  Upper  and  Lower,  253. 

Asia  Minor,  its  importance 
in  ancient  history,  458. 
Geographical  structure, 
458.  Climate  and  produc- 
tions, 461.  Dimensions 
of  the  peninsula,  463.  Re- 
markable mixture  of  pop- 
ulations, 463.  Nations  of 
it  holding  successively  the 
supi-emacy  of  the  sea,  502. 

Aspadana  =  Isfithan,  447. 

Asshur,  the  hero-eponymus 
and  supreme  deity  oY  As- 


syria, 249.  Inquiry  re- 
specting the  name,  408. 
The  supreme  god,  408. 
Explanation  of  a  curious 
emblem  of,  410. 

Asshur- bani- pal's  capture 
and  sack  of  Egyptian 
Thebes,  160.  His  name 
suggestive  of  Sardanapa- 
1us,"H29.  a  great  conquer- 
or and  magniticent  mon- 
arch, 329.  His  systemat-| 
ic  Care  for  literature,  329.! 
Homaize  to  him  by  Gvges, ! 
king  of  Lydia,  330.  Wars  { 
in  Susiana  and  Babjdon, 
330.  Horrible  cruelty, 330. 
Palace  at  Koyunjik,  331.  [ 
Domestic  scene  in  his  bas- 
reliefs,  331.  Corresponds 
to  the  "warlike  Sardana- 
palus  "  of  the  Greeks,  331. 
His  library,  395.  Mr.  Lay- 
ard's  account  of  its  discov- 
ery and  value,  395. 

Asshur -nasir- pal,  king  of 
Assyria,  276.  Plan  of  his 
palace,  282.   Conquests  of, 

284.  His  great  inscrip- 
tion, 381.  Receives  trib- 
ute from  Phoenicia,  623. 

Assyria,  like  Egypt,  yield- 
ing up  long-hidden  histo- 
ry, 221.  Its  population  Se- 
mitic, 231.  The  Assyria 
of  the  Greek  historians, 

247.  The  Semitic  Asshur, ! 

248.  The  fmir  heroes  of 
the  Greek  legend  of,  249. 
The  true  heart  of  Assyria, 
256.  Ruins  of  its  f(mr  cap- 
itals, 257.  List  of  kings, 
262.  Its  oldest  contem-| 
l)orary  records,  268.  Oldj 
and  new  empire,  270.  Ex- 
tent of  the  empire,  294.      | 

Assyrian  ccuiquest  of  Egvpt,J 
15"9.  Of  Ethiopia,  161. 
LTpper  and  Lower  Dvuas- 
ties,  253.  Elements  of 
royal  names,  253.  Their 
Semitic  character,  255. 
Cruelties    of    the    kings, 

285.  A  luxurious  people 
who  cultivated  the  tiseful 
arts  to  the  highest  pitch, 
287.  In  dress,  furniture, 
and  jewe'.ry  not  much  be- 
hind the  moderns,  287. 
New  discoveries  in  its  an- 
tiquities more  and  more 
confirmative  of  Scripture 
history,  291.  Seven  kinofs 
of  the  New  or  Lower  em- 
pire, 301.  Canon,  lately 
discovered,  317.  The  em- 
pire reached  as  far  west 
as  the  Halys,  3.30.  Its 
character,  335.  Sacerdo- 
tal character  of  Assyrian 
and  Babylonian  kings, 
341,  398.  What  remains  to 
be  done  in  Assyrian  ex- 
ploration, 365.    Difference 


between  Assyrian  and 
Babylonian  sculptures, 
376.  External  features 
of  Assyrian  palaces,  380. 
Plan  of  the  true  Assyrian 
temple,  3S0.  Gramtnatic- 
al  literature,  3D5.  Great 
cuneiform  work  on  gram- 
mar, 397.  Twelve  great 
gods,  412.  Genii  and  in- 
ferior deities,  412. 

Astarte  or  Ash  tore th  the 
chief  goddess  of  the  Phoe- 
nicians,  019. 

'.\<TTpo\o-jia,  primarily  as- 
tronomy, 399. 

Astrology,  Egyptian,  217. 
Chaldaean,  404. 

Astronomy,  knowledge  of, 
Egyptian,  exaggerated, 
216".  Chaldajau  or  Baby- 
lonian, 401. 

Astyages,  a  title  rather  than 
the  proper  name  of  the 
last  king  of  Media,  451. 
His  reign,  527.  Descrip- 
tion of  his  court,  528. 

Asychis,  law  of,  145 

Athor  or  Atur,  the  Egyptian 
Aphrodite,  197. 

Atossa,  daughter  of  Cyrus, 
553.  Urges  Darius  to  un- 
dertake  'the  c<mquest  of 
Greece,  576. 

Aturia,  its  physical  features, 
255.    Name  ;=  Assyria,  ib 

Atys  and  his  sons  Lydus 
a'nd  Torrhebus,  494.  He- 
rodotus's  poetical  treat- 
ment of  the  story  of  Atys 
and  Adrastus,  .502. 

Avaris  of  the  Shepherd 
kings,  the  Zoan  of  Scrip- 
ture, 98.  LTsually  identi- 
fied with  Pcluslnm,  but 
proved  to  be  Tanis,  98. 

A-zotus  (Ashdod)  taken  af- 
ter a  siege  of  29  years,  the 
loudest  on  record,  168. 


B. 

Baal,  the  chief  god  of  Phoe- 
nicia, 619. 

Babel,  city  and  tower  of,  228. 
Origin  of  the  word,  228. 
Babel  and  Babylon,  local 
and  not  ethnic  names,  228. 
Tower  of  Babel  at  Borsip- 
pa,  and  the  ruins  of  Birs- 
Nimrud  on  its  original 
foundation,  230. 

Bab-il,  the  gate  or  house  of 
God,  408. 

Babylon,  earliest  use  of  the 
title  of  kiug  of,  240.  Its 
rivalry  to  the  empire  of 
Assyria,  269.  Fall  of,  301. 
Its  buildings,  305.  Ex- 
tremities resorted  to  dur- 
ing Darius's  siege  of,  571. 

Babylonia,  contrast  between 
its  ancient  and  present 
s  ate,  227.      Sonthern   te- 


BABYLONIAN  RUINS. 


INDEX. 


chald.*:an. 


('>30 


trapolis  of,  234.  Indica-  two  schools  of  the  Chal- 
tious  of  the  existence  of  daeans,  400. 
two  tetrapoleis,  235.  Its  Bosporus  (corrnpted  into 
four  great  races,'23S.  Three  Bosphorns),  the  etj'mo- 
classes  of  iuscriptions  in,  higical  equivalent  of  Ox- 
253.  j     ford,  45S. 

Bahvlonian     ruins,    objects  Botta's  (M.),  discoveries  at 
found  in,  234.     Note   on      Khorsabad,  2T7. 
the  early  chronology  of  Bricks,  the  pyramid  of  Da- 
the  Babylonians,  243.    In-      shoor  the  lirst  example  of 
ternal  ornament  of  tem-     a  building  constructed  of. 


pies,  372. 

Bagistan,  city  of,  stood  at 
the  foot  of  the  I'ock  of  Be- 
histuu,  445.  j 

Bagoas,  the  eunuch,  miuis- 


86.  Brick  pyramids 
Brick -making  by  Egyp- 
tian captives,  114.  De- 
scription of  Babylonian 
bricks,  306. 


ter  of  Ochus,  587.  Poisons  Bnbastis,  capital  of  Egyi)t, 
■"  "  ^  '  13!).  The  sacred  city  of 
the  goddess  Pasht,  141. 
Described  by  Herodotus, 
141.  Temple  of  the  god- 
dess Bnbastis,  141.  Her 
festival,  142. 
Byblus  or  Gebal,  an  ancient 
religious  city  of  Phoeni- 
cia, COS, 


Ochus,  589.  Murders  Ar 
ses,  589.  Compelled  to 
drink  the  poison  he  had 
mixed  for  Codomannus, 
590. 

Bahr-Yussuf,  the  canal  of 
Joseph,  35. 

Bardes  or  Smerdis,  son  of 
Cyrus,  553. 

Baa-tXevv,  mode  of  installa- 
tion of  an  ancient,  417. 


C. 


Behistun,  transcription    of  Cadusii,  war  of  Artaxerxes 

thetrilingual rock-inscrip-      against  the,  586. 

tion  of,  392.     The  famous ICalah    (Nimrud),  ruins   of, 

record  of  Darius,  447.     Its     257. 

account  of  the  revolution  Calendar,  the  Egyptian,  110. 

of   the    pseudo- Smerdis,  Callinus    of    Ephosus,    the 

559.    Its  contents  relating      Ionian  poet,  514. 

to  Darius,  575.  "  Cambe,  the  site  afterwards 

Bellerophon,  legend  of,  477.       occupied  by  Carthage,  614. 
Belshazzar's  defense  of  Bab-  Cambyses,  father  of  Cyrus, 

ylon,  361.  His  festival,  361.      and  king  of  the  Pei'sians, 

Slaiu,  362.  537. 

Belus,   the    hero-eponymus!Cambyses,sonof  Cyrus,  553. 


of  Babylon,  237. 

Beui-hassam,  tombs  of,  89. 

Berosus,  his  hlstcn-y  of  Bab^ 
vlou  or  Chaldaea,'232.  Dy- 
nasties of,  232. 

Berytus,  city  of,  608. 

Bias  of  Prie'ne,  apologue  of 
to  Croesus,  543. 

Bible,  Egnitian  origin  of 
the  word,  210. 

Birs,  the  prefix,  228. 

Birs-Nimrud,  mound  of,  228. 
Identified  with  the  tem- 
ple of  Bel-Merodach  or 
Nebo  at  Borsippa,  228, 355. 
Inscription  found  amcmg 
its  ruins,  228.  1 

Bitumen,  a  characteristic' 
production  of  Babylonia,' 
368.  i 

Black  obelisk  king,  the,  283. 

Bocchoris  transfers  thei 
Egyptian  capital  to  Sais,  j 
147.  Burnt  alive  by  Sa- 
baco,  148. 

Borsippa,  the  northern  seat] 
of  the  sacred  learning  of  j 
the  Chaldajans,  237.  Great 
Temple  of  Nebo  at,  355. 
Description  of  the  temple 
at,  369.  Curious  propor- 
tions of  the  buildin<r,  .370. 

Borsippeni    and    Orchi  oni, 


Puts  to  death  his  sister- 
wife,  553.  Formation  of 
his  name  from  the  Persian 
original,  553.  His  attack 
on  Esrypt,  179.  Obtains 
the  safe -conduct  of  the 
"  King  of  the  Arabs,"  555. 
Takes  Memphis,  556.  De- 
feats Psammenitus,  556. 
His  sacrilege  in  killing  the 
Apis,  203.  Assumes  the 
f'.ill  style  of  an  Egypti;in 
king,  556.  Defiance  by 
the  Ethiopian  king  in  re'- 
])ly  to  his  embassy,  557. 
He  marches  into  Ethiopia, 
557.  Destruction  in  the 
desert  of  a  detachment  of 
his  army  sent  against  the 
Ammonians,  557.  Returns 
to  Thebes,  557.  His  mad- 
ness ascribed  to  his  sacri- 
lege, 558.  Opinions  on 
his  alleged  madness,  559. 
Addiction  to  drunken- 
ness, 559.  Secures  the 
submission  of  Egypt,  559. 
His  suicide,  561. 
Canaanites,  their  bounda- 
ries, 601.  Hieratic  Egyp- 
tian Papyrus  fixing  the 
date  of  their  establish- 
ment   in    Palestine,   003. 


Their  settlements  in  Phoe- 

!     nicia,  608. 

Candace,  queen  of  the  Ethi- 
opians, 150. 

Candaules  and  Gyges,  three 
forms  of  the  legend  of, 
509. 

Cappadocian.s,  why  called 
Syrians,  464.  Their  Ary- 
an origin,  465. 

Carchemish,  city  of,  110. 
Victory  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar over  Neco  at,  343. 

Carians,  the  487.  Two  ac- 
counts of  their  origin,  488. 
Their  connection  with  the 
Leleges,  490.  Their  trade 
of  mercenary  soldiers,  492. 

[     The   kingdom    of   Caria, 

i  492.  Cafiau  used  synonj'- 
mously  with  slave,  492. 
Among  the  most  ancient 
inhabitants  of  Asia  Minor 
and  the  Grecian  peninsu- 
la, 490. 

Carthage,  its  first    appear- 

1     ance   in  general  historv, 

j  55(5.  Foundation  of,  623. 
Its    treaty    of   commerce 

I     with   the  infant  republic 

I  of  Rome,  630.  Its  fall  de- 
cides the  conflict  between 

1  Eastern  and  Western  civ- 
ilization, 636. 

Cassiterides  (the  Scilly  Isl- 
ands), Phcenician  voyages 

i     to  the,  028. 

Caste,  three  conditions  of, 
182. 

Caucasian  race,  limits  of 
their  primary  settlements, 
22.     How  the  terra  Cau- 

I    casiau  is  to  be  understood, 

'     22. 

Caunians,  account  of  them 
by  Herodotus,  486. 

Caveh,  Aryan  legend  of,  419. 

Centenarian  reign  of  Phi- 
ops,  70. 

Chaeronea,  battle  of,  589. 

Chaldaea,  the  land  of  Shiuar, 
224.  Restriction  in  using 
the  name,  242. 

Chaldsean  marshes  (the), 
220.  Astronomical  sci- 
ence of  the  priests,  234. 
Northern  and  southern 
seats  of  their  sacred  learn- 

j  ing,  237.  Note  on  the 
Chaldjeans  and  the  Ak- 
kad,244.  The  Chaldeans 
a  branch  of  the  great  Ha- 
mite  race  of  Akkad,  244. 

I  The  kings  of  Babylon 
Chaldaeans,  341.     Ascend- 

I  eucy  of  the  Chaldtean 
caste,  341.  Oldest  towns, 
373.  Domestic  architect- 
ure, 373.  Three  kinds  of 
tombs  and  modes  of  buri- 
al, 373.  The  Chaldeans  a 
l)riestly  caste,  398.  The 
Rab  Mag  (Archimagus) 
of  the  order,  398.    Initia- 


040 


CHALYBES, 


INDEX. 


tiou  into  it  of  the  Assyri- Cosmogony    of   Moses,  its  Cybele,  the  mother  of  the 
—  parallel  in  the  Egyptian      gods,  names  of,  4G9. 

religion,  197.     Of  Hesiod  Cyclopean      or     Pelasgian 
and  Ovid  derived  from  the      structures,  469. 
pantheistic  religion  of  the  Cyprus,  its  dimensions  and 
Aryans,  418.     Misuse    of!     productions,  463. 
the  word,  432.  Cosmogon-  Cyrus  the  Great,  legend  of 
ic  deities,  411. 


an  kings,  398.    The  caste 
in  the  booli  of  Daniel,  399. 
The  most  ancient  of  the 
Babylonians,  399.     Their 
name  a  by-word  for  pro- 
ptffetic    and    magical    im- 
posture, 400.    Astronomy, 
400.      Influence    of  their  Crassus  and '-Cave  ne  eas, 
predictions  in  ptiblic  and      4S7.     Relation  of  the  sto- 
private   life,  405.      Triads      ry   to   the    pronunciation 
of  their  theologv,  411.  of  Latin,  487. 

Chalybes,the,465."  The  first  Crests,  earliest  use  of,  187. 
iron-workers,  513.  [Criminal     code,    Egyptian, 

Champollion-FigeacandDr. '     191. 
Young,    their    respective  Crocodile,  symbolism  of  the, 
claims  as  discoverers  of      201. 

the  lost  key  to  hieroglyph- CrcEsus   succeeds   Alyattes, 
ics,  212.  5J^3.     Ambiguous  reply  ot 

Chedo'rlaomer,  conqueror  of     the  Delphic  Oracle  to  him. 
Babylonia,  238.    His  king- 
dom Eiam,  23S. 

Cheops  and  Cephren,  their 
names  detested  by  the 
Egyptians,  73. 

CheV,  priest-kings  of,  133. 

Chimera,  signitication  of  Ctesias's  history  of  Persia 
the  legend  of  the,  477.  232.     Mythical  legend  of, 

Chinese,  the  great  type  of  248.  An  untrustworthy 
an  isolating  languaire,  25.      witness  on  Oriental  histo- 

Christ,  genealogy  of,  347.  ry,  248. 

Cilicia,  Greek  colonies  in.  Cuneiform  and  hieratic  sys- 
475.  The  nest  of  all  the  terns  of  writing,  resera- 
pirates  in  the  Levant,  477. 1     blance  between,  232.     Tu- 

Cilicians  of  the  Semitic  race, 
474.  Their  Phoenician  or- 
igin, 474. 

Cirhmerian  invasion  of  Asia, 
the  great,  328.  The  Cim-^ 
merians  invade  Asia  Mi- 
nor,   511.      Their    native' 


544.  A  curious  chapter  in  1 
the  history  of  superstition,  I 
544.  His  Vetreat  to  Sardis  j 
after  defeat,  54G.  Cyrus's 
treatment  of  the  conquer-! 
ed  king,  548. 


his  birth  and  early  life, 
538.  His  rebellion  vindi- 
cates the  religion  of  Zoro- 
aster against  that  of  the 
Magi,  539.  Diflferent  ac- 
counts of  his  displace- 
ment of  Astyages,  540. 
His  generosity  to  the  con- 
quered Astyages,  .541.  Ac- 
cession, 542.  Of  mixed 
Persian  and  Median  birth, 
545.  Hence  the  "mule" 
of  an  oracle,  545.  Invites 
the  Ionian s  to  revolt  from 
Croesus,  54G.  Conquers 
Lydia,  .548.  Asia  Minor 
and  Upper  Asia,  548,  549. 
Besieges  Babylon,  300. 
Diverts  the  course  of  the 
Euphrates,  361.  Conquest 
of  Babylon,  519.  Falls  in 
battle  with  theMassagetje, 

549.  His  tomb  at  Pasar- 
gadfe  identified,  549.  Ideal 
picture  of  the  Cyropsedia, 

550.  His  noble  qualities, 
550.  Vast  change  efl"ect- 
ed  in  the  Persian  nation 
by  his  conquests,  550.  His 
two  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters, 552. 


land  in  Europe  afterwards 
called  Scythia,  511.  Cim- 
meria,  Scythia,  and  Sar- 
matia  applied  to  the  same 
region,  511.  The  name! 
survives  in  the  Crimea  or' 
Criih-Tartary,  512.  Con-| 
quest  of  the  country  byj 
the  Scythians,  .512.  The] 
Cimmerians  probably  pro- 
genitors of  the  Cymry  of 
Wales  and  even  of  all  the 
Celtic  races,  513.  Finst 
named  as  the  Gomer  of ! 
Genesis,  513.  Hebrew  pro- ' 
phecy  relating  to  Cimme-j 
rian  and  Scythian  inva-j 
sions,  522. 

Circumcision,  Egyptian  rite  C\' 
of,  203.  S 

Climax  Tyriorum,  597. 

Commerce  between  Europe 
and  India,  highway  of,  21. 

Coptic  language,  44.  Ety- 
mologies of  the  word,  44. 
Probably  the  ancient  form 
of  the  word  Egypt,  46. 
Complete  disappearance 
of  the  language,  45.  | 

Coronation  stone,  Scottish, 
417.  1 

Cosmical  vear  of  the  Chal-! 
401.  I 


raniau  origin  of  cuneiform 
writing,  236.  Arrow-head- { 
ed  character,  245.  Nature 
of  cuneiform  writing,  260. 

Experimentum  crucis  of  Oj'rus  the  younger,  his  claim 
cuneiform     science,    209.;     to  the  throne  fn)m  "  royal 
Cuneiform  writing  form-'     birth,"  584.     Falls  at  Cu- 
ed from  the  hieratic  by      naxa,  585. 
pressure  of  the  style,  3SS.,  -p 

Origin  of  the  term  cunei- 
form, 388.    Essential  iden-  Dag(m,  the  fish-god,  604. 
tity  of  the    hieratic   and  Damascus,    destruction    of 
cuneiform  characters,  389.      the  kingdom  of,  305. 
Cuneiform  writing  always  Daniel  the  prophet's  imper- 
from    left    to    right,    390.      sonation  of  the  Medo-Per- 
Discovery  of  a  key  to  its      sian  kingdom,  450. 
interpretation,  391.     Sys-  Dardanians  of  Tro}',  499. 
tem  of  interpretation  es-'Darius,  the  head  of  seven 


tablished,  393.  The 
chaic,  modern,  and  cursive  ^ 
stages  of  cuneiform  writ- 
ing, 389.  The  Persian  cu-! 
neiform alphabet,  393.  Im- 
mense mass  of  uudeci- 
phered  literature,  412. 
^^axares  takes  Nineveh, 
534.  Great  battle  between 
him  and  the  Lydians,  337.  | 
Overthrows  the  A.ssyrianj 
empire,    342.      His    great 


conspirators,  puts  to  death 
the  pseudo-Sraerdis,  563. 
Names  of  his  associates 
in  the  enterprise,  563. 
Remarkable  agreement 
of  Herodotus  and  the  Be- 
histun  Inscription,  563. 
His  right  to  the  crown  by 
descent,  564.  Privileges 
granted  to  his  confeder- 
ates, 564.  Debate  among 
the  chieftains,  564.    Mas- 


war  against  Alyattes,  king      sacre  of  the  Magians,  566, 


of  Lydia,  343.  The  first 
who  gave  organization  1 
to  an  "Asiatic  army,  455. 
The  true  founder  of  the 
Medo- Persian  kingdom, 
455.  Testimonj  of^schy- 
lus,  455.  His  reign,  517. 
Massacre  of  the  Scythians, 
519.  i 


The  second  founder  of  the 
Persian  empire,  568.  His 
marriages,  568.  In  the 
Behistun  Inscription  rep- 
resents himself  as  the  he-_ 
reditary  champion  of  the 
Achsenienids,  568.  Re- 
stores the  Zoroastrian 
worship,  569.    Extent  of 


DARIUS  11. 


INDEX. 


KTHBAAL. 


Gil 


his    kingdom,    570.      Re- Dido  =  the  fusitive,  623. 
volts  during  his  first  six  Dicjdorns  on  Egyptian  his- 
years,  570.      List    of    the      tory,  49. 
couutiies     conquered    by  Dodecarchy  of  Egj-pt,  164. 
him,   570.      Takes    Baljy-  Domini(jn     of    the     world 
Ion  after  a  siege  of  twen-      transferred  from  the  des- 
ty  months,  571.     Defeats,      potism  of  the  East  to  the 
miitilates,   and     crucifies      freespiritof  the  West,  579. 
Phraortes,  573.     His  Zo- Dualism,  the  religion  of  the 
roastriau  zeal,  574.     Con-     Iranians,  427.  i 

quest  of  the  Indians,  577.  Duplication  of  events  or  per-' 
Approximate  date  of  his!     sons  to  get  over  a  diflacul-! 
Indian     expedition,   576.  j     ty,  318. 
His  Scythian  expedition,!  -p 

577.     Crosses  the  Helles-I  j 

pout  by  a  bridge  of  boats,  Ecbataua,  building  of  the 
57S.  Present  from  the;  capital  city,  451.  The 
Scythian  ])rinces  to  the  modern  Hainadan,  453.  i 
invader,  57S.    His  escape  Eclipse  of  Thales,  524.  I 

from  the  Scythians,  579.  iEgypt,_Upper   and    Lower, 
Contrast  between  the  ad- 
ventures   of  Darius   and 
Napoleon  in  Russia,  one 


mids,  67.  Mechanical  arts 
and  moral  views  of  the 
oldest  Egyptians,  69.  Pol- 
icy towards  subject  states, 
109.  Wretched  condition 
of  the  native  peasantry, 
125.  Razzias  to  kitluap 
negroes,  126.  Decline  of 
power,  127.  Political  di- 
vision of  Egypt,  152.  Sub- 
mits to  Alexander  the 
Great,  ISO.  Becomes  a 
Roman  province,  ISO. 
Permanence  of  the  Egyp- 
tian character,  182.  Sev- 
en classes  enumerated  by 
Herodotus,  five  by  Diodo- 
rus,  1S3.  Vast  variety  of 
classes  of  artisans  seen 
on  the  monuments,  184. 
35.  The  granary  of  the!  Priests  the  highest  class, 
ancient  world,  38.   Causes     1S5.     The  military  class. 


of  the  most  striking  pa 
allels      in      history,    579. 
Death  of  Darius,  5S0. 

Darius  II.,  Ncthus,  584. 

III.,  Codomannus,  the 

last  king  of  Persia,  589. 
His  flight  from  Issus  and 
Arbela,  5S9.  Alexander 
throws  his  cloak  over  the 
corpse  of,  579,  590. 

Date-palm,  its  uses,  227. 

Days  of  the  week,  origin  of 
the  n:imes  of,  401. 

Dead  (the),  Eirvptian  judg- 
ment of,  204.^' 

Deioces,  king  of  Media,  450. 
The  hero-eponymus  of  the 
Medes,451.  The  despot's 
m.  de  of  life  and  govern- 


ment,  accordin 
rodotus's    ideal    picture, 
4.53. 

Deities,  three  orders  of, 
Egyptian,  199.  Fable  ac- 
counting for  their  animal 
shapes,  200.  Theory  that 
the  animals  were  conse- 
crated for  benefits  derived 
from  them,  200.  Supposed 
analogies  between  the  at- 
tributes of  the  gods  and 
the  specific  qualities  of 
the  animals,  201. 

Delta  of  the  "Nile,  35.  Its 
dimensions,  30. 

Deluji:e,  among  the  oldest 
tra'ditions  of  the  Aryan 
race,  418. 

Democedes,  sent  by  Darius 
to  Greece  as  a  spy,  576. 

Derceto,  the  great  goddess 
of  Ascalon,  250. 

Desert  zone  (the  great)  and 
its  interruptions,  21. 

De>potic  power,  a  misfor- 
tune for  all  who  inherit, 
a  crime  in  all  who  seize 

it,  mx 

Dew;\  =::  Oeo^,  the  Aryan 
name  of  the  Sni)reme  Be- 
ing, 417. 


>f  its  early  prosperity,  3S. 
Difliculty  of  invasion,  38. 1 
Abundant  supply  of  food, 
39.  Facility  of  communi- 
cation, 89.  "Etymology  of 
the  word,  45.  History  be-l 
gins  with  Egypt,  47.  'Thei 
real  records  of  Egyptian 
liistory  her  own  monu- 
ments and  books,  50. 
Classification  of  Egyp- 
tian monuments,  52.  Two 
classes  of  records  of  espe-| 
cial  historical  value,  5.^. 
The  seven  divine  rulers  i 
of  Egypt,  55.  Division, 
between  Upper  and  Mid- 
dle Egypt,  194.  DiiRcul- 
ties  of  the  Egyptian  lan- 
guage, 20. 


180.  The  government 
absolute  monarchy  quali- 
fied by  laws,  187.  Theory 
of  the  king's  royaltj-,  ISS. 
His  divinity  and  rules  of 
daily  life,  ISS.  Duties,  ISS. 
His  insignia,  189.  Mis- 
take about  his  posthu- 
mous judgment,  1S9.  The 
succession  hereditary,lS9. 
Judicial  administration, 
192.  Government  in  the 
hands  of  the  two  privi- 
leged orders,  priests  and 
soldiers,  194.  Egypt  re- 
volts from  Darius,  580. 
Regains  its  independence, 
5kS5.  See  Architecture, 
Sculpture,  Painting,  Hie- 
)glyphics. 


to    He- Egyptians  civilized   before  Elephantine,  island  of,  34. 
any     other     people,    31.  Eleutheria,  Smyrnseau  festi- 
Their   astronomical    and     val  of  the,  511. 
geometrical     discoveries,  Embalmment    from    belief 
40.     Symbols  of  life  and  I     in  the  resurrection  of  the 
death  the  Nile  or  Osiris,      body,  203. 
and  the  evil  power  or  Ty-Enentefs     and     Mnntotps, 
phon,    41.      Speculationsj     monuments  of  the,  8.3. 
on  the  origin  of  the  Egyp- Era  of  Nabonassar  nearly 
tians,    42.      Belonged    tO'     coincident  Avith  the  foun- 
the    Caucasian,    not    the      dation  of  Rome,  and  the 
African,  race,  44.     Their     first    recorded    Olympian 
names  Chem  and  Mizra-     victory,  301. 
im,    46.       Succession    of  Eratosthenes  on  Egvpt,  49. 
kings  according  to  Herod- Erythraean  sea  of  Herodo 
otus,  57.    Lists  of  Mane-     tus,  604. 
tho,    5S.       Question     of  Esar-Haddon,  king  of  As- 
whether     his     dynasties      Syria  and  Babylonia,  »25. 


were  successive  or  con- 
temporaneous, 58.  Table 
of  contemporaneousness 
of  dynasties,  59.  Eit'ht 
broad  divisions  of  the 
whole  history  of  Egypt 


Cylinders  in  the  British 
Museum,  containing  rec- 
ords of  his  nine  cam- 
paigns, 326.  Destrovs  Si- 
don,  320.  Invades  Egypt, 
32S.     His  palaces,  .329. 


58.    Introduction  of  aui-  Esmunazar,'king  of  Sidon, 
mal    worship,    61.     First     inscription  of,  630. 
three  dynasties,  61.    The  Esther,  the   Jewish    queen 
real  history  begins   with      of  Xerxes,  582. 
the    fourth    dynasty,    62.  Etesian  winds  of  Egypt,39. 
The  life  of  the  Egyi)tians  "Eth  a/3a<Ti\evTa,  324^ 
represented  on  the  tombs  Ethbaal  forms  a  new  dynas- 
surrounding     the     pyra-i    ty  at  Tyre,  022. 


342 


ETHIOPIA. 


INDEX. 


lONIAXS. 


Ethiopia,  the  great  sacerdo- 
tal kingdom  of,  33.  The 
Sriest8  seud  a  sentence  of 
eath  to  the  king  when 
they  think  he  has  lived 
long  enough,  151.  "The 
vile  race  of  Cnsh,"  148. 
Name,  description,  and 
limits  of  Ethiopia,  14S. 
Egyptian  derivation  of 
the  word,  148.  The  un- 
strung how  a  symbol  of, 
557.  "Ethiopia  above 
Egypt"  annexed  to  the 
Persian  empire,  558. 

Ethnology  and  comparison 
of  languages,  li^ht  thrown 
by  them  on  ancient  histo- 
ry, 2-2. 

Euphrates,  course  of  the, 
2'J-2.  Derivation  of  the 
word,  222.  Ancient  cn- 
nals  connecting  It  with 
the  Tigris,  226. 

Evagora's  rebellion  in  Cy- 
prus, 5S0. 

Evil-Merodach,  reign  of,  359. 

Exodus  from  Egypt,  calam- 
ities attending  it,  129. 

Eye-doctors,  Egyptian,  179. 


F. 

Fairy-tale,  the  oldest  in  the 
world,  216. 

Feridun,  king  of  Persia,  419. 

Ferouher,  the  symbol  of  de- 
ity, 41(»,  4.35. '  Engraving 
of  the  emblem,  43S. 

Fervers  and  Yazatas,  4.30, 
431. 

Fire-worship,  437. 

Fish-god,  names  of  the,  411. 

Fyum  (the)  or  uome  of  Ar- 
sinoe,  SS. 

G. 

Gades  founded  by  the  Phoe- 
nicians, C17. 

Gathas  of  the  Zeudavesta, 
424. 

Genesis,  its  four  principles 
of  classification  of  races, 
22.  Agreement  of  its  rec- 
ords with  the  results  of 
comparative  philolog\%  20. 

Geographical  mile,  the  Only 
natural  measure  of  the 
earth's  surface,  463.  Its 
commensurability  with 
the  stadium,  463. 

Geometry,  origin  of,  40. 
Egyptian  practical,  210. 
Chaldteau  geometry  and 
arithmetic,  405. 

Gimiri  (—  Cimmerians), 
meaning  of  the  term,  521. 

Glass,  Assyrian,  314.  Tyri- 
an,  634. 

Glaucns,  a  Chian  artist,  his 
silver  bowl  at  Delphi, 
517. 

Ood,  Egyptian  doctrine-  of 
one   ^se!f- existing,     195. 


I  The  name  in  the  sacred 
books  of  Egypt,  "I  am 
that  I  am,"  liiO. 

Gomates,  the  true  name  of 
the  Pseudo-Smerdis,  560. 
Usurps  the  crown  of  Per- 
sia, 500. 

Gordian  knot,  the,  499. 

Grotefeud's     decipherment 

I  of  the  cuneiform  charac- 
ter  391. 

Gyge's,  king  of  Lydia,  330. 

I  His  ring,  509.  Oracle  that 
vengeance  for  the  Hera- 
clidiB  would  fall  on  his 
lifth  descendant,  509. 
Dates  of  the  five  genera- 
tions, 510. 

H. 

Hadad  (Edomite  prince) 
protected  by  Pharaoh, 
130.  Returns  to  reclaim 
his  birthright,  143. 

Halicarnassus,  kingdom  of, 
492. 

Halys  (the),  the  boundary 
of  the  Median  and  Lydi- 
an  emi)ires,  343,  517.  A 
great  ethnic  and  historic- 
al boundary,  401. 

Ham,  fulfillment  of  Noah's 

j     prophetic  curse  on,  23. 

Hamath  or  Epiphania,  city 

I     and  kingdom  of,  609. 

IHamite  race,  itsfourbranch- 

I     es,  23. 

Hanging  gardens  of  Baby- 

I     Ion,  355,  377. 

Harpaeus's  conquest  of  the 
Asialic  Greeks,  54S. 

I  Harpy  tomb,  the,  484. 

;Hatasou  (queen),  monument 

j  of  her  splendor  in  the  pal- 
ace of  Karnak,  111. 

Hebrews,  end  of  their  cap- 

i     tivitv,  549. 

Hebron,  building  of,  138. 

Hellenicou,  a  temple  for  the 
Greeks  in  Egypt,  177. 

Hermetic  books  of  the 
Egyptians,  215. 

Hermotybians  and  Calasiri- 
ans,  180. 

Herodotus's  account  of 
Egyptian  life  and  man- 
ners, 48. 

Heroes-eponymi  of  nations, 
artificial  arrangements  of, 
503. 

Kiddekel  of  Eden,  the  Ti- 
gris, 223. 

Hieratic  writing,  examples 
of,  388. 

Hieroglyphics,  their  inter- 
pretation discovered  in- 
j)endently  by  Dr.  Young 
and       Champollion,     5.5. 

i  Three  forms  of  Egyptian 
writing,  hieroglyphic,  hi- 

j  eratic,  and  demotic  or  en- 
chorial,   211.      Discovery 

I     of  the  key  to  hieroglyph- 

I     ic*,   211.      Particulars   of 


the  discovery,  212.  The 
characters  partly  phonet- 
ic and  partly  ideographic, 
213.  Illustrations  of  the 
system,  213. 

Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  his  al- 
liance with  Solomon,  620. 
His  great  works  at  Tyre, 
021.  Letters  between  him 
and  Solomon,  021. 

Histijeus,  the  Milesian  gen- 
eral, 579. 

Histoi'y,  when  secular,  be- 
gins, 17.  Sacred,  18.  The 
field  of  ancient  history  di- 
vided by  mountain- chains 
and  table-lands  into  three 
portions,  19. 

(ancient),  its  two  dif- 
ferent streams  and  two 
antagonist  principles,  27. 
New  materials  for  the 
authentic  liistory  of  the 
East,  28.  Important  syn- 
chronisms between  sacred 
and  secular,  143.  Coinci- 
dence of  sacred,  secular, 
and  monumental,  317. 

Homa,  ceremony  of  ofi'ering 
the  juice  of  the  plant,  434. 

Hophra  (Pharaoh)  of  Scrip- 
ture, the  Apries  of  Herod- 
otus, 17.3. 

Horses,  Nisaeau  breed  of,  445. 

Hur,  the  supposed  capital 
of  Chaldaea,  237. 

Hyksos  or  Shepherd  kings 
invade  Egypt,  82, 93.  False 
identification  with  the  He- 
brews, 95.  Their  race  Se- 
mitic, 96.  Conquer  Egypt, 
96.    Their  expulsion,  100. 

Hyroeades  discovers  the 
means  of  taking  Sardis, 
547. 

Hystaspes  (—  Viftaspa  and 
Gushtasp)  father  of  Dari- 
us, 422,  535,  563,  574. 

I. 

II  or  Hon,  the  supreme  god 
of  the  Assyrio-Babylouian 
pantheon,  408. 

Inarus  and  Arayrtaeus,  re- 
bellion in  Egypt  under, 
583. 

Incarnation  of  the  Egyptian 
gods  in  the  bull  Apis,  the 
bull  Mnevis,  and  the  goat 
at  Mendes,  202. 

Indo-European  or  ludo-Ger- 
manic  languages,  26.  Ta- 
ble of  the' Indo-European 
fi\milv  of  languages,  28. 

Inflectional  languages,  two 
families  of,  the  Indo-Eu- 
ropean and  the  Semitic, 
25. 

In.scriptions,  Persian  trilin- 
gual and  bilingual,  391. 

Insitrnia  of  the  king  of 
Egvpt,  189. 

lonians,  iho  Egyptian  name 


IONIC. 


INDEX. 


G43 


for  the  Greeks  in  general, 
ICS,  Ionian  colonies  in 
Asia  Minor,  510.  Revolt 
against  Darius,  579. 

Ionic  capital,  type  of,  in  an 
Assyrian  temple,  3S1. 

Iran,  the  table-land  of,  415. 

Irony  of  history,  example 
of  the,  325. 

Isaurians,  their  long  inde- 
pendence, 4TS. 

Israel  under  Solomon,  em- 
pire of,  2T2.  Captivity  of 
the  Israelites  east  of  Jor- 
dan, 304.  The  whole  pop- 
ulation removed  to  Mes- 
opotamia, 306.  The  re- 
mainder carried  away  cap- 
tive, 308. 

Issus,  passes  or  gates  of, 
459. 

Ira-Lush  or  Vul-lush,  reign 
of,  295. 

J. 

Jacob,  group  of  Jebusites 
formerly  taken  for  the 
family  of,  92. 

Japhetic  race,  414. 

Jehoiakiin  put  to  death  by 
Nebuchadnezzar,  340. 

Jehu,  king  of  Israel,  290. 

Jemshid,  mythical  reign  of, 
419. 

Jeroboam's  rebellion,  143. 

Jerusalem,  according  to  Ma- 
netho  quoted  by  Josephus, 
built  bv  the  Shepherd 
kings  of  E-ypt,  101.  The 
date  of  its  investment  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  a  Jewish 
fast,  350.  Epoch  of  the 
destruction  of,  .351.  Be- 
sieged by  Sennacherib  and 
defended  by  Hezekiah, 
320. 

Jewish  kingdom  named  on 
the  monuments  of  She- 
shouk,  143.  Likeness  be- 
tween the  Jewish  and 
Egyptian  codes,  191. 

Jews,  sympathy  of  Cyrus 
and  Darius  for  their  pure 
monotheism,  509. 

Josephus's  account  of  the 
invasion  of  Egypt  by  the 
Shepherd  kings,  95. 

Joseph's  Pharaoh,  99.  Jo- 
seph brought  into  Egypt 
under  the  Shepherd-king 
Aphophis,  10(1. 

Josiah,  death  of,  170. 

Jadaea,  ])i-()mise  of  its  com- 
plete liberation  from  As 
Syria  fi  "  " 
dah,  t 
of,  347 

Judith  (book  of)  one  of  the 
earliest  examples  of  histo- 
rical fiction,  451.  Its  sub- 
stratum of  historical  truth, 
522. 

lupiter  Belus,  temple  of, 
229. 


Syria  fulfilled,  322. 
Judah,  the   great  captivity 


Kanats  or  underground  ca- 
nals l\)r  irrigation,  444. 

Karnak  and  Luxor,  monu- 
ments of,  100.  The  nu- 
merical wall  of  Karnak, 
111.  Description  of  the 
Hall  of  Columns,  the  tri- 
umph of  Egyptian  archi- 
tecture, 119. 

Khorsabad,  M.  Botta's  dis- 
covery of  inscriptions  at, 
313.  Mounds  and  plat- 
forms, 379.  Palace  of  Sar- 
gon,  380. 

Kileh  -  Sherghat  (Asshur), 
ruins  of,  258. 

Knuphis  or  Noum  =  the 
Creator,  197. 


Labvnetus,  king  of  Babylon, 
545. 

Labyrinth,  the  Egyptian,  SO. 

Lachish,  site  of,  322. 

L,amp.s,  feast  of,  in  honor 
of  the  goddess  Neith,  167. 

Language,  comparative,  the 
best  test  of  national  athn- 
ity,  24.  Three  classes  of 
the  form  of  languages,  24. 

Layard's  (Rt.  Hon.  A.  H.) 
discoveries  at  Nimrud, 
277. 

Leather  Standard,  the  sa- 
cred, 419. 

Lebanon,  cedars  of,  599. 

Leleges  and  Pelasgians  si.s- 
ter  races,  490.  The  earli- 
est known  inhabitants  of 
Samos,  491.  Sprung  from 
the  stones  of  Deucalion, 
491. 

Lelex  the  first  native  king 
of  Laconia,  491. 

Letters  of  the  alphabet 
brought  from  Phoenicia 
intc  Greece  by  Cadmus, 
015. 

AeunuavfiOL,  464. 

Libyans  and  the  militia  of 
Egj'pt,  147. 

Lunareclipses  alone  predict- 
ed by  the  ChaldiBans,  403. 

Luxor  and  Karnak,  monu- 
ments of,  100. 

Lycian  arts,  remains  of,  dis- 
covered bv  Sir  C.  Fellows, 
481.  Greek  legends  of  the 
origin  of  the  Lycians,  481. 
Language  and  inscrp- 
tions,  482.  Tliree  tribes, 
483.  TT-emilre  the  name 
of  their  principal  tribe, 
483.  Sculpture  and  archi- 
tecture, 484.  ToTnb  of 
Paiafa  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum, 484.  "  Inpcrii)ed 
Moiuiment,"  485.  Feder- 
al government,  4'^0. 

Lydia,  gold  of,  544.  Ly.lia 
Propcrand  Toirhelr.a.  4'.I5. 


Lydians,  the,  493.  Their  col- 
onization of  Etruria,  495. 
Origin  and  antiquities  of 
the  race,  490.  Mythical 
genealogy  of  the  brothers 
Lydus,  Mysus,  and  Car, 
490.  Kingdom  of  Lydia, 
502.  Its  three  dynasties, 
502.  Genealogy  of  the 
kings  of  the  first  dynasty, 
the  Atyada;,  502.  The 
second  dynasty,  the  Hera 
clidae,  503.  Theory  of  the 
Assyrian  origin  of  the  dy- 
nasty, 504.  Semitic  origin 
of  the  Lydians,  504.  The 
third  dynasty,  the  Merm- 
nadfe,  500.  War  betweeu 
Lydia  and  Media,  52.3. 

Lygdamis,  leader  of  the 
"^Cimmeriaus,  killed,  515. 


M. 

Maeonia,  poetical  use  of  tha 
word,  495. 

Maeonians,  the,  493.  Expel 
led  by  the  Lydians,  494. 

Magian  religion  mistaken 
f(n-  Zoroastrianism,  4.37. 

Magophonia,  festival  of,  566. 

Malkin's  Historical  Paral- 
lels, 559. 

Man-bull  a  symbol  of  the 
divine  power,  381. 

Mauasseh's  captivity,  327. 
Re.storation,  3i;7. 

Manetho's  history  of  Egypt, 
49.  List  of  Dynasties, 
49. 

Manichseisra  a  perversion  of 
Zoroastrian  doctrine,  429. 

Manu,  Indian  laws  of,  417. 

Marathon,  battle  of,  579. 

Marsyas,  mythical  conflict 
of  Apollo  with,  470. 

Mathematical  and  astro- 
nomical discoveries  due 
to  Babylonia  rather  than 
to  Egypt,  398. 

Matieni,  the,  465. 

Maut,  the  universal  mother, 
representing  inert  matter, 
197. 

Mazaca  or  Cajsarea,  capital 
of  Cappadocia,  400. 

Mazdeism  the  religion  of 
Zoroaster,  424. 

Medes,  their  three  distinct 
attacks  on  Assyria,  333. 
And  Persians  both  branch- 
es of  the  Aryan  race,  414. 
Their  affinity  with  races 
of  northern  India  and 
with  European  races,  415. 
Origin  of  the  ]\Icdes,  447. 
Foundation  of  the  Median 
monarchy,  449.  Their  six 
tribes,  451.  War  with  the 
Lydians,  523,  524. 

Media,  signific.'ition  of  the 
name,  230.  Limits  of,  441. 
Media  Atropatene,  an,d 
Media    Magna.   443.      Its 


GU 


MEDICIN'E. 


INDEX. 


NICOLAS. 


imperfect    subjection    to 
Assyria,  448. 

Medicine  (Egyptian)  empir- 
ical and  often  absurd,  '210. 

Medo  -  Persian  empire,  its 
nature,  540. 

Megabazus's  conquest  of 
Thrace  and  Macedonia, 
5T9. 

Megabvzus  retakes  Mem- 
phis,"'5S3.     Revolts,  5S3. 

Melcarth,  the  Phoenician] 
Hercules,  632.  : 

Meles,  charm  of  king,  547.     j 

Memnon,  the  vocal,  1U6.  De- 
scription of  the  statue,  110. 
Explanation  of  the  sound 
emitted  from  it,  110.  j 

Memphis,  the  earliest  seat! 
of  the  Egyptian  kingdom,  | 
61.  The  Memphian  mou-1 
nrchy  a  period  of  civiliza-j 
tion  which  had  no  known  \ 
infancy,  70.  The  site  iden-j 
titled,  71.  TheMemphite] 
necropolis,  72.  The  Mem- 
phian  dynasties,  72.  Fall 
of  the  monarchy,  77.  I 

Menephtha,  the  Pharaoh  of  | 
the  Exodus,  127.  I 

Menes,  first  (human)  king' 
of  Egypt,  56.  Affinities  of 
the  Vord,  56.  His  engi- 
neering works,  70.  Turns 
the  course  of  the  Nile, 
7«(t.  Builds  Memphis,  70. 
Founder  of  the  empire  of 
Egvpt,  74.  Era  of  Menes. 
7S.' 

Mentor  transfers  his  serv- 
ices from  Sidon  to  Per- 
sia, 5SS.  Defeats  Necta- 
nebo,  king  of  Egypt,  5S8. 

Menzaleh,  the  Pelusiac 
mouth  of  the  Nile,  30. 
The  great  lake,  138. 

Mermnad  kings  of  Lydia, 
510. 

Merodach  and  Bel,  tlie  tute- 
lary deities  of  Babylon 
and  Borsippa,  242. 

Merodach-Baladan  conquer- 
ed by  Sargon,  311. 

MeroC-,  island  nf,  33.  Capi- 
tal of  Upper  Ethiopia,  149. 
Different  opinions  on  its 
origin,  149.  Honors  to 
Amun  and  Osiris  at,  150. 

Mesopotamia  compared 
with  Egypt,  220.  The 
empire,  first  of  Assyria 
and  afterwards  of  Baby- 
lon, 221.  Mesopotamia 
Proper,  225.  Early  eth- 
nology of,  230. 

Metonic  or  golden  cycle 
known  to  the  ChaldiBans, 
403.    Its  exact  period,  403. 

Metric  system  (French)  at 
variance  with  history,  na- 
ture, and  science,  400. 

Midas,  king  of  Phrygin,  499. 

A  type  of  the  wealth  and 

■  fall   of  the    kingdom   of 


Phrygia,  409.    Legends  of, 

500.  As  son  of  Orjiheas  a 
type  of  the  cultivatiou  of 
music  among  the  Phryg- 
ians, 500.  Historical  ele- 
ments in  the  legends,  501. 
Inscription  on  his  tomb, 

501.  His  suicide,  471,  515. 
Milk,    intoxicating     drink 

from,  520. 
Miua,  values   of  the  Attic 

and  Eginetan,  1S7. 
Mithra  (the  Sun)  and  his  an 


self  to  be  proclaimed  king 
of  Babylon  and  over- 
throws the  Assyrian  em- 
pire, 342.  His  great  en- 
gineering works  at  Baby- 
lon, 343.  End  of  the  dy- 
nasty of,  359. 

Nahum,  striking  prophecy 
of,  161. 

Nairi,  country  of  the,  269. 
Their  tribes,  261. 

Napata,  sacerdotal  kingdom 
of,  140.     City  of,  149.     Its 


tagonist,  Mithra  the  Bad,!  commerce,  150. 

431.  Nations  oft  he  ancient  world, 

Mithraic  worship,  431.            j  two  great  groups  of,  27. 

Mizraim  the  Semitic  name  Eastern  and  Western  dis- 

of  the  Egyptians,  23.           I  tiuguished  by  immobility 

Moabite  inscription,  newly!  and  energy,  27 

discovered,  318. 
Mceris,  lake,  described,  87. 

Its  use,  SS. 


Mohammed's  way  extended 

I    over  the  middle  of  Hell, 

j     433. 

Monarchies,  connection  be- 
tween    Lydian,    Median, 

I     and  Babylonian,  527. 

jMonogamy     of     Egyptian 

1     priests,  ISO. 

•Monolith  chamber,  trans- 
portation of  an  Egyptian, 
17S. 

Month,  the  Sun-god,  199. 

iMoon,    temjjle    of   the,    at 

1     Mugheir,  371. 

Moschici  Montes,  460. 

Moses,  his  name  Egyptian, 
124.  Initiation  into  the 
wisdom  of  the  Egyptian 
priests,  190. 

Mouse  (the),  a  sacred  em- 
blem, 156. 

Mycenae,  lion  gate  of,  469. 

Mycerinus,  piety  and  deifi- 
cation of,  73. 

Myiitta,  Alitta,  or  Mitra, 
mode  of  sacrificing  to, 
435. 

Mysiau  language  a  mixture 
of  Phrvgian  and  Lydian. 
407. 

N. 

"Nabathaean  Architecture," 
a  book  written  at  Babv- 
lon,  241. 

Nabonadius  or  Nabonidns, 
last  king  of  Babylon,  230, 
300.      His    alliance    with 


'Nebo,  chief  of  the  gods,  254. 
His  statue,  2i)6. 

Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of 
Babylon,  171.  The  one 
great  monarch  of  the 
Babylonian  empire,  341. 
Without  him  the  Babj'- 
lonians  would  have  had 
no  place  in  history,  344. 
Created  the  empire  of 
Babylon  by  the  victory 
of  Carchemish,  845.  Sig- 
nification of  his  name, 
344.  Campaign  against 
Tyre,  345.  Takes  Jerusa- 
lem, 345.  Destroys  the 
temple,  136.  His  vision 
of  the  colossal  image  of 
the  empires  of  the  world, 
349.  Destroys  Jerusalem, 
351.  Contrasted  with  Ti- 
tus, 352.  Invades  Egypt 
twice,  353.  Conquers 
Egypt,  353.  His  great 
works  at  Babylon,  354. 
Built  the  great  wall,  354. 
His  madness,  357.  Mar- 
vellous activity  and  en- 
ergy, 355.  The  greatest 
type  of  the  Oriental  des- 
p'ot,  355.  His  lycanthro- 
py,  357.  Recovery  and 
death,  .357,  35S.  Decline 
of  the  Babylonian  em- 
])ire  after  his  death,  35S. 
Translation  of  his  inscrip- 
tion, 229.  "  Standard  In- 
scripticm,"  302.  His  ac- 
count of  his  works  at 
Babylon,  362.  Descrip- 
tion of  his  edifices,  .377. 


Croesus,  360.     Defeated  by  Neco,  the    Pharaoh-Necho 


of  the  Bible,  170.  His  at- 
tempt to  complete  the  ca- 
nal connecting  the  Medi- 
terranean and  the  Red 
Sea,  172.  His  fleets  in 
the  two  seas,  172. 
Nabonassar,  era  of,  252.    Its  Nectanebo,  the  last  king  of 

exact     epoch,     298.      De-1     independent  Egypt,  179. 

stroys  the  acts  of  the  kings  Nedjef,  inland  sea  of,  226. 


Cyrus,  360.  His  flight  to 
Borsippa,  3G0.  Motive  for 
associating  Belshazzar  in 
the  sovereigut3't361.  Sur- 
renders to  and  is  favored 
by  Cvrus,  362, 


before  him,  340.     List  of 
kiuL's  of  Babylon  from  the 
era  of,  340. 
Nabopolassar  causes   him- 


Neith  identified  with  Athe- 
na or  Minerva,  167. 

Nicolas  of  Damascus,  th.9 
historian,  2J2. 


NILE. 


INDEX. 


PHUCKICIAN. 


G45 


Nile,  "Esypt  the  gift  of  tlie 
Nile,"  iJl.  Cataracts,  32, 
33.  Physical  phenomeua, 
32,  33.  Formed  by  the 
junction  of  the  White  and 
Blue  rivers,  32.  Junction 
with  the  Black  River,  33. 
Pahides  Nili,  33.  Branch- 
es of,  at  the  Delta,  35.  Pe- 
riodical inundation,  37. 
Its  cause,  37. 

Kilometers,  3S. 

Nimrod,  Cushite  kingdom 
of,  23.  Kingdoms  of  Xim- 
rod  and  Asshur,  231.  Et- 
ymological connection  of 
Nimrod  and  Nipru,  236. 

Nimrud,  mounds"  of,  27S. 
Plan  of  the  mound,  279. 
Mr.  Layard's  description 
of  the  north-west  palace 
at,  278.  Standard  inscrip- 
tion of,  2S2.  Pyramid  of, 
2S7.  Nimrud "  identified 
with  Calah,  2S7. 

Niu,  the  Assyrian  Hercules, 
after  whom  Nineveh  was 
named,  249.  Niuus  and 
Ninyas,  impersonations 
of,  249. 

Nineveh  or  Niniveh,  site  of, 
257.  Note  on  the  site  and 
extent  of,  273.  Its  fall  and 
evidence  of  its  destruc- 
tion, 297,  331,  332.  Its  de- 
struction described  by 
the  Jewish  prophets,  336. 
The  epoch  of  its  fall,  170, 
252.  Still  unsettled,  .337. 
Contents  of  the  Royal  Li- 
brary of,  396.  Nineveh 
taken  by  Cyaxares,  524. 

Ninip,  the  Assyrian  Hercu- 
les, 411. 

Niniva  Claudiopolis,  275. 

Ninus,  the  hero-eponymus 
of  Nineveh,  249. 

Ninyas,  son  of  Semiramis, 
251.  A  politic  and  self- 
indulsrent  ruler,  251.  His 
profound  policy,  251. 

Nitocris,  queen  of  Babylon, 
176,  360.  Regarded  as  a 
queen  regnant  by  Herod- j 
otUB,  344."^  Her  vengeance  j 
and  suicide,  76.  j 

Nomes,  division  of  Eirypti 
into,  194.  Their  numbers 
increased  under  Roman 
emperors,  194.  Their  no- 
marchs  and  toparchs,  194. 
Delegates  of  the  nomes 
lodged  in  the  labyrinth,! 
194. 

Nubian  eye,  elongated,  149. 

Numerals'.  Egyptian,  21S.       i 

Nyauza,  Albert  and  Victo-! 
ria,  33. 


Cannes  and  other  fish-men, 
2.32,  2.33.  The  fish-god, 
worshipped  in  Philistia, 
250, 


Oasis  of  Amnion,  194.    And 

I     the  Great  Oasis,  557. 

lObelisk  (the  Black)  of  Shal- 

!     maueser  II.,  2S9. 

Obelisks,     dimensions     of 

j  Egyptian  and  Assyrian, 
2S9. 

jOchus  or  Artaxerxes  III., 

I  5S6.  His  cruelty  and 
blood-thirstiness,  5S7. 
His  ministers  Bagoas  and 
Mentor,  SS7.  Poisoned  by 
Bagoas,  5S9. 

Ophthalmia  always  one  of 
the  plagues  of  Egypt, 
179. 

Oppert's  (M.)  Cuneiform 
grammar,  393. 

Ormazd  or  Ahuramazda, 
the  Greek  Oromasdes,  ti- 
tles of,  425.  His  creation 
of  man  and  the  corruption 
of  the  work  by  Ahriman 
little  diff'erent*'  from  the! 
similar  account  in  Gene- 
sis, 432. 

Oroetes,  treason  and  punish- 
ment of,  575,  576.  [ 

Osiris  and  Typhon,  the 
good  and  evil  principles,! 
56.  Osiris,  Isis,  and  their 
son  Horus-  198.  Boat  of 
Osiris,  198. 

P. 

Pacification,  Roman  idea  of, 
230. 

Padan  -  Aram  or  Osroiine, 
225. 

Painting,  Egyptian,  chiefly  a 
decorativeart,  209.  Illus- 
trations of  the  Ritual  of 
the  Dead,  210.  Assyrian 
painting,  385. 

Pamphylians,  their  name 
indicative  of  their  misecl 
race,  479.  Origin  Oi  cheir 
Hellenic  element,  480. 

Pantheistic  Sabseism  of 
Babylonia,  407. 

Paphlagonians,  their  ethnic 
aftinity  to  the  Ca^jpado- 
cians,471. 

Papyrus  reed,  description 
of  writing  on  it,  211. 

Parysatis,  wife  of  Darius 
II.,  5S4.  Her  wickedness, 
5S4.  Unbounded  appetite' 
for  cruelty.  585.  The  she-| 
wolf  of  Persia,  586. 

Pasargadae,  the  Persian  cap-| 
ital  of  both  Cyrus  and 
Cambyses,  535. 

Pasht,  the  goddess  of  fire, 
identified  with  Artemis, 
141. 

Pelasgians,  the  earliest 
known  inhabitants  of 
Greece  and  Southern  Ita- 
ly, 468.  Connection  of 
the  Pelasgians  in  Asia 
Minor  with  those  of  Eu- 
rope, 46S.      Their  peace- 


ful agricultural  character, 
468. 

Periods  of  time  personified 
by  ancient  writers,  401. 

Persia  Proper  or  Persis,  441. 

Persians  divided  into  three 
classes,  420.  The  nation- 
al heroes,  Rustem,  Kai 
Khosru,  and  Farrukhzad, 
437.  Position  of  Persia 
under  the  Median  su- 
premacy, 534.  Their  ten 
tribes  and  three  social 
classes,  534.  Conquest  of 
Egypt,  588.  Constitution 
of  the  empire,  591.  Roy- 
al judges  of  Persia,  591. 
Despotism  of  the  Great 
King,  593. 

Phiedima  discovers  the  im- 
posture of  the  pseudo- 
Smerdis,  563. 

Phanes  of  Halicarnassus, 
his  advice  to  (Cambyses, 
555.  His  sons  killed  be- 
fore their  father's  eyes, 
555. 

Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus  (see 
Menephtha),  127. 

Phihne,  the  burial-place  of 
the  god  Osiris,  34. 

Philip  of  Macedon,  death  of, 
589. 

PhcBuicia,  description  of, 
595,  596.  Climate,  597. 
Etymology  of  the   word, 

599.  No  native  history  of, 

600.  Its  population  before 
the  migration  of  the  Ca- 
naanites,  602.  Chief  cit- 
ies, 611.  Its  history  di- 
vided into  periods  of  Si- 
donian  and  Tyrian  su- 
premac}',  611.  Phoenicia 
before  the  Exodus  de- 
scribed in  an  Egyptian 
l)apyrus,  612, 

Phoenician  civilization  con- 
nected with  Egyptian,  102. 
The  connecting  link  be- 
tween Greece  and  Egypt, 
102.  The  great  maritime 
force  of  the  Persian  em- 
pire, 554.  The  Phoeni- 
cians refuse  to  serve 
against  Carthage,  557. 
The  chief  remnant  of  the 
Canaanites,  602.  Phoeni- 
cian league  under  the 
supremacy  of  Tyre,  595, 
The  seat  of  trade  in  tlie 
oldest  Biblical  records, 
595.  The  Hyksos  or  Shep- 
herds called  Phoenicians, 
60,5.  The  Phffiuicians  Se- 
mitic,  606.  Their  language 
and  the  Hebrew  differed 
only  as  dialects,  606.  Set- 
tlements on  the  southern 
coast  of  Spain,  617,  In 
Africa,  Sardinia,  and  Sic- 
ily, 617.  Relations  to  As- 
."■yria,  624.  Conquered  bj 
-AiiShur-banipal,  627. 


646 


•IIRAORTES. 


INDEX. 


SAGARTIA. 


Phraortes  attacks  Assyria, 
333.  Succeeds  Deioces, 
454.  A  Mede  of  the  same 
name  heads  a  rebelliou 
against  Darius,  454.  A 
pretender  to  the  crown 
of  Darius,  572.  His  pun- 
ishment, -^54. 

Phryges,  etymology  of  the 
name,  471. 

Phrygia,  Greek  le^^ends 
traced  to,  469. 

Phrygians  (if  Aryan  or  Ja- 
phetic origin,  466.  Their 
language  Represents  the 
older  stock  from  which 
both  Greek  and  Latin 
sprang,  466.  Their  rela- 
tionship to  the  early  pop- 
ulation of  Greece,  468. 
Remains  of  architecture, 
469.  Reduced  to  narrow 
limits,  471.  Supremacy  at 
sea,  471. 

Phtha,  the  Egyptian  deitj^ 
the  worker  bv  the  energy 
of  fire,  55.  His  temple, 
70.  The  patron  deity  of 
Memphis,  71.  The  all- 
working  power  of  fire, 
179.  Identified  with  He- 
phsestus,  199. 

Piankh,  the  Ethiopian  king, 
invades  Egypt,  147. 

Place  (M.),  his  discoveries 
at  Koyuiijik,  DS9. 

Polycrates  of  Samos,  histor- 
ical episode  of,  179.  Le- 
gend of  his  friendship 
with  Amasis,  575.  Put  to 
death,  575.  Schiller's  bal- 
lad, "the  Ring  of  Polyc- 
rates," 575. 

Polygamy,  forbidden  to 
Egyptian  priests,  186. 
And  incestuous  marriage 
of  the  Persian  kings,  55.3. 

Polyhistor  (Alexander),  the 
works  of,  346. 

Polytheism,  origin  of  Egyp-, 
tian,  196. 

Priestesses  in  Egypt,  1S6.      \ 

Priests  of  Egyptian  temples, 
207.  I 

Propyla^a  of  Egyptian  tem-i 
pies,  206.  j 

Psammenitus  defeated  and 
put  to  death  by  Camby-i 
ses,  179.  [ 

Psammetichus,  his  fulfill-! 
ment  of  an  oracle,  164. 
Makes  himself  king  of  \ 
Egypt,  165.  His  Hellen-| 
iziug  polic}',  167.  Favors  j 
heaped  on  his  mercena-} 
ries,  IGS.  Deserted  by  the 
Egyptian  class  of  warri- 
ors, in  number  200,000, 
168.  I 

Psendo- Smerdis,  the,  561. 
Establishes  the  Magian , 
system,  overthrowing  the 
/iiroa.">trian  worship,  562.1 
Hs    imposture   discover-! 


ed,  .562.     Slain  by  Darius, ' 

563  {see  Gomates).  I 

Pseudo-Smerdis,  a  second, 

574.  I 

Psychostasy  of  the  Egyptian  * 

dead,  204.  j 

Pteria,  battle  of,  546. 


ter,  123.  The  great  op. 
pressor  of  the  Isrr.elites, 
124.  His  great  buildings, 
126.  His  colossal  statues, 
portraits  of  him.self,  127. 
Bust  of  one  of  them  in  the 
British  Museum,  127. 


Ptolemies,  Egypt  under  the,  Rameses  III.,  restores  the 


180. 
Ptolemj^  canon  of,  262. 
Pul  of  Scripture  (the),  ques 
i     tion  concerning,  29S. 
,Punjab  conquered  by  Dari' 
I     us,  577. 

Fgi 

(Dido),  622, 
Pyrfethra  or  fire-towers,  438. 
Pyramid,    the     Great,    the 

"highest    buildin 

world,  20.5. 


Egyptian  empire,  1.30.  His 
ca^mpaigns,  130.  Victory 
of  his  fleet,  131. 
—  XII.,  collecting  tribiite 
in  Mesopotamia,  marries 
a  chiefs  daughter,  133. 


Pyramids  of  Jizeh,  62. 
covery  of  workmen' 
eroglyphics  in  the  centre} 
of  the  mass  of  the  great 
pyramid,  02.  The  pyra-' 
mid  of  Cheops  the  iirst] 
monumental  link  in  not 
oulv  Egyptian  but  uni-! 
versal  histor}',  63.  Plan' 
of  the  pyramids,  03.  Pyr- 
amids of  Cephreu  and 
Mycerinus,  63,  64.     Series: 


scriptiou  of  the  trilingual 
rock-inscription  of  Behis- 
tun,  372. 
in    the  Rehoboam's  submission  to 
Egyptian  sovereignty  uu- 


Dis-  der  Sheshonk,  144. 
3  hi-  Religion  (Egyptian),  next  to 
the  diviu(3"' unity,  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul  the 
dogma  most  characteristic 
of,  97.  Three  orders  of 
deities,  199.  The  eight 
great  gods,  199.  Twelve 
of  the  second  order,  199. 
Two  systems  of  reliirion, 
195.  Secrets  of  Eirvptian 
theology,  195. 

of  pyramids   from   Jizeh  i of  Assyria  and  Babylon, 

to  Dashour,  64.     Artistic:     407. 

motives  for  their  size  and  Resen,  site  of,  255. 

form,   65.      The    temple- Rhaga,  or  Phages,  the  chief 

tombs    of  deified   kings,      citv  of  Rhagiana,  445. 

66.    Skill  and  art  in  build-  Rhagiana,  district  of,  446. 

ing  the  pvramids  evidence  Ric;- Veda,  hymns  of  the,  417, 

of   high  '  civilization,    65.      41S. 

The    great   plain    of  the  Ritualof thedead,E£fyptian, 

pyramids,  72.    Astronom-      169,    204.     The    Egyptian 

leal  calculations  to  deter-         " 

mine  the  date  of  the  great 

pyramid,  70.      The   Pyra- 
mid of  Degrees  at  Sakka- 

ra,  370. 


R. 

Ra,  the  meridian  sun,  197. 
Races  of  men,  four  physio- 
logically distinguished,  22. 


Bible,    215.      Contains    a 

complete   account  of  the 

Egyptian  doctrine  of  the 

future  life,  215. 
Rock-city,  a  town  cut  out 

of  the' natural  rock  near 

theHalys,469. 
Rock-hewn       temples      o{ 

Egypt,  206. 
Rose'tta  stone,  the,  55,  212. 


Ram,  the  Egyptian  symbol  Rotenn on  in  Mesopotamia, 
of  the  Creator,  197.  '  the  general  name  of,  241. 

Ramayana,  the  most  ancient 
Sanscrit  epic,  417.  o 

Rameses,  the  city  of,  papyri 
recording  the  Hebrews  by  J  Sabaco  II.,  identified  with 
name  as  its  builders,  125.  i     the  priest-king  Sethos  of 

I.,  or  Rhamses,  119.        |     Herodotus,  153. 

II.,  son  of  Seti  I.,  119.  Sabacos,  the  Ethiopian  con- 

His  exploits  recorded  inj     queror  of  Egypt,  152. 
the  Greek  lesrend  of  Sesos-  Sabiean  worship  of  the  hear- 


tris,  120.  Conquests,  121. 
The  Louis  XIV.  of  the 
Egyptian  monarchy,  121. 
The  Rameseid,  an  epic  by 
Pentaour,  122.  Personal 
exploit  of  Rameses,  told 


enly  bodies,  234. 
Sabfeism  explained,  407. 
Sabazius,      the       Phr.vgian 

name  of  Dionysus,  469. 
Sacic,  the  Persian  name  for 

allScvthians,  54.     The  Sa- 


in a  true  Homeric  spirit,!     ka  Tigrakhuda  and  Saka 
122.     Treaty  with  the  Hit-     Humawarga,  521. 
tite  king,  12.3.     His  enor-  Sadyattes,  reign  of,  515. 
mous  harem,  12.3.     One  of  jSagartin  revolts  against  Da- 
his  wives  his  own  daugh-i     rius,  574. 


SAIS, 


INDEX. 


6-1:7 


Asia,  334.  Their  domin- 
ion lasted  for  twenty-eight 
years,  518.     Throe  si2:infi- 


Sais,  the  last  capital  of  the     figures,  209.    Five  difier- 

Pharaohs,    140,    106.      Its      eut  periods  of  the  art,  209. 

remains,  140,  ICO.      Cou-  Scylax's  voyage   down   the, 

iicction  with  Athens,  107.      Indus,  577. 

Greek      population,    167.  Scythian    doniinatioii    over 

Solon's  visit  to,  161.  i 

Saite   kings   of  Egypt,  105.' 

The  monarchy  reached  its 

acme  under  Pharaoh-ne-! 

cho,  170.  I 

Saites,  the  first  of  the  shep-, 

herd  kings,  98.  ! 

Samaria,  the   kingdom   of,j 

destroved,  307.    '  | 

Sau,  plain  and  ruius  of,  140.  Seal-cylinders,  375. 

The   site   of  the   ancient  Seals,  ancient  Assyrian,  394. 

Tanis,  140.  Semiramis,  legend    of,  249. 

Sanchoniathon's  Phoenician      Her     divine     birth,    249. 

history  a  forgery,  000.        |     Exploit  for  which  Tsiuus 
Sandanis'8  expostulation  to     married  her,  250.  Becomes 

Croesus,  545. 
Saugarius   and   Halys,   the 

rivers,  459.  I 

Sanscrit,    the    sacred    lan-j 

guage  of  India,  25.  | 

Saraciis  burns  himself  with 

his  palace,  335.  I 

Sardanapalus    collects    his 

treasures,     constructs     a| 

funeral  pile,  and  perishes' 


and  in  Rameses  the  Great, 
120.  Various  accounts  of 
him,  85.  A  personage 
made  up  of  several  kings 
of  difi'erent  epochs,  85. 
Greek  legend  of,  120.     His 

law  ni;dcva  KaTaKXineiV  xJ/ii 
TTarpwai'  Tt'xnji',  183. 


cations  of  the  name,  520.  Set  or  Soutekh  (the  Egyp- 
How  it  is  applied  by  He-     tian   name  of  Baal),  the 
siod   and  ^schylus,  520.      God  of  the  Hittites,  1)9. 
Derivation  of  the  word,  Sethos,  the  priest-king  of 
520.     Asiatic  and  Europe-      Herodotus,  15G. 
an  Scyths,  511,  521.  Seti  I.,  king  of  Egypt,  119. 

His  magnificent  buildings, 
119.  Reliefs  and  inscrip- 
tions in  the  Hall  of  Col- 
umns, in  the  palace  of 
Karnak,  a  Setheid  of  his 
exploits,  119,  120.  Began 
the  canal  uniting  the  Nile 
to  the  Red  Sea,  120. 
—  II.  (son  of  Menephtha), 
regains  the  throne  from 
the  kings  of  Chev,  129. 


sole  (lueen,  250.  Her  pro- 
digious edifices,  250.  Re- 
proached for  her  debauch- 
eries and  threatened  with' 
crucifixion  by  the  Indian] 


king,  250.     Her  own 
ord    of    her    deeds,    250. 
Stories  of  her  amours,  251. 
Apotheosis    of,    251.    An 
historical  Semiramis,  29G. 


ec-  Shalmaneser  I.,  the  first 
known  Assyrian  conquer- 
or,  263. 

—  II.,  statue  of,  268.     The 
Black  Obelisk  kin-:,  288. 


Semitic  languages,  25.     D'l-     His  cam))aigns,  21 


vided  into  Semitic  proper! 
and  Sub-Semitic,  26.  Ta-J 
ble  of  the  Semitic  familyi 
of  languages,  29. 
Sennacherib,  reign  of,  31 C. 
His  recovery  of  a  signet-  - 
ring  of  an  ancient  prede-! 


with  his  wives  and  con- 
cubines, 252. 

Sardis,  capital  of  Syria,  493. 
Pronunciation  of  the 
word,  4it3.  Siege  of,  547. 
Captured  by  Cyrus,  300. 

Sargon,  founder  of  the  dy- 
nasty of  Bubastis,  141. 

,  or  Sarkin,  a  milita- 
ry adventurer,  309.  His 
campaigns,  309.  One  of 
the  most  splendid  kings 
and  successful  warriors 
of  Assyria,  309.  His  an- 
nals exist  in  two  forms,! 
309.  Victory  over  the| 
Egyptians  at  Raphia,  310. i 
Expeditions  against  the( 
Medes,  Parthian  s,  and| 
other  nations,  310.  Cap- 
ture of  Ashdod,  311.  Em-i 
bassies  to  him  from  Cy- 
prus and  Asmun,  312.  As-' 
sassinated,  313.  His  de-I 
scription  of  his  palace  at 
Khorsabad,  313.  Fruit-j 
less  siege  of  Tyre,  625. 
Expedition  against  Cy- 
prus, 620. 

Sa'ssanids,  their  sacred 
leather  standard,  419. 

Satellite  of  Jupiter  seen 
with  the  naked  eye,  403. 

Satrapies,  Persian,  591.    Ex-|Serapis,  worship  of,  202, 
planation  of  the  word  sa-:Serbonis,  morass  of  the  Ser- 
trap,  591.  !     bonian  bog,  36. 

Scribes,  Egyptian   corpora-  Seeortat^eu    I.,   founder    of 
tion  of,  193.  Egyptian  Thebes,  84. 

Sculpture,  Egyptian  style  of, 11.,    prototype    of   the 

90.    The  product  of  relig-     Greek  Sesostris,  his  deifi- 
ion,  207.     Its  spirit  sym-     cation,  85.     His  brick  pvr- 
bolism    and    repose,  208.      amid  of  Dashoor,  86. 
Harmonious    rhythm    of  Sesostris     of    the     Greeks 


Re- 
bellion of  his  eldest  sou 
subdued  by  a  younger, 
294. 

—  III.,    expeditions    of, 
298. 

—  IV.  destroys  the  king- 
dom    of     Samaria,     307. 

cessor,  263.      Reconquers      His    maritime    campaign 
Babylon,  318.     And  Phoe-!     against  Tyre,  308. 
nicia,  154,  318,  626.     Victo-  Shekel,  its  value,  137. 
rv  at  Altaku  over  Egypt  She  mite  race,  24. 
and    Ethiopia,    154,  '321.  Sheshonk  I.,  the  first  Pha- 
Besieges   Jerusalem,  320.      raoh  mentioned  in  Scrip- 
And    Lachish,    321.      His     ture  by  his  personal  name 
armv  destroved  bv  a  mir-'     (Shishak),  143. 
acle,'  156,  322.      His  fleet  Shinar,  land   of,  242.     The 
built  on  Phoenician  mod-i     kingdom    of    Amraphel, 
els,  323.    Murdered  by  hisi     238. 
two  sons,  255,  .324.    A  type  Shishali  or  Sheshouk,  143. 
of  Oriental  despotism  in  Sicily,    Greek    colonization 
its   unmitigated   ferocity,  [     of,  625. 
255,324.     His  faith  in  as-j Sidereal  and  Cosmic  deities, 
trology,    405.     His    royall     411. 

cylinder,    410.      Rock-in-jSidon,  the  most  ancient  city 
scription  at  Bavian,  269.      of  Phoenicia,  6(»7.     Its  col- 
Lesson  of  his  reign,  325.1     ouies  and  commerce,  C13. 
Destroyed     by    Esarhad- 
dou,  326.     Bv  Artaxerxes 
Ochus,  633.  'Still  a  place 
of     considerable     traflic, 
635. 
Sidonian,  generic  use  of  the 
name  for  Phoenician,  626. 
Superiority   of  the   fleet, 
6.32.     The  Sidonians  burn 
their  own  city,  5SS. 
Silsilis,    breaking    of    the 
rocky  bar  of  the^Nile  at,  88. 
Sippara,  huge  reservoir  near, 

355. 
Skulls,  Persian   and  Egyp- 
tian compared,  555. 


His   palace   at   Koyuujik 

(Nineveh),  325. 
Seraglio,  disorders    of  the; 

Persian,  582.  I 

Serapeum    (the    temple    of! 

Apis),  a  misnomer,  292. 


like   post-ares    of  several!     traced  in  Sesortasen,  84;  Smerdis,  formation   of  his 


C48 


SOGDIANUS. 


INDEX. 


TYRE. 


name  from  the  Persiau 
original,  553.  Murdered 
by  Cambyses,  551. 

Sogdianus,  reigii  of,  5S4. 

Soli  in  Cilicia,4T6. 

Solomon's  affinity  with  Pha- 
raoh, 136.     His  great  com-jTel-Basta  (the  hill  of  Pasht), 
mercial  empire,'  137.  |     i  r  jat  mounds  of,  142. 

Solon's   visit   to    Sais,   161.|Teiuple     (Egyptian),    coin- 


His  preaching  to  Croesus 
an  anachronism,  543. 

Solymi  (the)  in  Lycia  of 
Semitic  race,  4T4.  Con- 
flicts of  Bellerophon  and 
other  mythical  heroes 
with  them,  477.  Origin 
of  the  name,  477.  Their 
descendants  akin  to  the 
Karamanians,  47S. 

Soss,  ner,  and  sar  of  Chal- 
dsean  astronomy,  401. 

Sothic  and  vulgar  (Egyp- 
tian) years,  40.' 

Spai'ethra's  (Queen)  army 
of  women,  549. 

gphiux,    the    colossal,    GO. 
Symbolical       of 
united  with  intelligence, 
07. 

Stranger  kings  of  Egypt, 
117. 

Stratford  de  Redclyffe 
(Lord),  the  collection  of 
Assyrian  monuments  in 
the  British  Museum  main- 
ly due  to,  278. 

Suez  Canal,  inscription  stat- 
ing that  it  was  completed 
by  Darius,  172.  Route  of 
the  canal  of  M.  do  Les- 
seps,  172. 

Sufletes  at  Carthage  and 
Tyre,  631. 


Tatta  Palus,  the  461.  Thrasybulus,  tyrant  of  Mile 

Taurus,  chain  of,  459.  tus,  510. 

Taxation  of  land,  tiiree  cate-  Thyni  and  Bithyni,  470. 

gorics  of  Egyptian,  193.       Tidal,  king  of  nations,  238. 
Taylor  cylinder  in  the  Brit-  Tiglath-pileser,  meaning  of 

ish  Museum,  317.  !     the  name,  254. 

—  I.,  his  cylinders  in- 
scribed with  cuneiform 
characters,  205.  Annals 
of,  265.  Five  campaigns, 
266.  First  organized  As- 
syria as  an  empire,  267. 

—  II.  an  obscure  adven- 
turer, 301.  Records  of  his 
wars,  303.  Reduction  of 
Syria  and  Palestine,  303. 

Tigranes  of  Armenia,  532. 
Story  of  his  conquest  of 
Asryages,  533. 
Tigris,  course  of  the,  223. 
Etymology  identifying  it 
with    the     Hiddekel     of 
Eden,   22.3.     Its   junction 
with  the  Euphrates,  223. 
Tirhakah,  king  of  Ethiopia, 
regains  his  power  over  all 
)oweriThebes  (Egyptian),  35.     ln-|     Egypt,  159. 

fancy  of  the  monarchy  of,  .Tissaphernes's  policy  of  cre- 
83.    'its  epithet  hecatom-     ating  division  among  the 
pylos,    104.      Gates     and!     Greek  states,  585.     Sacri- 
war-chariots,    104.     Vari-j     ticed  to   the    revenge  of 
ous      names,     104.       Site;     Parysatis,  58.5. 
marked    by    the    villagesiTnephacbthus,  curse  on  Me- 
of   Karnak,    Luxor,    etc.,!     nes  pronounced  by,  147. 
105.      Principal    edifices,  |Tomyris's      (Queen)      ven- 
100.    Vast  necropolis,  106.1     geance  on  Cyrus,  549. 
Trade,  manufactures,  and  Transplantation  of  popnla- 
religion,  107.     Linen   fab-j     ticms,  Assyrian  policy  of, 


pleie  form  of  an,  207. 
Exterior  appendages  of 
sphinxes,  obelisks,  and 
colossi,  207. 

Temple  of  Jerusalem  burnt, 
351.  Dates  of  its  build- 
ing and  destruction,  130. 

Temple  -  towers  (Babylo- 
nian), their  astronomical 
character,  360.  The  Birs- 
i-Nimrud  the  most  perfect 
example,  309. 

Terrailae,  a  name  of  the  Ly- 
cians,  483. 

Teuthrania  and  Teuthras, 
472. 

Thasos,  gold  mines  of,  620. 


nc,  107.  The  sacerdotal 
capital  of  all  who  worship 
Amnion,  107.  Its  fall,  107. 
Succession  of  its  kings, 
108. 


Sultan  denotes  a  rank  below  jThefr,  curious  Egyptian  law 


that  of  a  king,  310. 

Sun  (the),  Egyptian  personi- 
fications of,  197. 

Sun-dial  and  its  gnomon, 
402. 

Supreme  Being,  various 
names  of  the,  417. 

Susa,  chief  capital  of  the 
Persian  empire,  579. 

Syene,  the  sun  vertical  at 
the  summer  solstice  at,  34. 

Symbolism  in  the  whole 
religion  of  Egypt,  200. 
Three  stages  of,  201. 

Symbols,  Egyptian,  sug- 
gested by  the  solar  course, 
197.  Degenerating  into 
the  actual  worship  of  liv- 
ing animals,  202. 

Syria,  derivation  of,  248. 


of,  192 

Thirty,    Egyptian    supreme 
court  of,  192. 

Thothmes  I.  begins  the  tem- 
ple of  Kainak,  110. 
—  III.,  his  reign  the  cli- 
max of  the  power  of 
Egyi)l,  111.  Extent  of 
her  empire  under  him. 
111.  The  Numerical  wall 
of  Karnak  the  record  of 
his  exploits.  111.  His  vic- 
tory  over  the  Assyrians 


312. 

Triads  of  Egyptian  deities, 
199.  The  universal  triad 
of  Osiris,  Isis,  and  Horus, 
199.  Each  triad  consist- 
ing in  the  worship  of  fa- 
ther, mother,  and  son,  197. 
The  triad  of  Thebes,  198. 
Of  Memphis,  199.  Of  Her- 
monthis,  199. 

Tripolis,  the  threefold  Phoe- 
nician colony  of,  611. 

Turanian     family     of  lau- 


niages. 


Turvas,  or 


Turanians,  represented  by 
the  Tatar  and  Finnish 
tribes,  419.  A  Japhetic 
race,  42(».  The  Moschi 
and  Tibareni,  403. 


at  Megiddo,  112.  Con- Turin  papyrus,  the  chief  ex- 
quest  of  Coele- Syria  in  tant  specimen  of  Egyp- 
his  sixth  expedition,  112.1  tian  historical  literature, 
Conquest  of  Nineveh  andj     216. 

Babylon,  112.      Maritime  Tyre,  its  antiquity  inferior 
113.      Record    ofi     to  that  of  Sidon,  606.    Old 


power 

his  conquest  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifteen  African 
tribes,  113.  General  view 
of  the  nations  subdued  by 
hin\  113.  Head  and  arm 
of  his  colossal  statue  in 
he  British  Museum,  114. 


Tfuiis,  the   Greek   form  of 

Zoan,  the  Avaris  of  the 

Shepherd  kings,  157.     Itsl 

ruins,  138.     Becomes  the  Thrace,  much  of  Greek  po 

capital  of  Egypt,  139.     De-|     etic  culture  traced  to,  44. 

scription  of  its  site,  140.      Thracians  akin  to  the  Ten 
Tarsus,  foundation  of,  475.    |    tonic  family,  470. 


Tyre,  610  Connection  of 
its  form  Sarra  with  Syria, 
010.  Distant  voyages  to 
the  West,  016.  Succes- 
sion of  kings,  019.  Three 
sieges  by  Sargon,  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, and  Alexan- 
der, 025.  Ezekiel's  his- 
torical picture  of  its  re- 
sources, 027.  Its'  exulta- 
tion over  the  fall  of  Jem- 


INDEX. 


ZUR. 


049 


salem,  629.  Wealth  aud 
power  before  its  fall,  352. 
Thirteen  years'  siege  of, 
352,  G29.  Captured  by  the 
Saraceus,  634.  Its  pres- 
ent state,  634,  Tyrian 
purple,  60U. 

U. 

Urukh  and  Ilgi,  inscriptions 
of,  237. 

,  seal  of  king,  376.  j 

Urumiyeh,  Lake,  444. 


Van,  lake  aud  kingdom  of, 

532. 
Veisdates,  the  second  Psen- 

do-Smerdis,  574. 

W. 

Walls  of  Babylouian  forts 
and  cities,  382. 

Weights  awl  measures 
handed  dawn  through 
Phoeuid-a  and  Greece,  400. 

West  (the),  the  laud  of 
darkness  and  death,  72. 

Wheat  indigenous  in  Meso- 
potamia, 226. 

White  Syrians,  464. 

wall  of  Memphis,  5S3, 

Word  (the  Creative),  dia- 
logue of  Zoroaster  with 
Ahuramazda  respecting, 
426. 

Writing  ofimmemorial  an- 
tiquity iu  Egypt  and  Mes- 
opotamia, 383.  Babyloni- 
an, originally  hieroglyph- 
ic, 3S?.  First  departure 
from  strict  picture  writ- 
ing, 3SS. 


Xanthiau  trophy,  4S5. 


Xauthus,  defense  aud  cap-| 
ture  of,  4S4.  I 

Xerxes,  derivation  of  the^ 
name,  5S1.  Genealogy  of, ! 
536.  Preferred  to  his  eld- j 
er    half-brother    by    Ihei 

I  influence  of  his  mother,  j 
Atossa,  5S0.   Murder'^dby 

'     Artabanus,  5S2,  i 

■ II.  murdered,  5S4. 

Xisuthrus,  deluge  of,  23.3. 

Xoite  kings,  dynasty  of,  93. 

Y. 

Yavanas,    the    branch     of 

the  Aryan   family  which 

spread  over  Europe,  415. 
.  .  . 


Their  lanie  preserved  in  Zopyrus, 
the  Javan  of  Genesis,  and     570. 
in  the  Greek  lonians,  415. 
Their  immigrations  west- 
ward, 419. 

Yazatas  and  Fervers,  430, 
431. 

Yezidis  or  devil  -  worship- 
pers, 438. 

Young's  (Dr.)  discovery  of 
the  phonetic  nature  of  hi- 
eroglyphics, 212.  The  key 
to  hieroglyphics  found  by 
him  applied  by  Champ' i- 
liou,  212. 


elements  cS  the  Medo- 
Persian  religion  in  the, 
421.  Its  contents,  422. 
The  revelation  of  Mazde- 
ism  m!.('>9  to  Zoroaster, 
424.  Its  .doctrine  of  re- 
wards aid  punishments, 
433. 

Zeno  the  I-saurian,  479. 

Zicharbafil,  the  Sichseus  of 
Virgil,  623. 

Ziggurats  or  temple-towers, 
Assyriae,  2o7,  369.  Eola- 
tion between  the  Babylo- 
nian temple-towers  and 
the  Egypthm  pyramids, 
370.  The  ziggurats  quasi- 
eligious,  380. 

elf-mutilation  of. 


Z. 

Zarvaniaus,  the  (represent- 
ed by  the  Guebres  audi 
Parsees),  their  tenets,  I 
429.  i 

Zedekiah's rebellion  against! 
Nebuchadnezzar,  850.  His  i 
league  with  Pharaoh-' 
Hophra,  350. 

Zend  language,  one  of  the 
oldest  forms  of  Aryan , 
speech,  423.  Its  remains, 
423. 

Zeudavesta,    the 


■ ,  rebellion     of,  against 

Artaxerxes,  5S3. 

Zoroaster,  meaning  of  the 
traditioa  that  he  reigued 
as  conqueror  at  Babylon, 
235.  His  duf.J4stic  doc- 
trine of  opposite  divine 
principles,  4*27.  Great  re- 
ligious reform,  4*21.  Re- 
mote date,  421.  Legends 
of  his  personal  history, 
422.  The  scene  Qi  his 
mission  Bactriaua,  422. 
Marvels  recorded  as  at- 
tendant on  his  birth  and 
career,  422.  His  doctrine 
a  reaction  from  polythe- 
ism aud  pantheistic  nat- 
uralism, 424.  Dialogue 
with  Ormazd,  426.  Zoro- 
astrianism  a  pure  nxouo- 
theistic  reli;^ion,  426.  Its 
perversion  into  dualism, 
427.  Morality  of  the  Zo- 
roastrian  faith  simple  and 
pure,  433.  Its  abhorrence 
of  all  idolatry,  435. 

Zur  (the  ancient  Tyre),  now 
essential  I    a  miserable  village,  634. 


THE  END. 


VALUABLE  AND  INTERESTING  WORKS, 


FOR 


PUBLIC  AxND  PIUYATE  LIBUAIUES 

Published  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  Xew  York. 


tW  For  a  full  List  of  Bonks  suitable  f«r  Libraries  pttUished  by  Hai:pir  &  Broth- 
ers, see  Uakvku's  Cataloguk,  ichicJi  mai/  be  had  <fratmtousl>/  an  apnlica 
turn  ti,  the  imbhshens  personally^  or  by  letter  enclosing  Ten  Cents  in  nostaat 
fitiimps.  -*         ^ 

SW'Thc  above  works  are  for  sale  by  all  booksellers^  or  will  be  sent  by  Harpkk  & 
Bkotiikks  to  any  address,  postage  prepaid  iexcept  school  and  college  text- 
books indicated  by  an  asterisk  (*),  to  the  list  price  of  which  10  p<-r  cent- 
should  be  added  for  postage],  on  receipt  of  price. 

BOSWELL'S  LIFE  OF  JOHNSON,  Including  Boswell's  Journal  of  a 
Tour  to  the  Hebrides,  and  Johnson's  Diary  of  a  Journey  into  North 
Wales.  Edited  by  George  Birkbeck  Hill,  D.C.L.,  Pembroke 
College,  Oxford.    6  vols.,  Cloth,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $10  00, 

THE  JOURNAL  OF  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT,  1825-1832.  From  the 
Original  Manuscript  at  Abbotsford.  With  Two  Portraits  and  En- 
graved Title-pages.  2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt 
Tops,  %1  50;  Half  Calf,  $12  00.  Also  a  Popular  Edition  in  one 
volume,  CroAvn  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

STUDIES  IN  CHAUCER:  His  Life  and  Writings.  By  Thomas  R. 
LouNSBURY,  Professor  of  Englisli  in  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School 
of  Yale  University.  With  a  Portrait  of  Chaucer.  3  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth, 
Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $9  00.     (/«  «  Box.) 

INDIKA.  The  Country  and  the  People  of  India  and  Ceylon.  By 
John  F.  IIiust,  D.D.,  LL.D.  With  6  Maps  and  250  Illustrations, 
8vo,  Cloth,  ,p  75;   Half  Morocco,  |5  75. 

MOTLEY'S  LETTERS.  The  Correspondence  of  John  Lothrop  Mot- 
ley,  D.C.L.  Edited  by  George  William  Curtis.  With  Portrait. 
2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $7  00;   Sheep,  $8  00;   Half  Calf,  $11  50. 

MACAULAY'S  ENGLAND.  Tlie  History  of  England  from  the  Ac- 
cession of  James  II.  By  Thomas  Babington  Macaulay.  5  vols., 
in  a  Box,  8vo,  Cloth,  with  Paper  Labels,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt 
Tops,  $10  00;  Sheep,  $12  50;  Half  Calf,  $21  25.  Also  5  vols.. 
12mo,  Cloth,  $2  50 ;   Sheep,  $3  75. 

MACAULAY'S  MISCELLANEOUS  WORKS.  The  Miscellaneous 
Works  of  Lord  Macaulay.  5  vols.,  in  a  Box,  8vo,  Cloth,  with 
Paper  Labels,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  'J'ops,  $10  00;  Sheep,  $13  50,- 
Half  Calf,  $21   25. 


8  Valuable  and  Interesting  Works. 

HUME'S  ENGLAND.  History  of  England,  from  the  Invasion  of 
Julius  CiEsar  to  the  Abdication  of  James  II.,  1688.  By  Da  vie 
HuMi:.  6  vols.,  in  a  Box,  8vo,  Cloth,  with  Paper  Labels,  Uncut 
Edges*and  Gilt  Tops,  $12  00;  Sheep,  $15  00;  Half  Calf,  $2r.  50. 
Also  6  vols.,  in  a  Box,  12mo,  Cloth,  $3  00  ;   Sheep,  $4  50. 

FHE  WORKS  OF  OLIVER  GOLDSMITH.  Edited  hy  Paxnp 
Cunningham,  F.S.A.  4  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  Fajjer  Labels,  Uncut 
Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $8  00;  Sheep,  $10  00;   Half  Calf,  $17  00. 

THE  RISE  OF  THE  DUTCH  REPUBLIC.  A  History.  By  John 
LoTHROP  Motley,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.  With  a  Portrait  of  AVilliam  of 
Orange.  3  vols.,  in  a  Box.  8vo,  Cloth,  with  Paper  Labels,  Uncut 
Edges  nnd   Gilt  Tops,  $G  00;    Sheep,  $7  50;    Half  Calf,  $12  75. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  NETHERLANDS :  From  the  Death 
of  William  the  Silent  to  the  Twelve  Years'  Truce — 1548-1G09.  W^ith 
a  full  View  of  the  English-Dutch  Struggle  against  Spain,  and  of  the 
Origin  and  Destruction  of  the  Spanish  Armada.  By  John  Lothrop 
Motley,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.  Portraits.  4  vols.,  in  a  Box,  8vo,  Cloth, 
with  Paper  Labels,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $8  00 ;  Sheep, 
$10  00;   Half  Calf,  $17  00. 

THE  LIFE  AND  DEATH  OF  JOHN  OF  BARNEVELD,  Advo- 
cate of  Holland,  With  a  View  of  the  Primary  Causes  and  Move- 
ments of  the  "Thirty  Years'  War."  By  John  Lothuop  MotleV, 
LL.D.,  D.C.L.  Illustrated.  2  vols.,  in  a  Box,  8vo,  Cloth,  with 
Paper  Labels,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $4  00;  Sheep,  $5  00; 
Half  Calf,  $8  50. 

GIBBON'S  ROME.  The  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Ro- 
man Empire.  By  Edward  Gibbon.  With  Notes  by  Dean  Mil- 
man,  M.  GuizoT,  and  Dr.  William  Smith.  G  vols.,  in  a  Box,  8vo, 
Cloth,  with  Paper  Labels,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $12  00; 
Sheep,  $15  00;  Half  Calf,  $25  50.  Also  6  vols.,  in  a  Box,  12mo. 
Cloth,  $3  00 ;   Sheep,  $4  50. 

A  DICTIONARY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  Pronounc- 
ing, Etymological,  and  Explanatory:  embracing  Scientific  and  other 
Terms,  Numerous  Famili*-  Terms,  and  a  Copious  Selection  of  Old 
English  Words.  By  the  llev.  James  Stormonth.  The  Pronuncia- 
tion Revised  bv  the  Rev.  P.  H.  Phelp,  M.A.  Imperial  8vo,  Cloth, 
$5  00;   Half  Roan,  $6  50;  Full  Sheep,  $6  50. 

THARAOHS,  FELLAHS,  AND  EXPLORERS.  By  Amelia  Bo 
Edwards.  Illustrated.  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  Uncut  Edges  and 
Gilt  Top,  $4  00. 

RECOLLECTIONS  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  and  His  Adminis- 
tration. By  Lucius  E.  Chittenden,  his  Register  of  the  Treasury. 
"With  Portrait.  8vo,  Cloth,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Top,  $2  60  ;  Half 
Calf,  $4  75. 


Valuable  and  Interesting  U^o?'ks. 


A.  MANUAL  OF  HISTORICAL  LITERATURE,  comprising  Brief 
Descriptions  of  the  most  Important  Histories  in  English,  French, 
and  German,  together  with  Practical  Suggestions  as  to  Methods  and 
Coursec  of  Historical  Stv.dy,  for  the  Use  of  Students,  General  Read- 
ers, and  Collector?  of  Books.  By  Charles  Kendall  Adams,  LL.D. 
Third  Edition,  Revised  and  Enlarged.      Crown  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

SLIOS,  the  City  and  Country  of  the  Trojans.  A  Narrative  of  the  Most 
Recent  Discoveries  and  Researches  made  on  the  Plain  of  Troy.  By 
Dr.  Henry  Schliemann.  Maps,  Plans,  and  Illustrations.  Impeo 
rial  8vo,  Illuminated  Cloth,  $7  50;  Half  Morocco,  $10  00. 

TROJA.  Results  of  the  Latest  Researches  and  Discr>veries  on  the 
Site  of  Homer's  Troy,  and  in  the  Heroic  Tumuli  a.id  other  Sites, 
made  in  the  Year  1882,  and  a  Narrative  of  a  Journey  in  the  Troad 
in  1881.  By  Dr.  Henry  Schliemann.  Preface  by  Professor  A. 
H.  Sayce.  With  Wood-cuts,  Maps,  and  Plans.  8vo,  Cloth,  $5  00; 
Half  Morocco,  $7  50. 

THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS.  By  Theodore  Child. 
Illustrated  by  T.  de  Thulstrup,  Frederic  Remington,  William 
Hamilton  Gibson,  W.  H.  Rogers,  and  other  Eminent  Artists. 
Large  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  $3  50. 

ART  AND  CRITICISM.  Monographs  and  Studies.  By  Theodore 
Child.  Richly  Illustrated.  Large  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  Uncut 
Edges  and  Gilt  Toj),  $6  00.     (In  a  Box.) 

HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  By  Richard  Hildreth. 
First  Series:  From  the  Discovery  of  the  Continent  to  the  Organ-' 
ization  of  the  Government  under  the  Federal  Constitution.  Second 
Series:  From  the  Adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution  to  the  end 
of  the  Sixteenth  Congress.  Also  6  vols.,  in  a  Box,  8vo,  Cloth,  with 
Paper  Labels,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $12  00  ;  Sheep,  $15  00  • 
Half  Calf,  $25  00. 

MEMOIR  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  LAURENCE  OLIPHANT  and  of 

Alice  Oliphant,  his  wife.     By  Margaret  Oliphant  W.  Oliphant. 
2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $7  00.      {In  a  Box.) 

EPISODES  IN  A  LIFE  OF  ADVENTURE;  or,  Moss  Ooui  a  Roll= 
ing  Stone.     By  Laurence  Oliphant.      12mo,  Cloth,  $1   25, 

HAIFA  ;  OR,  LIFE  IN  iMODERN  PALESTINE.  By  Laurunck 
Oliphant.  Edited,  with  Introduction,  by  Charles'  A.  Dana 
12mo,  Cloth,  $1    75. 

CONSTITUTIONAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  from 
their  Declaration  of  Independence  to  thi  Close  of  their  Civil  War. 
By  Ghorge  Ticknor  Curtis.  In  two  Volumes.  Vol.  I.,  Svo,  Cloth. 
Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Top,  $3  00. 

OUR  ITALY.  An  Exposition  of  the  Climate  and  Resources  of  South- 
ern California.  By  Charles  Dudley  Wakser.  Illustrated.  8v6, 
Cloth,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Top.  $2  f,0.  ,  , 


Valuable  and  Interesting  Works. 


LONDON  LETTERS,  AND  SOME  OTHERS.  By  Gborgk  W. 
Smalley,  London  Correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune.  2  vols. 
Vol  I.  Personalities — Two  Midlothian  Campaigns.  Vol.  II.  Notes 
on  Social  Life  —  Notes  on  Parliament  —  Pageants  —  Miscellanie'" 
8vo,  Cloth,  Unent  Edges  ajid  Gilt  Tops,  ^G  00. 

LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  GENERAL  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON 
(Stonewall  Jackson).  By  His  Wife,  Mary  Anna  Jackson.  With 
an  Introduction  by  Henry  M.  Field,  D.D.  Illustrated.  8vo, 
Cloth,  $2  00. 

TOLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  RECENT  TIMES  (1816-1875).  With 
Special  Reference  to  Germany.  By  William  Muller.  Trans- 
lated, with  an  Appendix  covering  the  Period  from  1876  to  1881,  hy 
the  Rev.  John  P.  Peters,  Ph.D.      12mo,  Cloth,  f  2  00. 

ailE  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  LORD  MACAULAY.  By  his 
Nephew,  George  Otto  Trevelyan,  M.P.  With  Portrait  on  Steel. 
2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $5  00  ;  Sheep, 
$6  00;  Half  Calf,  $9  50.  Popular  Edition,  two  vols,  in  one,  12mo, 
Cloth,  f  1   75. 

THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  CHARLES  JAMES  FOX.  By  George 
Otto  Trevelyan.  8vo,  Cloth,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $2  50; 
Half  Calf,  $4  75. 

MEMOIRS  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  DIX.  Compiled  by  his  Son,  Mor- 
gan Dix.  With  Five  Steel-plate  Portraits.  2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth, 
Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $5  00. 

THROUGH  THE  DARK  CONTINENT;  or,  The  Sources  of  the 
Nile,  Around  the  Great  Lakes  of  Equatorial  Africa,  and  Down  the 
Livingstone  River  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  149  Illustrations  and  10 
Maps.  By  H.  M.  Stanley.  2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $7  50 ;  Sheep, 
$9  50;  Half  Morocco,  $12   00. 

THE  CONGO  and  the  Founding  of  its  Free  State,  a  Story  of  Work 
and  Exploration.  With  over  One  Hundred  F'lill-page  and  smaller 
Illustrations,  Two  Large  Maps,  and  several  smaller  ones.  By  H.  M. 
Stanley.  2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $7  50;  Sheep,  $9  50;  Half  Morocco, 
$12  00. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  PEOPLE.  By  John  Richard 
Green,  M.A.  With  Maps.  4  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  50  per  vol. 
Volumes   sold   separately.       Complete   sets.  Sheep,  $12   00;    Half 

•    Calf,  $19  00. 

THE  MAKING  OF  ENGLAND.  By  John  Richard  Green.  Witfc 
Maps.      8vo,  Cloth,  $2  50;   Sheep,  $3  00;   Half  Calf,  $4  75. 

THE   CONQUEST   OF   ENGLAND.      By  John    Richard   Green. 

WiMi  Maps.      8vo,  Cloth,  %2  50;   Sheep,'$3  00;  Half  Calf,  $4  75. 

A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  PEOPLE.  By  Joh!^ 
Richard  Green,  M.A.  Revised  and  Erdarged.  With  ColoretS 
Maps  and  Tables.      Svo,  Cloth,  $1   20.    , 


Valuable  and  Interesting   Works. 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  MIDNIGHT  SUN.  Sjmmer  und  Winter 
Journeys  in  Sweden,  Norway,  Lapland,  and  Northern  Finland.  By 
Paul  B.  Du  Chaillu.  Illustrated.  2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $7  50; 
Half  Calf,  $12  00. 

CYCLOPEDIA  OF  UNITED  STATES  HISTORY.  From  the  Ab- 
original  Period  to  1876.  By  Benson  J.  Lossing.  Illustrated  by 
2  Steel  Portraits  and  over  1000  Engravings.  2  vols.,  Royal  Svo. 
Cloth,  $10  00;    Sheep,  $12  00;   Half  Morocco,  $15  00. 

PICTORIAL  FIELD-BOOK  OF  THE  REVOLUTION;  or.  Illus- 
trations by  Pen  and  Pencil  of  the  History,  Biography,  Scenery,  Relics, 
and  Traditions  of  the  War  for  Independence.  By  Bi:nson  J.  Los- 
sing. 2  vols.,  Svo,  Cloth,  $U  00;  Sheep  or  Roiui,  $15  00;  Half 
Calf,  $18  00. 

PICTORIAL  FIELD-BOOK  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1812  ;  or,  Illus- 
trations by  Pen  and  Pencil  of  the  History,  Biography,  Scenery, 
Relics,  and  Traditions  of  the  last  War  for  American  Independenc'e. 
By  Benson  J.  Lossing.  8vo,  Cloth,  $7  00;  Sheep  or  Roan,  $8  50; 
Half  Calf,  $10  00. 

ENGLISH  MEN  OF  LETTERS.  Edited  by  John  Mokley.  The 
following  volumes  are  now  ready: 

JoiiNSO.v.  By  I..  Stephen.— Gibbon.  By  J.  C.  Morison.— Scott.  By  R.  H.  Hut- 
ton.— Shelley.  By  J.  A.  Symonds.— Goldsmith.  By  W.  Black.— Hume.  By  Pro- 
fessor Huxley.— Defoe.  By  W.  Minto.— Burns.  By  Principal  Shairp.— Spenser. 
By  R.  W.  Church.— Thackeray.  By  A.  Trollope.— Burke.  By  J.  Horley.— Mil- 
ton. By  JI.  Pattison.— SouTHEY.  By  E.  Dowdeu.— Chaucer.  By  A.  W.  Ward.— 
BuNYAN.  By  J.  A.  Froude.— CowPER.  By  G.  Smith.— Pope.  By  L.  Stephen.— By- 
ron. By  J.  Nichols.— Locke.  By  T.  Fowler.— Wordsworth.  By  F.  W.  H.  Myers. 
—Hawthorne.  By  Henry  James,  Jr.— Dryden.  By  G.  Saintsbury.— Landor.  By 
S.  Colvin.— De  Quincey.  By  D.  Masson.— Lamb.  By  A.  Ainger.— Bentley.  By 
R  C.  Jcbb.— Dickens.  By  A.  W.  Ward.- Gray.  By  E.  AV.  Gosse.— Swift.  By  L. 
Stephen.— Sterne.  By  H.  D.  Traill.  —  Macaulay.  By  J.  C.  Morison.— Fielding. 
By  A.  Dobsou.— Sheridan.  By  Mrs.  Oliphant.— Addison.  By  W.  J.  Courthope.— 
Bacon.  By  R.  AY.  Church.— Coleridge.  By  H.  D.  Traill.— Sir  Philip  Sidney.  By 
J.  A.  Symonds.— Keats.     By  S.  Colvin.     12mo,  Cloth,  75  cents  per  volume. 

Popular  Edition.  3Q  volumes  in  12,  Cloth,  $12  00  ;  Half  Leather, 
$21  00. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  INQUISITION  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 
By  Hknry  Chakles  Lea.  3  vols.,  Svo,  Cloth.  Uncut  Edges  and 
Gilt  Tops,  $3  00  per  vol. 

THE  MIKADO'S  EMPIRE.  Book  I.  History  of  Jai-an,  from  G(50 
B.C.  to  1872  A.D.  Book  II.  Personal  Experiences,  Observations, 
and  Studies  in  Japan,  from  1870  to  1874.  With  Two  Siipi.lenmnt- 
ary  Chapters:  Japan  in  1883,  1886,  and  1890.  By  W.  E.  Gkiffis. 
Copiously  Illustrated.      Svo,  Cloth,  $4  00;   Half  Calf,  $G  25. 

A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  COLONIES  IN  AMER- 
ICA.  By  Henry  Cabot  Lodge.  With  Colored  Map.  Svo,  Half 
Leather,  $8  00. 


Valuable  and  Interesting  Works. 


THE  LAND  AND  THE  BOOK.  Biblical  Illustrations  drawn  from 
the  Manners  and  Customs,  the  Scenes  and  Scenery,  of  the  Holy 
Land.  By  William  M.  Thomson,  D.D.,  Forty-five  Years  a  Mis- 
sionary in  Syria  and  Palestine.  In  Three  Volumes.  Copiously  Il- 
lustrated. Square  8vo,  Ornamental  Cloth,  per  volume,  $6  00; 
Sheep,  $7  .00 ;  Half  Morocco,  $8  50 ;  Full  Morocco,  Gilt  Edges, 
$10  00.      {Volumes  sold  separately.) 

Volume  I.  Southern  Palkstine  and  Jerusalem. — Volume  II. 
Central  Palestine  and  Phcenicia. — Volume  III.  Lebanon,  Da- 
mascus, AND  Beyond  Jordan. 

Also,  Handsome  Popular  Edition  in  Three  Vols.,  Cloth,  $9  00  per 
Set ;  Half  Leather,  $12  00.     {Sold  only  in  Sets.) 

HISTORY    OF    MEDIEVAL    ART.     By  Dr.  Franz  von  Reber. 

Translated  and  Aaigmented  by  Joseph  Thacher  Clarke.      With  422 
Illustrations,  and  a  Glossary  of  Technical  Terms,     Svo,  Cloth,  $5  00. 

HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  ART.  By  Dr.  Franz  von  Reber.  Re- 
vised by  the  Author.  Translated  and  Augmented  by  Joseph  Thach- 
er Clarke.  With  310  Illustrations  and  a  Glossary  of  Teclmical 
Terms.     8vo,  Cloth,  $3  50. 

THE  INVASION  OF  THE  CRIMEA:  its  Origin,  and  an  Account 
of  its  Progress  down  to  the  Death  of  Lord  Raglan.  By  Alexandkr 
William  Kinglake.  With  Maps  and  Plans.  Six  volumes,  12mo, 
Cloth,  $2  00  per  vol.  ;   Half  Calf,  $22  50  per  set. 

THE  TSAR  AND  HIS  PEOPLE ;  or,  Social  Life  in  Russia.  Pa- 
pers by  Theodore  Child,  Eugene  Melchior  de  Vogije,  Clar- 
ence Cook,  and  Vassili  Verestchagin.  Illustrated.  Square  Svo, 
Cloth,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Top,  $3  00. 

LIFE  OF  BISHOP  MATTHEW  SIMPSON,  of  the  Methodist  Ei)is- 
copal  Church.  By  George  R.  Crooks,  D.D.  Illustrated.  Svo, 
Cloth,  $3  75;  Gilt  Edges,  $4:  25;  Half  Morocco,  $5  25.  {Sold  by 
Subscription.) 

SERMONS  BY  BISHOP  MATTHEW  SIMPSON,  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Edited  by  George  R.  Crooks,  D.D.  8yo, 
Cloth,  $2  50. 

OUTLINES  OF  INTERNATIONAL  LAW,  with  an  Account  of  its 
Origin  and  Sources,  and  of  its  Historical  Developm.ent.  By  Glorge 
B.  Davis,  U.S.A.     Crown  Svo,  Cloth,  $2  00. 

CURIOSITIES  OF  THE  AMERICAN  STAGE.  By  Laurence 
HuTTON.  With  Copious  and  Characteristic  Illustrations.  Crown 
Svo,  Cloth,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Top,  $2  50. 

LITERARY  LANDMARKS  OF  EDINBURGH.  By  Laurence 
Hdtton.     Illustrated.     Post  Svo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  $1  00. 

J^TUDIES  IN  THE  WAGNERIAN  DRAMA.  By  Henry  E.  Kreh- 
BiEL.     Post  Svo,  Cloth,  $1   25. 


Valuable  and  Literesting  Works-. 


CYPRUS :  its  Ancient  Cities,  Tombs,  and  Temples.  A  Narrative  of 
Researches  and  Excavations  during  Ten  Years'  Residence  in  that 
Island.  By  L.  P.  di  Cesnola.  With  Portrait,  Maps,  and  400  Il- 
lustrations.     8vo,  Cloth,  Extra,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Top,  $7  50. 

THE  ANCIENT  CITIES  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD :  Being  Voy- 
ages and  Explorations  in  Mexico  and  Central  America,  from  1857 
to  1882.  By  Desire  Charnay.  Translated  by  J.  Gonino  and 
Helen  S.  Conant.  Illustrations  and  Map.  Roval  Svo,  Ornamental 
Cloth,  Uncut  Edges,  Gilt  Top,  if  G  00. 

A  HISTORY  OF  OUR  OWN  TIMES,  from  the  Accession  of  Queen 
Victoria  to  the  General  Election  of  1880.  Bv  Justin  M'Cartiit, 
M.P.     2  vols.,  12mo,  Cloth,  $2  50;   Half  Calf/.f6  00. 

A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  OUR  OWN  TIMES,  from  the  Acces- 
sion of  Queen  Victoria  to  the  General  Election  of  1880.  By  Justin 
M'Carthy,  M.P.      12mo,  Cloth,  $1   50. 

A  HISTORY  OF  THE  FOUR  GEORGES.  By  Justin  M'Carthy, 
M.P.  In  Four  Volumes.  Vols.  I.  and  II  ,  12mo,  Cloth,  .fl  25 
each. 

THE    FRENCH    REVOLUTION.       By  Jistin  H.  M'Carthy.    In 

Two  Volumes.     Volume  I.  Post  8vo,  Cloth,  ^1  50. 

THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  OF  1789,  as  viewed  in  the  Light  of 
Republican  Institutions.  Bv  John  S.  C.  Abbott.  Illustrated."  Svo 
Cloth,  $3  50  ;   Sheep,  $4  00  ;   Half  Calf,  $5  75. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  NAPOLEON  BONAPARTE.  By  John  S.  C. 
Abbott.  Mnjis,  Illustrations,  and  Portraits.  2  volsl,  8vo,  Cloth, 
$7  00;   Sheep,  $8  00;  Half  Calf,  $11  50. 

NAPOLEON  AT  ST.  HELENA;  or,  Anecdotes  and  Conversations 
of  the  Emperor  during  the  Years  of  his  Captivity.  Collected  from 
the  Memorials  of  Lns  Casas,  O'Meara,  Montholon,  Antommarchi, 
iind  others.  By  John  S.  C.  Abbott.  Illustrated.  8vo,  Coth, 
$3  50  ;  Sheep,  $4  00  ;   Half  Calf,  $5  75. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  FREDERICK  THE  SECOND,  called  Fred- 
erick the  Great.  By  John  S.  C.  Abbott.  Illustrated.  8vo,  Cloth, 
#3  r>0;   Sheep,  $4  00;   Half  Calf,  $n  75. 

STUDIES  OF  THE  GREEK  POETS.  Bv  John  Addington  Sym- 
ONDS.      2  vols.,  Square  IGmo,  Cloth,  $S  50  ;   Half  Calf,  $7  00. 

A  HISTORY  OF  CLASSICAL  GREEK  LITERATURE.  Bv  J.  F. 
Mahaffy.     2  vols.,  12mo,  Cloth,  $4  00;   Half  Calf,  $7  50. 

A  HISTORY  OF  LATIN  LITERATURE,  from  Ennius  to  Boethiu.s. 
By  George  Augustus  Simcox,  M.A.     2  vols.,  12mo,  Cloth,  $4  00. 

TENNYSON'S  COMPLETE  POEMS.  The  Complete  Poetical  Works 
of  Alfred,  Lord  Tennyson.  With  an  Introductory  Sketch  by  Anne 
Thackeray  Ritchie.  With  Portraits  and  Illustrations.  Svo,  Extra 
Cloth,  Bevelled,  GUt  Edges,  ,f  2  50. 


Valuable  and  Interesting  Works. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  EARTH  AND  MAN.     By  J.  W.  Da^vson,  . 
LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  F.G.S.,  rrincipal   and  Vice-Chancellor  of  McGill 
University,  Montreal.     With  Twenty  lUustnitions.     New  and  Revised 
Edition.  '  12mo,  Cloth,  $1  50. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  WORLD,  according  to  Revelation  and  Sci- 
ence.     By  J.  W.  Dawson,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  F.G.S.      12mo,  Cloth, 

$2  00. 

MODERN  SCIENCE  IN  BIliLE  LANDS.  By  Sir  J.  W.  Dawson, 
C.M.G.,   LL.D.,  F.R.S.       M:ips    and    Illustrations.       12nio,  Vjloth, 

^2  00. 

*THE  STUDENT'S  SERIES.    Maps  and  Illustrations.     12mo,  Cloth: . 

Francis. — Gibbon. — GREiiCE. — Rome  (by  Liddell). — Old  Tks- 
TAMKNT  History. — New  Testament  History.  —  Strickland's 
Queens  of  England. — Ancient  History  of  the  East. — Hal- 
lams  Middle  Ages. — Hallam's  Constitutional  History  of  Eng- 
land.— Lyell's  Elements  of  Geology.— Meri vales  General  ■ 
History  of  Rome. — Cox's  General  History  of  Greece. — Clas- 
sical Dictionary. — Skeats  Etymological  Dictionary. — Raw- 
linson's  Ancient  History.      $I  2.5  i)er  volume. 

Lewis's  History  of  Germany. — Ecclesiastical  History,  Two 
Vols.  — Hume's  England.— Modern  Europe.     $1  oO  per  volume. 

Westcott  and  Hort's  Greek  Testament,  $1   00. 

JESUS  CHRIST  IN  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT;  or,  The  Great  Ar- 
guineut.  By  W.  H.  Thomson,  M.A.,  M.D.  Crown  8vo,  Oloth, 
$2  00. 

MODERN  ITALIAN  rOETS.  (1770-1870.)  Essays  and  Versions. 
By  William  Dean  Howells.     With  Portraits.     12mo,  Cloth,  |i2  00. 

SYDNEY  SMITH.  A  Sketch  of  the  Life  and  Times  of  the  Rev. 
Sydnev  Smith.  By  Stuart  J.  Reid.  With  Steel-plate  Portrait  an(' 
Illustrations.      8vJ,  Cloth,  $3  00. 

THE  FALL  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE.  Being  the  Story  of  the 
Fourth  Crusade.     By  Edwin  Pears,  LL.B.     8vo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

CARICATURE  AND  OTHER  COMIC  ART.  in  All  Times  and  Many 
Lands.  By  James  Parton.  20.3  Illustrations.  8vo,  Cloth,  Uncut 
Edges  and  Gilt  Top,  $5  00 ;  Half  Calf,  $7  25. 

GEORGE  ELIOT'S  LIFE.  Related  in  her  Letters  and  Journals. 
Arranged  and  Edited  by  her  Husband,  J.  W.  Cross.  Portraits 
and  Illustrations,  3  vols.,  12mo,  Cloth,  $3  75;  Half  Calf,  p  00. 
Popular  Edition  :   Cloth,  $2  25  ;    Half  Binding,  $2  00. 

COLERIDGE'S  WORKS.  The  Complete  Works  of  Samuel  Taylor 
Coleridge.  With  an  Introductory  Essay  upon  his  Philosophical  and 
Theological  Opinions.  Edited  by  Prof.  W.  G.  T.  Shkdd.  With 
Ste  vtrait,  and  an  Index.      7  vols.,  r2mo,  Cloth,  $2  00  per  voU 

uj  00  per  set ;   Half  Calf,  $24  25. 


iP 


Valuable  and  Interesting  Works.  9 

THE  "FRIENDLY  EDITION"  of  Shakespeare's  Works.  Edited 
bv  W.  J.  RoLFE.  In  Twenty  Volumes.  Illustrated.  16mo,  Gilt 
Toj)s  and  Uncut  Edges.  Cloth,  $25  00 ;  Half  Leather,  $3;')  00  ; 
Half  Calf,  $r)0  00  per  Set. 

LIFE  OF  JAMES  BUCHANAN,  Fifteenth  President  of  the  United 
States.  By  Georgk  Ticknor  Curtis.  With  Two  Steel -Plate 
Portraits.      2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $6  00. 

CYCLOPEDIA  OF  BRITISH  AND  AMERICAN  POETRY.  Ed 
ited  by  Epks  Sargent.  Royal  8vo,  Illuminated  Cloth,  Colored 
Edges,*$-1:  50;   Half  Leather,  $5  00. 

ADVENTURES  IN  THE  GREAT  FOREST  of  Equatorial  Africa 
and  the  Country  of  the  Dwarfs.  By  Paul  Du  Chaillu.  Abridijed 
and  Popular  Edition.  With  Map  and  Illustrations.  Post  Hvo, 
Cloth,  $1   75. 

j^IVINGSTONE'S  ZAMBESL  Narrative  of  aji  Expedition  to  the 
Zambesi  and  its  Tributaries,  and  of  the  Discovery  of  the  Lakes 
Siiirwa  and  Nyassa,  1858  to  1864^.  By  David  and  Charles  Liv- 
ingston!:.    Illustrated.     8vo,Cloth,  $5  00  ;   Sheep,  $5  50. 

THE  LAST  JOURNALS  OF  DAVID  LIVINGSTONE  in  Central 
Africa,  from  18G5  to  his  Death.  Continued  by  a  Narrative  of  his 
Last  Moments,  obtained  from  his  Faithful  Servants  Cluima  and  Susi. 
By  Horace  Waller.  With  Portrait,  Maps,  and  Illustrations.  8vo, 
cloth,  $5  00;  Sheep,  |6  00. 

HISTORY  OF  FRIEDRICH  II.,  called  Frederick  the  Great.  By 
Thomas  Carlyle.  Portraits,  Maps,  Plans,  etc.  6  vols.,  12mo, 
Cloth,  #7  00-,   Sheep,  $0  00;   Half  Calf,  $18  00. 

THE  FRENCH  REVOLU  TION  :  A  History.     By  Thomas  Carlyle. 

2  vols.,  12ino,  Cloth,  $2  50;  Sheep,  $3  30',   Half  Calf,  $G  00. 

OLIVER  CROMWELL'S  LETTERS  AND  SPEECHES,  iucluding 
the  Supplement  to  the  First  Edition.  With  Elucidations.  By 
Thomas  Carlyle.  2  vols.,  12mo,  Cloth,  $2  50;  Sheep,  $3  30; 
Half  Calf,  to  00. 

PAST  AND  PRESENT,  CHARTISM,  AND  SARTOR  RESAR  lUS. 
By  Thomas  Carlyle.     12mo,  Cloth,  $1  25. 

EARLY  KINGS  OF  NORWAY,  AND  THE  FORTRAITS  OF 
JOHN  KNOX.     By  Thomas  Carlyle.      12mo,  Cloth,  $1   25. 

REMINISCENCES  BY  THOMAS  CARLYLE.  Edited  by  J.  A 
Froude.  12mo,  Cloth,  with  Copious  Index,  and  with  Thirteen  Por 
traits,  50  cents. 

BROUGHAM'S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  Life  and  Times  of  Henry, 
Lord  Brougham.    Written  by  Himself.     3  vols.,  12mo,  Cloth,  $6  00. 

MARCUS  AURELIUS  ANTONINUS.     By  Paul  Barron  Watson 

Crown  8vO;  Cloth,  $2  50. 


10  Valuable  and  Interesting  Worhs. 


FROUDE'S  LIFE  OF  THOMAS  CAllLYLE.  Part  I.  A  His- 
tory of  the  First  Forty  Years  of  Carlyle's  Life  (1795-1835).  By 
James  Anthony  Froudk,  M.A.  ^Vith  Portraits  and  Illustrations. 
12ino,  Clotli,  $1  00.  Pai!T  II.  A  History  of  Carlyle's  Life  in  Lon- 
don (1834-1881).  By  Jamks  Anthony  Froude.  Illustrated.  12mo, 
Cloth,  $1  00. 
LIFE    OF    CICERO,       By    Anthony    Trollope.      2   vols.,    12mo, 

Cloth,  %'6  00. 
FROM  EGYPT  TO  PALESTINE.     Through  Sinai,  the  Wilderness, 
and  the  South  Country.     Ohservations  of  a  Journey  made  with  Spe- 
cial Reference  to  the  "Hi.story  of  the  Israelites.     By  S.  C.  Bartlett, 
D.D.     Maps  and  Illustrations.      8vo,  Cloth,  $3  50. 
THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  LOCKE.     By  H.  R.  Fox  Bourne.     2  vols., 

8vo,  Clotli,  J|5  00. 
THE    ATMOSPHERE.      Translated   from    the   French   of  Camii.le 
Flammarion.      With    10  Clnomo- Lithographs  and  8G  Wood-cuts. 
8vo,  Cloth,  i6  00  :    Half  Calf,  $8  25. 
A  TEXT -BOOK   (^F  CHURCH   HISTORY.      By  Dr.  John  C.  L. 
GiESKLER.      Re\i^e^l   and   Edited   hv  Rev.  Henry  B.  Smith,  D.D. 
Vols.  I.,  II.,  III.,  and  IV.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  25  each:  Vol.  V.,  8vo, 
Cloth,  $3  00.      Complete   Sets,  5  vols..  Sheep,  $14  50;   Half  Calf, 
$23  25. 
THE  HUGUENOTS:    their  Settlements,  Churches,  and  Industries  in 
England  and  Ireland.      By  Samuel  Smiles.    With  an  Appendix  re- 
lating to  the  Huguenots  in  America.     Crown  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  00. 
THE  HUGUENOTS  IN  FRANCE  after  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes;  with  a  Visit  to  the  Country  of  the  Vaudois.      By  Sam- 
uel Smiles.     Crown  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  00. 
THE   LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON,  and  of  his  Son,  Robert 
Stephenson  ;   comprising,  also,  a  History  of  the  Invention  and  Intro- 
duction of  the  Railway  Locomotive.      By  Samuel  Smiles.      Illus- 
trated.      8vo,  Cloth,  $3  00. 
THE   VOYAGE    OF   THE    CHALLK^GKR.      The   Atlantic:    an 
Account  of  the  General  Results  of  the  Voyage  during  1873  and  the 
■^urly  Part  of  1870.      By  Sir  Wyvillk  Thomson,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S. 
Jllus'trated.      2vols.,  8vo^  Cloth,  $12  00. 
THE  POETS  AND  POETRY  OF  SCOTLAND  :  From  the  Earliest 
to  the  Present  Time.     Comprising  Characteristic  Selections  from  the 
Works  of  the  more  Noteworthy  Scottish  Poets,  with   Biographical 
and  Critical  Notices.      Bv  James  Grant  Wilson.     With  Portraits 
on  Steel.      2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $10  00  ;  Gilt  Edges,  $11  00. 
THE   HEART  OF  AFRICA.      Three  Years' Travels  and  Adventures 
in  the  Unexplored  Regions  of  the  Centre  of  Africa— from  18G8  tr. 
1871.     By  Georg  Schweinfuuth.    Translated  by  Ellen  E.  Fre^- 
F,R.      Illustrated.      2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $8  00, 


d^ 


This  book  is  due  two  weeks  from  the  last  date  stamped 
below,  and  if  not  returned  at  or  before  that  time  a  fine  of 
five  cents  a  day  will  be  incurred. 


.  ^i  1  rk  (\l 

IQt 

\j\j  \ 

OECOSiU^ 

k  ^ 

1 

s 

1 

1 

1                                 1 

r 


COj-UMB  A  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 

0068098014 


PHOTOcnpy 


330 


Sm4 


NOV  a  0  mi 


